Designing National Cuisine  

The thesis examines whether the notion of national cuisines can be seen as the outcome of a deliberately designed system. At the same time, it challenges the understanding of the concept of national dishes. Based on the case study of Israel, it investigates how mechanisms and narrations employed by the Zionists and later the Israeli government around food, food culture and culinary practices were used to achieve a sense of national identity and unity as part of building a new nation.

The research drew on the examples of claimed ancestry, social constructs, government campaigns, cookbooks, propaganda and cultural appropriation to understand how those structures were created and shaped. Examples from different countries and cultures show how the main case study reflects a broader global pattern.

The thesis argues that the idea of national cuisine is used as a powerful political tool to influence citizens and their dietary habits, which therefore can be seen as a designed illusion. its purposes and success are debatable, but the conclusion stresses the importance of regionality, communities and how they nurture tradition and customs for generations often disregarding any political borders.