Culinary Diplomacy: Two Birds With One Scone

A recent piece in Nations & States by foreign affairs scholar and amateur chef Johnny V. Boykins focuses on culinary diplomacy. The practice, related to but distinct from the more grassroots-level gastrodiplomacy, is a growing subfield of public and cultural diplomacy used by countries to make connections through cuisine. At the highest levels, culinary diplomacy works to create a table atmosphere that will produce a fruitful meeting of world leaders. But food is also utilized as an advocacy tool to raise awareness and start discourse about issues such as conflict zones, food security, sustainability, and migration. From state dinners to meetings of Le Club des Chefs des Chefs to international culinary partnerships to the USC Center on Public Diplomacy’s own culinary diplomacy tracker, the field is establishing itself as part of international relations, and looks to be here to stay.

The full article is available here.

Photo by U.S. Army Africa I CC 2.0