In alphabetical order
Cambodia (second from right) with his business partner Richard Gillet (second from left) in
Avignon,
France in 2016 promoting Cambodian cuisine. In December 2020, the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation launched an official "Food Diplomacy 2021–2023" campaign as part of a larger
economic diplomacy strategy. At the launch
Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Prak Sokhonn listed
prahok,
fish amok, pomelo salad,
samlor kako,
samlor ktis,
prahok ktis and
num banhchok as some of the Khmer dishes to be promoted in the campaign. The ministry also established a program to train Cambodian cooks for serving in
Cambodian embassies and a program for providing ambassador spouses with knowledge about the
Khmer cuisine. A 1960 Cambodian cookbook and culinary guide "The Culinary Art of Cambodia" by Princess Norodom Rasmi Sobbhana republished in May 2021 by Angkor Database was also included in the campaign. In June 2021, a series of promotional videos under the slogan "Taste Cambodia" featuring Khmer foods and culinary activities in different Cambodian regions commissioned by the
Ministry of Tourism of Cambodia were released. In May 2022, culinary training and representation facilities under the name of "Angkor Kitchen" were unveiled at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation.
China and
Zhou Enlai toasting at a banquet during Nixon's 1972 visit to China. The 1972 banquets at the
Great Hall of the People on the occasion of the
visit of Richard Nixon to the People's Republic of China have been described as "a signal moment of gastrodiplomacy" and
gastronationalism and as "culinary and diplomatic performances writ large" by food historian
Michelle T. King. King notes the success of the strategy; the New York Times published recipes to help readers recreate the banquet dishes that had been seen on television.
Indonesia Indonesian cuisine has traditionally enjoyed popularity in neighbouring countries; e.g. Malaysia, Singapore and Australia, as well as nations that shares historical ties with Indonesia; such as the Netherlands, Suriname, and South Africa. It is also increasingly popular in Japan and Korea. In 2021, the Indonesian government launched the "Indonesia Spice Up The World" program as a coordinated culinary diplomacy campaign. The programme was intended to promote Indonesian cuisine abroad, to assist Indonesian culinary industry; by helping the local spice products and processed food to find their ways into the global market, and also to assist Indonesian restaurants abroad. The "Indonesia Spice Up The World" program involves government's inter-ministerial institutions, Indonesian food industry, and also the public. The objective of the program is to boost the export value of Indonesian spices and herbs to US$2 billion, and increasing the presence of four thousand Indonesian restaurants abroad by 2024. On January 25, 2023, The Israel Council of Foreign Relations held an event at the Battae Ethiopian Israeli Heritage Center to celebrate Ethiopian–Israeli culture through food.
Japan Barack Obama and
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe at the
Sukiyabashi Jiro sushi restaurant in Tokyo in 2014. The Japan Brand Working Group was established in 2005 and would go on to house the country's culinary diplomacy initiative, the Food Research Promotion Discussion Group (
Shoku-bunka kenkyū suishin kondankai). The Japanese Restaurants Overseas (JRO) was subsequently created as a non-profit organization that invests in and helps grow restaurants offering Japanese cuisine. This policy promotes seven categories of food: seafood products, rice and rice-made processed foods, forest products, flowering trees (bonsai), vegetables, beef meat and tea. In 2010, Japan's ministry of Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) published the report, "Towards Nation Building through Cultural Industries," in which methods for promoting japanese cuisine and utilizing "soft power" for national cultural industry were emphasized. The report also highlighted the importance of exporting agricultural crops, processed foods, and tableware together in the marketing of Japanese cuisine, in order to carry with it elements of Japanese "authentic culture". In December 2013, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) inscribed Washoku into the Representative List of the Intangible Heritage of Humanity. In April 2017, the Japan Food Products Overseas Promotion Center (JFOODO) was created by the Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO), with a focus on overseas markets in promoting the Japanese agricultural, forestry, and fishery products. Japanese government efforts to the promotion of washoku globally illustrates their overall commitment to gastrodiplomacy to provide a positive image of Japan. On July 17, 2018, Japan and the European Union signed an Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) working towards the liberalization of the agri-food market. The EPA is the biggest trade agreement ever negotiated by the EU and contains a number of provisions that will simplify trade and investment procedures and reduce export and investment related costs.
