US Edition100 Years of Menus Show How Food Can Be Used as a Diplomatic Tool to Make and Break Political Alliances
A study of 457 menus from 1910 to 2023 shows Portuguese diplomatic meals convey political messages, promote national identity, and support foreign policy, researchers said.
- On November 14, 2025, the Portuguese research team led by Óscar Cabral published a study analysing over 103 diplomatic meals from 1910 to 2023, showing menus can carry political messages.
- Long ago, menus gradually introduced Portuguese products across the second half of the 20th century, crystallizing an emerging use of food to promote national identity.
- At the 1957 regional lunch in Alcobaça, menus showcased lobster and fruit tarts from Peniche and Alcobaça, while trout from the Azores in 1971 and turtle soup for Prince Philip in 1973 highlighted rare ingredients.
- Five functions of diplomatic meals were identified by the team, which argues menus facilitate negotiations, political messaging, and support Portuguese foreign policy; they recommend integrating gastronomy into national institutions to shape Portugal's global image.
- However, the authors note archival gaps limit the findings and call for more research into contradictory choices like roast beef for the Indian president in 1990 and Consommé de presunto de Barrancos, while menus at COP25 in Madrid highlighted climate concerns.
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How food’s deployed as a ‘diplomatic tool’ to build political alliances
Menus can be intentionally designed to convey political messages and communicate non-gastronomic aspects.
100 years of menus show how food can be used as a diplomatic tool to make and break political alliances
Food brings people together. It serves as a tool to communicate political stances, to cultivate cross-cultural comprehension or, if necessary, create tensions. Menus can reflect these intentions by using food to create specific psychological effects and convey symbolic messages. But how exactly is it done?
What 113 Years of Menus Reveal about Diplomatic History
What does food say about the nation that prepares it? This is the starting point for research by Óscar Cabral, whose article in Frontiers in Political Science examines the menus of 457 state dinners presented by Portugal between 1910 and 2024. Cabral treats menus as political documents that express trends in Portugal's internal politics and diplomatic objectives over the course of a century.The starting point, 1910, is fitting because it is the …
The Portuguese team analyzed the menus of diplomatic events in Portugal between the 20th and 11th centuries and showed that meals can play a significant role in a country's foreign policy.
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