A restaurant seems an unlikely place to mend diplomatic fences but that’s exactly what Conflict Kitchen in Pittsburgh, PA is doing. This eatery serves more than exotic food — it offers patrons a chance to learn more about the lives and cultures of people living in nations the United States with which the US is currently in conflict.
Since 2010, the restaurant has changed its menu and cultural focus every few months depending on current geopolitical events. Previous iterations have included Venezuelan and Iranian cuisine while the current theme is Cuban comfort food. But food is only part of the experience. Conflict Kitchen’s real raison d'etre revolves around facilitating dialogue and encouraging political and cultural understanding. Orders even come wrapped in paper printed with interviews of people from the featured country.
Every week, Conflict Kitchen hosts events, performances, and discussions to allow customers to learn about a nation and a culture they would otherwise rarely encounter. Sometimes, informal dinner parties are hosted with a featured expert on world conflict. Cooking classes and Skype dinner parties with participants from conflicted nations tuning in via live video stream are also offered, allowing customers a personal glimpse at their “enemy” as a human being.
Each national theme is researched six months in advance by keeping an eye on the news and trying to interpret what is happening and what needs more attention. Owner, Dawn Weleski studies the culture’s history and seeks out experts to determine what people are predicting for the future of a given nation. “Then we dig deeper and try to hear what people’s personal stories are,” she said, conducting Skype interviews or sometimes traveling to the country.
The next two themes will feature North and South Korea. The restaurant has already started interviewing South Korean chefs and North Korean refugees to see what they think of the US and what they like to cook. "We were able not only to share a plate of food with locals, but at the same time share something that could be very sensitive “says Weleski, “for example, information about a North Korean defecting into China and then South Korea,"
Do you think places like Conflict Kitchen are an effective way to build empathy for other cultures? Tell us your opinion in the comments section below.
