Culinary ‘weapons’: How Canada plans to win over Germans, one bite at a time
Global News
Canada is creating ties in Germany with food diplomacy, a way of bringing people together through the culinary aspect of a culture.
Canada is generally known for being a country with nice people and good manners. It’s also considered a political ally of Germany.
But Canucks are mounting a massive offensive in “the country of poets and thinkers” — all in the most polite, Canadian way, of course: through food.
Canada is investing in developing its culinary diplomacy in Germany. The Taste of Canada campaign, which started during the COVID-19 pandemic, aims to hook Germans on the country through their stomachs.
“Our new Taste of Canada campaign is focused on online trade primarily,” said Nora Düpmann, a senior trade commissioner for Agrifood and Agriculture Canada based out of the Canadian Consulate in Dusseldorf, Germany.
“All of the trade fairs had been cancelled. So we had a bit of money available and said, ‘What can we do?”
Enter food diplomacy, a way of bringing people together through the culinary aspect of a culture.
“It’s a way to give the country an image and to really advocate a culture, a people and its culinary representation in other countries,” said Lena Olesch, also a trade commissioner.
There is a lot of diplomacy to deploy in Germany in that aspect.
