Culinary Diplomacy and Protocols

Join us for an exclusive webinar featuring Lauren Bernstein, world-renowned Culinary Diplomacy expert and Founder & CEO of The Culinary Diplomacy Project. This session will focus on:

• Leveraging Culinary Arts as a "soft-power" and tool for Diplomacy. 
• How to best to incorporate Culinary nuances, Cultural & Religious considerations and Dining etiquettes and customs with a multinational or international guests list.
• Hear first-hand accounts from a leading expert on how Culinary Diplomacy has served as a means to build bridges between communities.
• The importance of bringing in the Culinary staff/team on the planning early. 
• Ways to expand thinking, elevate events, foster relationships, and connect disparate communities through the palette.

Participants may submit questions in advance while registering to be sure they are addressed.

Register Here

Panelist:

Lauren Bernstein

Lauren Bernstein is the Founder and CEO of The Culinary Diplomacy Project, a non-profit organization that seeks to promote cross cultural awareness through global culinary engagement. She partners with an ever-growing global network of world-renowned celebrity chefs to engage communities, governments, NGOs and the media in an effort to build and strengthen international relationships. Lauren is a leading expert in culinary diplomacy with a breadth of experience in global culinary exchange, program development, strategic partnerships, and community engagement. She is a sought-after speaker and moderator, delivering presentations and participating in panel discussions with New York University, the University of Pennsylvania, University of Southern California, Smithsonian Institution, Les Dames d’Escoffier International, Atlanta Food and Wine Festival, World Expo Milan, Global Protocol Summit, and more. 

Lauren has led The Culinary Diplomacy Project to great success. Key achievements include partnering with The National Governors Association to help U.S. governors and other personnel utilize the power of food to promote their states, as well as working with the Jordanian Government, UNHCR, and Marriott on a trip to Jordan where American celebrity chefs spent time cooking with local Jordanians and Syrian refugees. The organization has also partnered with the U.S. Department of State on multiple occasions, to include the Arts Envoy Program and Expo 2020 in Dubai, bringing four chefs to Dubai over a two-month period to engage in culinary diplomacy programming for the USA Pavilion. Prior to launching The Culinary Diplomacy Project in 2018, Lauren served as the Director of the Diplomatic Culinary Partnership at the U.S. Department of State. There, she played an integral role in recruiting high-profile chefs to support and engage in public diplomacy programming with U.S. Embassies abroad. Lauren also deliveredlogistical support for Presidential and Vice Presidential international summits, including the U.S.-Africa Leaders’ Summit, the Nuclear Security Summit, and the United Nations General Assembly in New York. Lauren was a Visiting Fellow at the University of Pennsylvania’s Perry World House for the 2022-2023 school year and she serves on the Meridian International Cultural Diplomacy Leadership Council. Lauren has also been interviewed for various books, podcasts and by media outlets, focused on culinary diplomacy and soft power diplomatic engagement. In addition to 10+ years of hands-on experience in culinary diplomacy, Lauren worked as a public defender representing indigent clients for over a decade and remains a member of the Bars of the District of Columbia and Commonwealth of Virginia. Lauren is based in Washington, D.C. and continues to work toward her goal of strengthening our communities and bridging the cultural divide one bite at a time.

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