Gastrodiplomacy is the use of food to communicate the culinary culture of a country in a public diplomacy setting. . Countries that are not major world powers require some kind of recognition in the global public because it is believed that some major powers are unaware or hold negative opinions of them. Culinary culture has much to do with “inclusion and exclusion of national pride and xenophobia”. . An example of this is given by Paul Rockower in the article from Gastronationalism to Gastrodiplomacy: Reversing the Securitization of the Dolma in the South Caucasus. UNESCO decided to add ‘Keshkeck’ an Anatolian stew made with chicken and wheat berries to its list of “Intangible Heritage” for the Turkish people. Armenians believed that the dish is their own except it is called ‘harisha’ and decided to find evidence to overturn it. It resulted in youth groups and NGO’s attempts to reclaim the country’s heritage and culinary traditions. There has been animosity between Azerbaijan and Armenia and the dispute about the food was a reaction by Armenia against its neighbour trying to take from them something they believed was unique to their country. In this case it can lead to discussion and diplomacy between the two nations and gastrodiplomacy had some success at getting the two countries to share a space to begin talking in a safe area. The Azerbaijani Cuisine Day organized by the Helsinki Initiative NGO in 2007 was an attempt at breaking down hostilities and both countries found they had much in common with each other.. Such examples show the power of gastrodiplomacy for foreign relations but also to enforce the human rights of the Armenian and Azerbaijani people in a public forum. Better relations between the two countries results in the possibility of better foreign trade between the two in the future.
There are various ways that weekly selection of food is a participation in Gastrodiplomacy. I often purchase fair trade coffee that I drink with friends and explain the concept to them and how it can help poorer countries make a better living. I often go to different restaurants such as Chinese and Vietnamese where I discuss the types of food and where it comes from. I also attend church once a week where people from all over the world chat about their experiences of food and what each person can contribute from around the world. There is an Indian store around the corner and when buying the food, I often chat to the employees and make day to day conversation about all kinds of topics. I probably would not have many other opportunities to feel comfortable meeting so many Indians. I often go out drinking with friends and many times have been to German, Belgium and Polish bars where I meet and chat about global issues and cultural differences in an informal place. On the internet, I often go to recipe blogs where there are debates about the best way to cook something depending on where the food is from. Many times, I have met with distant family members that are Korean and chatted about food recipes and about recent journeys to Korea over lunch. There are many food festivals in Utah that have been a great opportunity to discuss food, travel and make conversation with people from all over the world. Inviting friends to dinner has often resulted in a big group of people from different parts of the world talking about the food they are eating that extends to normal everyday conversation. When I travel overseas for work it is possible to meet someone completely new and share food to get to know each other and talk about each other’s countries.
The Indian community has grown in Utah and there are now a number of restaurants and events that show the diversity of Indian food throughout Utah. There are also many events such as the Festival of Colour or Holi Festival at Sri Sri Radha Krishna Temple that is becoming more and more popular and people to meet for religious entertainment and to share food.
Bibliography
Bell, D. (1997). Consuming Geographies: We Are Where We Eat. New York: Routledge.
Palmer, C. (1998). From Theory to Practice. Experiencing the Nation in Everyday Life. Journal of Material Culture 3.2 , 188.
Rockower, P. (2011). Projecting Taiwan: Taiwan's Public Diplomacy Outreach. Issues & Studies , 107-152.
Rockower, P. (2014). Public Diplomacy Magazine. In S. Haugh, Public Diplomacy Magazine (pp. 17-22). California: Synracuse University Publication.
