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View all search resultsGastrodiplomacy and cultural diplomacy
Gastrodiplomacy is an effort to build the image and position of a nation for the creation of a certain "reputation" (national brand) through food.
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T
he webinar fever during the COVID-19 period has affected almost all professions. Among them is gastronomy, a science and art that sees food not only from the cooking process but also from the dimensions of history, philosophy and cultural background.
The Indonesian Gastronomy Association (IGA) and the Center for Gastrodiplomacy Studies at, the University of Jember in East Java raised this gastronomic theme, in a webinar on July 24, discussing the national strategy of Indonesian gastronomic diplomacy.
This initiative deserves appreciation. Gastronomic diplomacy is different from culinary diplomacy. If the latter places more emphasis on the process of cooking and the art of enjoying food, gastronomy studies the dimensions of history, philosophy and the cultural setting of food.
Because of the historical, philosophical and cultural dimensions, a gastronomic association with cultural promotion is inevitable. And because it contains cultural elements, gastronomy is included in the cultural diplomacy cluster in the realm of diplomacy. This is the source of the term "gastrodiplomacy".
Positioning gastrodiplomacy properly within the frame of cultural diplomacy will facilitate decisionmakers in designing national strategies to promote Indonesia abroad by using specific Indonesian culinary instruments (cuisine and food).
Gastrodiplomacy observer Anna Lipscomb, from The Yale Review of International Studies (“Culinary Relations: Gastrodiplomacy in Thailand, South Korea and Taiwan”, 2019), says that because gastrodiplomacy is related to efforts to build the nation's image through food, it falls under the realm of countries’ diplomatic struggle to foster a sense of mutual understanding between nations.
From her research in the three countries, she concluded that each country seeks to connect its signature foods with its respective "national identities". From this conclusion, it is clear that gastrodiplomacy is not limited to stomach and food matters. More than that, as initiated by the pioneer of gastrodiplomacy Paul Rockower, gastrodiplomacy is an effort to build the image and position of a nation for the creation of a certain "reputation" (national brand) through food. From the views of Lipscomb and Rockower, one can derive two concepts related to the image of a nation.
