Paper short abstract:

In Macao, food heritage is a key lever to diversify tourist arrivals, cultural consumption and economic growth, as well as to nourish sentiments of local pride. At gastronomic events, spectacular political performances are displayed to reaffirm and legitimize post-colonial power in the public space.

Paper long abstract:

In 2017, Macao (China) has joined the UNESCO Creative Cities Network (UCCN) in the creative area of gastronomy. The successful application, led by the Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture and accomplished by the local tourism stakeholders, has reinforced Macao as a cultural and heritage destination where food culture has become part of the cultural policies and food-related tourism, a market segment itself. There is today in Macao a broad consensus that gastronomy tourism can contribute to a responsible socio-economic development, to new job opportunities, and to the diversification of the city's wealth heavily reliant on the top gambling industry of the world which made it famous in the first place.

Macao's food potential for intercultural dialogue, exchange and the creation of fusion cuisines - such as secular Macanese culinary practices - while still preserving local identity, constitutes a significant part of the current political agenda. Merging public and private interests, government stakeholders are promoting a kind of mega-feast attractions that combine cultural heritage with Michelin star chefs, international cuisines, traditional culinary arts and the rise of sophisticated and cosmopolitan tourism segments like the gastronomic one.

Drawing on ethnographic fieldwork conducted in Macao during the events of the '2018, Year of Gastronomy' initiative - the official kick-off of the UCCN four-year action plan - and on interviews with members of government institutions and Macanese community associations, this paper seeks to analyse the political discourses and performative acts that are fabricating a new identity for Macao having food as its spearhead.