If you bring in the best chefs of your area, your country, to bring people around the table so you can get to know them better in a way that doesn’t so much involve words as it does flavor, and the history of flavor, and the experience of flavors and textures.

The Korean embassy Tuesday night in Abuja treated invited guests including top Nigerian government officials and heads of establishments as well as diplomats to a full course Korean cuisine which the country's Ambassador, Jong hyun-Choi, said would "open the door to the heart of Nigerians", leading to closer relations.

This month, the State Department welcomed 25 chefs and foodies from all over the world to Washington, D.C., as part of an exciting new International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP). From Brazil to Vietnam, every country in the world has a unique food culture, and the United States is no exception.

The new Diplomatic Culinary Partnership initiative was unveiled on September 7th at the penthouse of the State Department, and this gastrodiplomat was on hand for the lovely soiree.

This summer, two groups of international food bloggers visited Israel for the first time on separate all-expense-paid trips... The goal of these trips and similar ones planned for the future, organizers say, is to expose influential writers to Israel through something as seemingly apolitical as food - and to encourage them to share their impressions of Israeli cuisine and culture with their millions of followers.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has added a culinary dimension to the exercise of "smart power" by enlisting 80 top chefs including an Indian-American in the aid of diplomacy. Mumbai native Vikram Sunderam, executive chef at Rasika, a top end Indian restaurant in Washington, is part of the State Department's new Diplomatic Culinary Partnership initiative.

Armed with sharp knives and chopping boards, a new army of US diplomats is to begin navigating rough global waters. But they will more likely have mouths watering, than leave a sour taste behind. In her latest example of what she calls "smart power," the top US diplomat Hillary Clinton has recruited some of America's top chefs to help in her quest to spread US diplomacy and values around the world.