Paper short abstract:

The process of construction of Traditional Portuguese Cuisine was a gastronomic itinerary that counted on the contribution of people from all Portuguese regions. This work reflects social and cultural dimensions that coexist and are essential to the construction of local and national identities.

Paper long abstract:

In 1958, Maria de Lourdes Modesto began her career at Portuguese television broadcasts (RTP) and presented a pioneering program of Cooking in direct for 12 years. She was much influenced by French cuisine but the TV viewers asked for traditional Portuguese cuisine recipes and so it was launched the Portuguese Regional Cooking Contest in 1961 on television. Twenty years later, the thousand recipes collected were the basis of the book Traditional Portuguese Cuisine a great publishing success. In this study we analysed the process and the contribution of Traditional Portuguese Cuisine to the construction of Portuguese culinary identities and heritage. The process of constructing the narrative Traditional Portuguese Cuisine was a gastronomic itinerary that counted on the contribution of many people from all Portuguese regions and later was thoroughly standardized by the author. Television being a good means of communication played a decisive role in the collection and dissemination of the traditional recipes of families, regions and of a country emphasizing the importance of food as an element of collective identity. Applying an interpretive grid capable of highlighting its multidimensionality, it was concluded that the work reflects several social and cultural dimensions, combining the heritage of different cuisines, which coexist and are essential to the construction of the local and national culinary identities. The consecration of traditional Portuguese cuisine arose from the confrontation with the foreign kitchen, in articulation with the historical and social process of evolution and affirmation of national identity.