Peruvian cuisine is currently arousing much enthusiasm among Peruvians, who see in it possibilities of economic and social development as well as a sentiment of national pride. Expectations of the culinary potential have reached the current political agenda. Merging public and private interests, the media play an active role in building a sense of community and in the formulation of a new idea of nation with food as its spearhead. Drawing on three recent films, this article analyzes culinary nationalism in Peru as a political discourse and a performative agent. It then highlights its links with neoliberal values embedded in contemporary societies. https://doi.org/10.22380/2539472X45