My food story— —August —’24 64 Savoring Cultures Food is a passport to the world. It crosses all borders and boundaries and allows people to share their culture and family stories so they may better understand each other. It is this concept of food and connection, that inspired Lauren Bernstein to establish the Culinary Diplomacy Project. A core principle of the organization is the belief that food is a universal common ground and that it can be used to build bridges and form lasting bonds. “At the Culinary Diplomacy Project, we work with accomplished chefs from across the U.S., traveling to destinations around the world, to learn about different cultures through their cuisine, while sharing our own. We cook with both professional chefs and people from the local community in their homes, often learning from the very best – the grandmas! It is through their family dishes and stories, that we truly learn about the country and the people we are visiting. In addition to our domestic programming upon our return, our chefs also tap into their extensive social media channels to share their experiences with millions of global followers,” explains Lauren. From the desert of Wadi Rum to the countryside of Hidalgo and the streets of downtown Sarajevo, food has taken her and the team around the world and it has introduced them to people who they Discover how the Culinary Diplomacy Project fosters cultural understanding through food, connecting chefs worldwide to share stories and create meaningful connections across borders Bridging Cultures Through Food will never forget. “Cooking together has allowed us to get to know the places and the people in ways we never would have otherwise been able.” When they travel, they offer their time to the U.S. Embassies for programming, work with Ministries of Tourism to experience some of their historic sites and collaborate with the United Nations to engage with refugee populations, who use food to anchor themselves in their culture after being displaced. “In a world that is growing increasingly more polarized, there is something that will always open doors, pull up chairs, and gather people around a table, and that is food. When we share our customs and culture through our cuisine, walls come down and minds start to open. When we realize that we all have the same stories and traditions, just with different ingredients, we begin to understand that we are so much more alike than we are different,” she says. Lauren continues, “Our need to eat and sustain ourselves is essential to our nature. The desire to share that experience with those we love is essential to our humanity. With this powerful common ground, the Culinary Diplomacy Project believes that we can reconnect neighbors, communities, and countries. This cookbook is a perfect illustration of how food truly does connect us all.”
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