The Portuguese study examined 457 diplomatic menus (1910–2023) to map how official meals convey political and cultural messages. Researchers found a shift from early French-style multi-course banquets to mid-century promotion of Portuguese regional products (gastronationalism), and later changes after decolonization. They identify five functions of diplomatic meals—tactical, geopolitical, economic, scientific/cultural/developmental, and cultural proximity—and highlight examples from COP25 and state lunches. The authors note archival limits and call for more research on surprising menu choices.
A Century of State Menus: How Food Shapes Diplomatic Messages
The Portuguese study examined 457 diplomatic menus (1910–2023) to map how official meals convey political and cultural messages. Researchers found a shift from early French-style multi-course banquets to mid-century promotion of Portuguese regional products (gastronationalism), and later changes after decolonization. They identify five functions of diplomatic meals—tactical, geopolitical, economic, scientific/cultural/developmental, and cultural proximity—and highlight examples from COP25 and state lunches. The authors note archival limits and call for more research on surprising menu choices.
08:53 AM, 11/14/2025Culture
A Century of State Menus: How Food Shapes Diplomatic Messages
Food can unite people and also carry powerful political meanings. A recent Portuguese study shows how the menus served at diplomatic dinners, state banquets and official receptions have been used to send cultural and political signals from 1910 to 2023.
The research, published in Frontiers in Political Science, analyzed 457 menus spanning the 20th and 21st centuries. Led by Óscar Cabral, a gastronomic sciences researcher at the Basque Culinary Center, the team traced shifting culinary patterns and highlighted how menus have been mobilized to convey identity, values and diplomatic intent.
Key findings
- Early 20th century: State meals followed an elegant French model—often nine- or ten-course banquets rooted in French culinary tradition.
- Mid-century shift: During the Estado Novo period (roughly the 1950s to early 1960s) menus increasingly promoted Portuguese products, regional specialties and a sense of national identity—what the authors call gastronationalism. A 1957 regional lunch for Queen Elizabeth II, for example, featured lobster and fruit tarts from Peniche and Alcobaça to project “Portugality.”
- 1960s–70s: Diplomatic menus often included rare or prestigious ingredients—trout from the Azores served to U.S. and French presidents in 1971, and turtle soup offered to Prince Philip in 1973—reflecting changing availability and tastes.
- Post-decolonization: After mid-1970s independence movements in Portugal’s former colonies, menus shed explicit colonial labels (e.g., simplifying listings such as “coffee” rather than naming colonial provenance), signaling shifts in political relationships and cultural framing.
Five diplomatic functions of meals
The team identifies five principal roles that diplomatic meals play:
- Tactical: Linked to territory, land transfers or discrete political negotiations.
- Geopolitical: Aimed at renewing, confirming or signaling alliances.
- Economic diplomacy: Designed to foster commercial and financial ties.
- Scientific/cultural/developmental: Emphasizing shared interests in cooperation and joint projects.
- Cultural proximity: Strengthening cultural bonds—often by featuring foods that resonate across shared languages or traditions (for Portugal, items familiar to Portuguese-speaking countries such as Brazil).
Menu choices as deliberate messages
Menus can be explicitly political. The authors point to a COP25 dinner in Madrid where dish names like “Warm seas. Eating imbalance” and “Urgent. Minimize animal protein” called attention to climate concerns. Other choices can be ambiguous or provocative: serving roast beef to the Indian president in 1990 or the Consommé de presunto de Barrancos—a French-style consommé made with Portuguese Barrancos ham—served to Spain’s King Felipe VI in 2016 raises layered cultural meanings given Spain’s own reputation for cured ham.
Limitations and recommendations
The study is constrained by archival availability; some periods have sparse menu records. The authors recommend further research that examines surprising or contradictory menu choices and investigates how recipients interpreted those meals.
Conclusion: The study demonstrates that national cuisines and menu design are tools of soft power. Thoughtful use of ingredients, regional specialties and menu language can reinforce identity, promote economic and cultural ties, and shape international perceptions.
“Our study illustrates how national cuisines can be strategically used to strengthen a country’s global standing,” said Cabral.