The Gastrodiplomacy Series – Part 2

 

In the previous series of Gastrodiplomacy, we have seen how Malaysia and Thailand increase their gastrodiplomacy. The efforts and policies organized by Malaysia and Thailand, respectively, set on the state-level attempt, involving governmental participation and community abroad of the country. Now, let’s look at a closer range of gastrodiplomacy attempts among us, which may be attempted unintentionally by people around us or even ourselves.

The closer range community often involves micro-interactions between seemingly unrealized or a newly risen public figure in the community. The interactions are usually small but massive, creating a wave in what we called the “grassroot” community. The Oxford Dictionary defined “Grassroot” as: Organizations or movements, people or society at a local level rather than at the centre of major political activity. To put it simply, it’s synonymous with local, or person‐to‐person.

Woman selling food at local market, Indonesia. Source: dreamstime.com.

 

Grassroot communities could play a crucial role in promoting their local culinary dishes by sharing traditional foods, cooking practices, and stories. Through more personal exchanges, they could show their unique culture and values of their nation, fostering a diplomacy based on person-to-person connections. This also gave a bigger chance in wider information dissemination, reaching more numbers of people. Talk-to-talk and personal experience sharing would give more lasting impressions and courage in food matters.

While 74% of people in ASEAN are active internet users, exceeding the global average of 67.1%, the top 3 countries that have been shown to use social media to research products include: 1). Vietnam (81.2%); 2). Indonesia (80.9%); and 3). The Philippines (79.2%). In addition, the Philippines and Indonesia are a part of the top 15 origin countries of international migrants in 2020. This means these countries have higher rates of diaspora. The Cambridge Dictionary defined “diaspora” as a “group of people who spread from one original country to other countries”, creating a broader range of information distribution.

According to the aforementioned data, it is safe to say that the internet is a great place to carry out the gastrodiplomacy movement and campaign. With unique and personalized algorithms, specific tags and keyword search, making it easier for people on the internet to find related and similar content to their liking. This applies to the food themed content as well, giving the internet user recommendations based on the previously consumed content. More engagement means more audience. More audience could increase the potential of the campaign spread.

 Christine Ha on being a guest judge on season 10 of Masterchef in US. Source: Firstpost.

 

Christine Ha is known as the “Blind Cook” for her performance and achievement on MasterChef season 3. She was born and raised in the US with her parents being part of the Vietnamese diaspora who fled to the US after the Vietnam War. She learned to cook Vietnamese food from her late mother and Vietnamese cook books.

Christine is currently positioning as a chef, she has opened three restaurants that serve traditional Vietnamese foods for people to enjoy: The Blind Goat, Xin Chao, and Stuffed Belly. These count as her attempt of gastrodiplomacy by empowering and bringing Vietnamese cuisines into a wider range of consumers. Furthermore, she became the culinary arts envoy overseas for the US Embassy.

From Indonesia, we have Marina Tasha (@marina.tashaa), an Indonesian food vlogger with 367k followers on Instagram. Marina is known for her catchphrase “Makan yuk” (“Let’s eat”). She brings Indonesian cuisine to life by sharing local, easily accessible dishes and snacks like Risol Mayo, Seblak, and Sambal Pecel.

Beyond showcasing the flavors, she also dives into each dish’s origins, how it’s made, and the cultural significance behind every bite. She uses English to passionately spread Indonesian cuisines across the world, making her content to be more accessible and relatable to for the audiences to try at home. Through her storytelling and enthusiasm for local dishes, she helps foster a deeper appreciation for Indonesian cuisine, connecting cultures, and proudly promoting Indonesia’s culinary heritage.

 

Snippets of Marina Tasha’s food content. Source: Instagram @marina.tashaa.

 

In the Philippines, Vanjo Merano, a Filipino food vlogger with 7.08M subscribers and the creator behind @panlasangpinoy has one mission: to make Filipino food a global sensation. He utilises Youtube to share his videos about simple, easy to follow Filipino food recipes, and food-focused travel videos like “Best Filipino Street Food in Quaipo, Manilla” and “Places to Visit in Batangas”. His channel mainly uses English to accommodate the international world.

Vanjo also mentioned “I noticed that Filipino Cuisine is not well represented outside of the Philippines. It is time for our food to be noticed, known, tasted, and enjoyed by the rest of the world.” As a part of the Filipino diaspora in the US since 2006, Vanjo Merano has shared more than 2,500 recipes, 24.97% (1.07M users) of the Panlasang Pinoy visitors coming from the US, showing its influence. His recipes impacted not only diaspora Filipinos missing the taste of home but also Filipinos from the Philippines itself.

Left to Right: Vanjo holding an oyster & Vanjo holding a platter. Source: Instagram @panlasangpinoy.

“It comes with learning more about your heritage and where you came from and being proud of both where you’ve come from and also where you are now and understanding that there is such a thing as being both” said Christine. The diaspora often acts as those who start the mission, with no other aim but to feel at home abroad. 

The Blind Goat, painted as a modern Vietnamese Gastropub, gives US citizens a chance to try Vietnamese food without the need to visit Vietnam. It has been ranked as the top 100 restaurants in Houston in October 2024. According to SE Ranking, Christine’s website, theblindcook.com, is also dominantly visited by US users by 87.25%. Vietnamese cuisine’s popularity is really unique, since it is the grassroots that has greatly contributed to it. Christine Ha is just one of many Viet diasporas that popularised Vietnamese cuisine in the international world.

After the previous two gastrodiplomacy attempts from diaspora, Marina Tasha is one example of grassroot gastrodiplomacy attempts from a non-diaspora person. Considering that Marina’s content mainly uses English, it creates a larger scope that includes the international audience. Content creation has the opportunity to create a competitive advantage for a state’s cuisine, with media acting as a platform to promote national cuisine.

Despite creating content purely in Indonesia, according to Inflact, a social media analyzer, Marina’s Instagram account ranked 364th place in South Korea. This shows that her content was able to reach the international world, perhaps even creating a sense of curiosity for those abroad.

Grassroots influencers like Christine Ha, Marina Tasha, and Vanjo Merano show that gastrodiplomacy isn’t just driven by states—it can be shaped by people sharing their cultural heritage in authentic, relatable ways in the community. Christine Ha, Marina Tasha, and Vanjo Merano share a common approach: using English in their content to make their videos more accessible to a wider audience. By doing so, they hope to reach and connect with global audiences to promote their nation’s gastrodiplomacy.

By using social media to introduce traditional dishes and stories, they foster deeper global connections and promote appreciation for Southeast Asian cuisines. This grassroots approach amplifies each nation’s culinary presence, bridging cultures and bringing the world a little closer, one delicious meal at a time. Therefore, you too can contribute to your own gastrodiplomacy. Whether it’s sharing a recipe, a story, or a favorite dish, every effort counts in connecting cultures through food.