Soft power on the plate: Pierre Raffard decodes gastrodiplomacy

Pierre Raffard has a PhD in geography from Paris-Sorbonne University. He is currently a lecturer, founder of the consulting firm Kereviz, and host of the TV program Voyage en cuisine. His research has focused on the political and geopolitical dimensions of food, nutrition policies, and cultural dynamics related to food.

Mr Raffard recently participated in the SIAL Dialogues de l’alimentation, where he spoke about the issues surrounding gastrodiplomacy and culinary soft power. The SIAL Paris Newsroom caught up with him to talk about these topics how they are central to the economic and diplomatic strategies of many countries and regions.

How would you define the concepts of gastrodiplomacy and soft power?Gastrodiplomacy can be defined as the desire of a state, city, or region to use its food specificities as levers of symbolic and economic influence. It is a particular form of public diplomacy that finds its foundations in the notion of soft power developed in the mid-1990s by American researcher Joseph Nye. He showed that in addition to the traditional attributes of power (military, economic, normative force), some countries also based their legitimacy on diverted forms of influence (cultural, ideological, aesthetic, etc.).

How can gastronomy be an effective lever for soft power in the long term?
Gastronomy has an often-overlooked power: that of shaping collective imaginations. What is France in the eyes of many foreigners? The country of good food, fine wines, and the art of living. These representations may be clichés, but they allow certain countries to build an international brand image and conquer new economic markets.

What differences do you see between the strategies of countries such as South Korea, Peru, and Thailand in terms of culinary diplomacy?
There are many differences between these countries, as the products, cuisines, actors to be promoted, and ambitions are different. However, they have at least two things in common. The first is that their current gastronomic reputation is the result of a deliberate, organised, and evolving strategy. The second is that they have all succeeded in establishing synergy between national stakeholders. Ministries, public institutions, agrifood companies, chefs, and diasporas have all come together around a common project: to make their national gastronomy a powerful lever of influence.

What roles can chefs, food influencers, and cultural ambassadors play in these influence strategies?
They are essential because they are often the ones who embody a national cuisine in the eyes of the general public! They are the ambassadors of an art of living and a system of values. However, let’s be careful not to give them more importance than they deserve. The success of a gastrodiplomatic strategy rests above all on the vision and the “invisible” work carried out upstream by public and private decision-makers.

Do you think that food could become a tool for geopolitical rivalry, for example through standards, labels, or food boycotts?
It already is… and has been for millennia! The need to feed ourselves is at the heart of human societies, their survival, and their political stability. It’s no surprise, then, that food can also be transformed into a weapon to impose one’s views on a competitor or enemy. This weapon can be direct (siege strategy, blockade, destruction of agricultural and food resources), or indirect (boycotts, embargoes, tariffs).

Is soft power in food limited to haute cuisine, or does it also include mass-market food products?
That’s the million dollar question! The genius of pioneering countries in gastrodiplomacy (Thailand, South Korea, Peru, etc.) has been to not limit themselves to the world of haute cuisine. They have integrated broader, perhaps less “noble” catering practices, allowing them to appeal to a wider audience (nomadic cuisine, street food, fast casual, etc.).

That being said, gastrodiplomacy may be considered in a broader sense. The ability of a country or region to build an ecosystem conducive to food innovation meets the same goals as a “traditional” gastrodiplomatic strategy: building a reputation, expanding its influence, conquering new markets, disseminating its values, and shaping public perceptions. Seen from this perspective, gastrodiplomacy is only just beginning!

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