Promoting Tourism Through Culinary Exchanges

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U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE

Office of the Spokesperson

For Immediate Release                                                                                                                       June 26, 2014

MEDIA NOTE

Tourism Promotion Through Culinary Exchange

As President Obama recently announced, the Department of State's Diplomatic Culinary Partnership, in collaboration with Brand USA, supports the National Travel and Tourism Strategy goal of bringing 100 million international visitors to the United States by 2021.  In July, five members of the American Chef Corps will travel to East-Asian markets to promote U.S. tourism and agricultural exports.

The Office of the Chief of Protocol's Diplomatic Culinary Partnership, together with the James Beard Foundation, established the American Chefs Corp, a network of more than 100 of America's most renowned chefs, to participate in various public diplomacy programs.  These programs engage foreign audiences at home and abroad by fostering cross-cultural exchange through the shared experience of food.  Five talented and successful American chefs will promote American agricultural food exports, highlight regional American cuisines and tourism destinations, and participate in other high-visibility activities including U.S. Independence Day celebrations in China, Taiwan, Australia, Japan, and South Korea.  July 4th activities will serve as a launch for an expanded, year-long BrandUSA-led global culinary tourism campaign that will culminate just before the 2015 World Expo in Milan, Italy.  The participating chefs are:

·         Chef Rick Bayless, Chef and Owner of Frontera Grill and Host of "Mexico: One Plate at a Time"; hosted by U.S. Embassy Beijing

·         Chef Barbara Lynch, Founder and CEO of Barbara Lynch Grupo and Grand Chef at Relais & Cháteaux; hosted by U.S. Embassy Tokyo

·         Chef Bryce Gilmore, Executive Chef and Co-Owner of Barley Swine and Odd Duck; hosted by the American Institute Taiwan in Taipei

·         Chef Sam Kass, Executive Director of Let's Move!, Senior Policy Advisor on Nutrition Policy, and Chef at the White House; hosted by U.S. Embassy Seoul

·         Chef Tory McPhail, Executive Chef of Commander's Palace; hosted by the U.S. Embassy Canberra

Brand USA will provide promotional materials including the Great American Food Stories culinary guide that showcases rich regional profiles, travel information and recipes from across the culinary landscape of the United States, and features the five traveling chefs among 31 members of the American Chef Corps.  For more information, visit: DiscoverAmerica.com/foodstories.

Brand USA is the public-private partnership responsible for promoting the United States as a premier travel destination and communicating U.S. visa and entry policies and procedures. Established by the Travel Promotion Act in 2010, the organization's mission is to increase international visitation to the United States while working in partnership with the travel industry and Federal government to maximize the economic and social benefits of travel.

For more information, please contact Jessica Andrews at andrewsjj@state.gov.