Home to some of the world's finest restaurants, Peru is increasingly known for its outstanding cuisine, combining ancient ingredients with multinational influences. Focusing on food as soft power, former Peruvian Ambassador to Honduras Guillermo Gonzales Arica pursued culinary diplomacy, or "gastrodiplomacy," in the Central American nation and succeeded in dramatically enhancing commercial ties between the two developing countries. During his recent visit to Tokyo, The Japan News asked him about the significance of gastrodiplomacy as a model of economic cooperation. The following is excerpted from the interview.
Q: What is gastrodiplomacy?
Gonzales Arica: For many, many years, I thought about how we can use gastronomy as a tool to give cooperation [to other countries].
The concept of gastrodiplomacy is the following: You can promote your country and other countries in commercial and cultural ways with gastronomy.
The French say they invented the concept. French diplomat and statesman Charles-Maurice de Talleyrand (1754-1838) is said to have said the following phrase in essence: Give me a chef and I will do the rest.
In the 20th century, Americans, Thais, Japanese and Spaniards used gastrodiplomacy as a tool to improve their commercial and cultural relationships with many countries.
In Central America, we added an element to this concept, namely cooperation. Cooperation is a tool to exchange and share knowledge. Usually developed countries use [economic] cooperation. When you have two emerging economies working on cooperation, it is called South-South cooperation. Emerging countries can have opportunities to share their values and practices.
Peru has enormous strengths in such fields as mining, culture and fishing and powerful cuisine. We now have a gastronomic boom. I thought about how we can use this not only to show food but to share knowledge through cooperation.
Trained 1,300 chefs
Q: How did you conduct gastrodiplomacy as ambassador?
A: We organized workshops [in Honduras] to train people. A chef trained people with ties to Peruvian gastronomy. We decided to do that in 17 of 18 departments [that constitute Honduras] in alliance with the public and private sectors, including mayors, members of the local councils, presidents and members of chambers of commerce and tourism.
We are not Japan. Japan can build buildings, schools, bridges and hospitals because it is a developed country. But I said at the time [to Hondurans], "We can share with you our experience in gastronomy because restaurants represented [as much as] 4.5 percent of [Peru's] GDP."
Gastronomy is related not only to the tastes of food but also to the economic chain of value. We are talking about creating opportunities for economic development. We talked with local people. I said all the time in Honduras, "Through sharing knowledge, we become rich because we understand you and learn something from you."
We trained more than 1,300 chefs and students during the three years in which I was in Honduras. We organized 44 workshops and 54 Peruvian festivals.
It was [also part of the] promotion of tourism because gastronomy is related to tourism.
For example, 20 years ago, the average stay in Lima for a tourist was only one night or two nights. They arrived in Lima and spent four days in Cusco to go to Machu Picchu, then came back to Lima to stay another one night and leave.
Now, the average stay in Lima is four to five days. This is an enormous possibility to create more jobs. We have more than 5,000 students of gastronomy now. We will have 10,000 [in the future].
Twenty years ago, if you studied to be a chef [in Peru], that meant just [studying] cooking. It was not that important. [People rather] wanted to be a lawyer, a medical doctor, an architect or an engineer. But now, it's prestigious to be a chef.
4-fold increase in commerce
Q: What did you achieve in Honduras through gastrodiplomacy?
A: When I decided to develop gastrodiplomacy, I had one objective. The objective was to enhance commercial relations between Honduras and Peru.
We only had 24 million dollars in commercial relations between the two countries when I became ambassador. This was nothing, in my humble opinion. When I left Honduras, we had increased it four times. If you increase trade, you create jobs.
As we developed relationships with chambers of tourism and commerce, I invited them to come to Peru on a trade mission for the first time in [about] 140 years of bilateral relations.
When I was ambassador, I knocked on the door of Peru's then Foreign Trade and Tourism Minister Magali Silva [to propose] a free trade agreement [with Honduras]. The bilateral trade value of "24 million dollars is nothing," she said. "I don't have people for technical meetings. My people are right now in Singapore, India and Turkey. You need to understand me."
Unfortunately, we didn't have a Central America policy. But finally, we signed the free trade agreement [with Honduras].
Identify specialty foods
I'm very proud of my origin. My three grandfathers are from the Andes. [Meanwhile,] I was born in [Lima's upmarket seaside area of] Mirafloresa. Forty years ago, my mother didn't give me quinoa [a grain from the Andes]. Quinoa has eight amino acids.
Quinoa was very popular in the Andes. But on the coast, we didn't have quinoa. At that time, on the coast, we didn't eat products of the Andeans. We used quinoa to feed chickens.
Through gastrodiplomacy, we can promote national products [in the countries where we provide cooperation.] Any country has [an equivalent to] quinoa, but they need to know one.
If you have something with good nutrition, you fight poverty. If you fight poverty, you work for future generations.
Fifty years ago, we were [dealing] with [the Maoist leftist guerillas of] Sendero Luminoso. When I was at university, I studied with candles because Sendero Luminoso [disrupted] all the energy around Lima. We are not [yet] a developed country, but we are fighting [poverty] very well.
Embassies need professionals
Q: What ideas would you propose to other countries including Japan?
A: One of the most important elements is to have a professional chef at embassies. Unfortunately, not all embassies have professional chefs.
Professional chefs [at embassies] cook not only for ambassadors, [serving] cocktails or dinners. They can give cooperation as a powerful tool to share knowledge.
We have a center called the Global Center of Gastrodiplomacy in Lima and also in Honduras. We are promoting now [the idea of] an embassy chef competition. We did it in Beijing last year. We are working on now a competition of women chefs in Peru. We [also] want to work here in Japan.
Japan has a powerful army of chefs around the world. Japanese food is everywhere, as Chinese food is. In Peru, each block has a Chinese restaurant and also we have a lot of Japanese restaurants in Lima.
You can give cooperation with your chefs. When you give cooperation, you share knowledge and also obtain good results for the interests of your own country.
This interview was conducted by Japan News Assistant Editor Michinobu Yanagisawa.
-- Profile
Guillermo Gonzales Arica served as Peru's ambassador to Honduras from 2013-16. He has master's degrees in public administration and international relations from Syracuse University in the United States. Gonzales Arica is 51.
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