A new concept in the field of gastronomy: Gastrodiplomacy

Food is one of the most basic needs for the continuation of human life. However, today it has gone beyond being just a requirement to be alive; It has become an important factor in the diplomacy of the countries. As a natural result of this situation, kitchens assist countries to determine and direct their policies. gastrodiplomacy, Which was emerged for the first time as a term in 2002 in an article named 'food as ambassador' that is about public diplomacy campaign to introduce food and cuisine art of Thailand to the world, ıs a dİplomatic weapon countries use in international relations through their cuisines. It is observed today that the countries that take the road with this purpose, prefer to introduce themselves with their own cuisines. In the studies done until now, It ıs observed that the countries applying gastrodiplomacy strategy have high possibility of establishing good relationship with other cultures, country images have improved, there are high incomes in tourism, gastronomy, economy and policy. Thus, it ıs foreseen that evaluation of rich kitchen and food culture that our country has, will contribute to development and improvement of international relations. One of the aims of the study which has been determined based on the importance of the topic is to bring gastrodiplomacy concept, whıch is one of the subbranches of diplomacy, on the agenda of tourism and gastronomy. Moreover, the aim is to ensure it to be a new concept in international level and especially to raise awareness in academic field in our country to give the term a place in literature. Within the scope of this study, gastrodiplomacy practices in the countries such as Thailand, Malaysia, Peru, South Korea, Japan, Taiwan, The United States, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Australia and Turkey are studied. The concept and contend of gastrodiplomacy and its practices around the world are tried to be revealed through literatüre review which is one of the secondary data collection technigues. As a result of the literature review, various suggestions adre presented to the sector and the academy. Keywords: Gastronomy, Diplomacy, Gastrodiplomacy