Malaysia In 2006,
Malaysia launched the "Malaysia Kitchen Programme" to promote the country as a Halal hub for Muslims.
Peru The Peruvian government promoted its cuisine in 2006 with "Perú Mucho Gusto", a tourism campaign that also funded national cookbooks, food festivals, and Peruvian restaurants worldwide. Peruvian cuisine was denied the status of food heritage in its initial application. The
Cocina Peruana Para El Mundo campaign has also been promoted by Peruvian chef
Gaston Acurio, the owner of multiple restaurants worldwide as well as a co-creator of the documentary
Perú Sabe, along with
Spanish chef
Ferran Adrià. The Peruvian gastronomy is promoted by its proponents as a byproduct of Peru's multicultural national identity and what anthropologist Raúl Matta defines as the "three values embedded in Latin American neoliberal societies: cultural diversity promotion, entrepreneurship and competitiveness." Through the strategic use of media and culinary champions, Peru has attained greater prestige for its cuisine among international food communities, which is evidenced by the country winning the World's Leading Culinary Destination award every year from 2012 to 2019. Further examples of Peru's successful use of food to influence foreign publics include the strategic opening of Peruvian restaurants in Santiago, Chile by Peruvian nationals to facilitate immigration and the economic benefits received by the
Nikkei community in Lima, Peru as a result of Peru's promotion of Nikkei cuisine on the international stage.
Singapore In recent years, Singapore launched a culinary diplomacy initiative through its embassies located in various countries around the world, to promote Singaporean cuisine. In June 2021, South Korean convenience store chain
CU announced that it has begun selling the Singaporean dish Kaya toast at all of their stores as part of their "Singapore Gourmet Trip series" in collaboration with the
Singapore Tourism Board (STB). In October 2021, Singapore's ambassador to Japan, Peter Tan, invited local organizations to the embassy residence to eat Singaporean dishes, such as Katong laksa, as a form of food diplomacy. As part of a collaboration with Japanese supermarket , such recipes became available at a limited-time "Singapore Fair".
South Korea of the
Republic of Korea Kim Yoon-ok giving a speech at the "Korean Cuisine to the World" symposium in 2009. In 2009,
South Korea launched a $77-million culinary diplomacy program entitled "Korean Cuisine to the World" or "Global
Hansik". The program, nicknamed "
Kimchi Diplomacy" internationally, was run by the
Ministry of Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries. Its goals were to promote the unique nature and health qualities of
Korean cuisine (
hansik), make it one of the top five favorites internationally, and increase the number of Korean restaurants worldwide to 40,000 by 2017. Projects undertaken by the Korean government include the opening of the
World Institute of Kimchi, working to establish Korean cuisine as a course in internationally recognized cooking schools, and the launch of a touring Korean
food truck. In the United States, the South Korean government funded the
Bimbimbap Backpackers campaign and promoted
Korean-Mexican fusion food, starting with the city of Los Angeles before gaining popularity nationwide. In the 2010s, South Korea began pivoting into Muslim markets by giving greater attention to how its food industry can meet
Halal requirements.
Switzerland , built in 1782 by
Alexandre-Théodore Brongniart for
Pierre Victor, Baron de Besenval de Brunstatt, is considered one of the first ever purpose-built dining rooms. Like his contemporary
Charles Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord, Prince de
Benevento et de
Talleyrand, the baron believed that the way to successful diplomacy is through the stomach. Swiss cuisine is traditionally made up of variations on dishes from its neighboring countries France, Italy, Germany and Austria, with influences from France and Italy dominating. Some of the most famous
Swiss dishes that are considered Swiss signature dishes are:
Rösti,
Raclette,
Fondue,
Cordon Bleu,
St. Galler Bratwurst,
Capuns and
Pizzoccheri. As part of
public diplomacy, the
Federal Department of Foreign Affairs, in collaboration with top Swiss chefs, put Switzerland's culinary heritage at the service of diplomacy.
