Republican gastronomy. Portuguese diplomatic meals as a channel to promote national gastronomy

Culinary diplomacy leverages diplomatic meals as fostering mechanisms of international relations by promoting national gastronomical assets and culture. In Portugal, the Republican era (1910–2023) saw State Banquets and official meals serving as cultural showcases and soft power mechanisms. Yet their role in national gastronomy promotion remains understudied. This study examines Portuguese Republican diplomatic meals, assessing their composition, evolution, and alignment with culinary diplomacy strategies to promote national gastronomy. A qualitative approach was adopted, combining archival research of nine public archives with semi-structured interviews of former Chiefs of the Portuguese Protocol. 457 state meals were identified, whose menus were systematically analysed for gastronomic patterns, dish composition, communication strategies and Portuguese gastronomic assets mobilisation. The findings indicate that French cuisine initially dominated Portuguese diplomatic meals. Over time, they progressively incorporated Portuguese products and dishes. The wine was almost totally Portuguese throughout the analysed time. Simplification of courses, budgetary constraints, culinary imaginaries, a diplomatic lexicon and growing dietary considerations were noted. Explicit culinary diplomacy strategies remain undocumented, but implicit efforts to showcase Portuguese gastronomy exist, depending on the agent’s will. The article concludes that Portuguese diplomatic meals act as a soft power channel, subtly reinforcing national gastronomic identity. However, their full potential as a structured culinary diplomacy policy remains underdeveloped, even in the light of a broader gastrodiplomacy and country branding initiative. Future policies could better integrate gastronomy within a formal diplomatic strategy, opening new avenues for governmental collaborations to promote Portuguese culture, gastronomy and gastronomic landscapes, foodways and assets worldwide.