Gastrodiplomacy
Winning the hearts and stomachs of people around the world might be one of the most effective ways of bridging cultures. For centuries, food’s diplomatic prowess has provided a channel for introducing and exploring new cultures, often earlier than substantial human-to-human contact is made. The token trip to New York’s Chinatown for an authentic dim sum experience or to Brick Lane in East London for a Bangladeshi meal is a typically modern food experience many of us in the West know well. In Hend Alhinnawi’s blog post, she cites Paul Rockower’s definition of gastrodiplomacy: a way to use “culinary delights to appeal to global appetites, and thus helps raise a nation’s brand awareness and reputation.” Alhinnawi goes on to say:
It is an important tool in building cultural understanding, and in turn, breaking down traditional barriers by providing insight into a culture that might otherwise be unknown to a person. While many Americans may never experience the joys, sights and sounds of Incredible India, they can taste the culture through a culinary sampling at their local Indian market or restaurant. By bringing the food to their local communities, these outlets are great for engaging audiences through gastrodiplomacy, one palate at a time.
“Vindaloo Against Violence” is a project one Australian launched in 2010 to combat hostility towards Indians in her city, Melbourne, by encouraging people to dine at Indian eateries. It was effective – 17,000 people signed up to partake (we all know that the prospect of good food is an effective way to gather support!).
I wrote my graduate thesis on how mainstream American society shifted from initially shunning Italian foods to consuming it at very high levels. This started with the en masse migration of Europeans, many of whom were Italian, to North America in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. At first, North American society saw Italian foods in the same way it perceived the people who created and consumed them: suspicious, foreign and unpalatable. The historical trajectory of the cuisine is remarkable, as gastrodiplomacy gradually brought people to love Italian pizza and pasta – foods consumed in countries worldwide. This was in part due to the energies of the Italian diaspora and the success they had as entrepreneurs, restaurant owners and purveyors of food in general. In my thesis, I linked the increasingly saturated Italian food industry to the Italian community’s integration into US society, and how the food acted as a diplomat by building awareness of Italian values and traditions for mainstream society.
Where have you experienced or seen gastrodiplomacy at work? Do you think food has the power to unite people from different countries and different backgrounds?
Sean
RW3 CultureWizard