Les Grandes Tables de Suisse – Ambassades gourmandes On 15 May 2018, the first dinner under the motto
Les Grandes Tables de Suisse – Ambassades gourmandes was held at the
Hôtel de Besenval, the Embassy of the
Swiss Confederation in Paris. The host of the evening was Bernardino Regazzoni (* 1957),
Ambassador of Switzerland to France. Senators, deputies, diplomats, nobles, members of the Academy of Moral and Political Sciences, as well as socialites from France and Switzerland were seated under the large Murano chandelier in the
dining room for this exceptional dinner. A dinner that would become the start of many such dinners around the world.
Les Grands Chefs des Grandes Tables de Suisse at the Baron de Besenval's table . It was no coincidence that the first such event was held in France. On the one hand, France is considered the country of
gourmets par excellence. On the other hand, with the Hôtel de Besenval the Swiss Confederation owns a building whose former owner,
Pierre Victor, Baron de Besenval de Brunstatt, a Swiss military officer in French service, served as a pioneer of what is now referred to as gastrodiplomacy. It was in 1782, when the architect
Alexandre-Théodore Brongniart transformed the baron's
Grand cabinet at the Hôtel de Besenval into what was then a novelty: A dining room.
Taiwan In 2010,
Taiwan's Ministry of Economic Affairs launched a £20-million culinary diplomacy campaign called "All in Good Taste: Savor the Flavors of Taiwan". Taiwan has used its culinary programs to bolster its tourism sector and to conduct diplomacy in countries with which it has
limited official ties. By 2011, that number had increased to more than 10,000 Thai restaurants worldwide. The program was explained in
Thailand: Kitchen of the World, an eBook published to promote the program. The point of the e-book: "In the view of the Export Promotion Department, Thai restaurants have a good business potential that can be developed to maintain a high level of international recognition. To achieve that goal, the department is carrying out a public relations campaign to build up a good image of the country through Thai restaurants worldwide." The Department of Export Promotion of the Thai
Ministry of Commerce offers potential restaurateurs plans for three different "master restaurant" types—from fast food to elegant—which investors can choose as a prefabricated restaurant plan. Accordingly, the
Export-Import Bank of Thailand offered loans to Thai nationals aiming to open restaurants abroad, and the Small and Medium Enterprise Development Bank of Thailand set up an infrastructure for loans of up to US$3 million for overseas food industry initiatives, including Thai restaurants. More than 80 chefs, including White House Executive Chef
Cristeta Comerford, former White House Executive Pastry Chef
William Yosses, and Spanish-born chef
José Andrés, were named to be members of the "
American Chef Corps". The initiative is organized by the
United States State Department Office of Protocol. One goal of the program is to send members of the Chef Corps to American embassies abroad on
public diplomacy missions to teach about
American cuisine.
Selected List of American Chef Corps •
José Andrés, executive chef and owner of minibar, Jaleo, Oyamel, Zaytinia, China Poblano, é, Micasa, and America Eats Tavern •
Dan Barber, executive chef and co-owner of
Blue Hill Restaurant and Blue Hill at Stone Barns •
Rick Bayless, owner of
Frontera Grill and star of
PBS series
Mexico: One Plate at a Time •
April Bloomfield, Chef at
The Spotted Pig and The Breslin, and owner of two
Michelin stars •
Cristeta Comerford, White House Executive Chef •
Duff Goldman, Executive chef of
Baltimore-based Charm City Cakes •
Roland Mesnier, former White House Executive Pastry Chef •
Marcus Samuelsson, Chef and owner of Red Rooster in
Harlem,
New York City •
Walter Scheib, former White House Executive Chef •
Ming Tsai, Chef at Blue Ginger and television personality •
Bill Yosses, former White House Executive Pastry Chef == The Club des Chefs des Chefs ==