Château de Chambord, the iconic Renaissance castle in France’s Loire Valley, is revisiting its rich culinary heritage with a new exhibition that recreates historic banquets dating from the 16th century to the present day. The display includes a recreated dinner table from a 1988 royal visit when Prince Charles and Princess Diana dined at the château, underscoring the longstanding intersection of gastronomy and diplomacy.
The château’s director, Pierre Dubreuil, recounted the 1988 banquet prepared by Michelin-starred chef Bernard Robin, who tailored the menu to Charles’s tastes, emphasizing organic ingredients. The meal featured scallops on foie gras with Sologne ceps mushrooms, roast pigeon, and an orange gratin flavored with Grand Marnier, accompanied by Loire Valley wines such as Pouilly-Fumé. Diana’s silk and lace gown from the evening is also on display, alongside video footage capturing the event, which included guests such as Princess Caroline of Monaco and actress Isabelle Huppert.
“The exhibition conveys more than just gastronomy,” Dubreuil said. “It reflects the history of diplomacy—‘diplomatie à la table’—and highlights how cuisine played a role in social, political, and economic influence throughout France’s history.” Despite being a royal residence originally built by King Francis I to project monarchical power, the château is now owned by the French state and serves as a cultural monument.
The exhibition, titled *The Feasts of Chambord*, reconstructs four significant banquets. One is modeled after a 1539 supper that Francis I might have hosted for Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor. Among the recreated dishes is a pie adorned with a peacock’s head and feathers, symbolizing wealth and status. Another banquet reflects a 1685 event held by Louis XIV, the Sun King, featuring 56 meticulously crafted dishes including frogs’ legs, turtle stew, and freshwater fish, notably absent of meat.
Complementing the exhibition, the on-site restaurant Le Relais de Chambord is offering a special menu inspired by historic banquet fare. Dishes include pâté en croûte of veal sweetbreads, veal loin, and duck foie gras; venison daube; gratinéed pike-perch quenelles with Nantua sauce; Belle Époque-style choux buns with chocolate sauce and vanilla ice cream; and rice à l’impératrice served with Chambord liqueur.
Through this initiative, Château de Chambord underscores how culinary traditions are intertwined with France’s cultural legacy, royal history, and international relationships over the centuries.