Overview
- Published in Frontiers in Political Science, the study analyzes 457 menus from Portuguese diplomatic events spanning 1910 to 2023.
- The authors outline five roles for official meals: tactical, geopolitical, economic diplomacy, scientific/cultural/developmental cooperation, and cultural proximity.
- Menus shifted from early reliance on French haute cuisine to promoting regional Portuguese products during the Estado Novo era, crystallized by the 1957 regional lunch for Queen Elizabeth II.
- Recent practice includes explicit policy messaging, exemplified by COP25 courses titled to highlight climate concerns such as warming seas and reduced animal protein.
- Illustrative cases include Azorean trout served to U.S. and French presidents in 1971, turtle soup for Prince Philip in 1973, and a Barrancos ham consommé for Spain’s king in 2016, with archival gaps leaving some choices—like roast beef for India’s president in 1990—unexplained.