Un article interessant :
Good Luck, Dear Taiwan !
C'est la bonne voie ! Faites la bouffe, pas la guerre !
Extraits :
- "It is diplomacy by dim sum, a brand of international relations that relies less on fusty summits than on fine dining."
- "A number of countries have concluded that when it comes to selling their image and their goods to the British public, there is no more effective way to win hearts and minds than through the stomach."
- "Taiwan has become the latest country to launch a diplomatic drive based around its national cuisine. President Ma Ying-jeou has ordered his envoys to start talking the language of food by launching a £20m "gastro-diplomacy" campaign in the UK and elsewhere."
- "Taiwan's consulate in London is hoping to make dishes such as "stinky tofu" and oyster omelette the stars of a diplomatic drive to differentiate the country from its giant and sometimes antagonistic neighbour, China, and to end the perception that Taiwan is little more than the mass-production workshop of the world."
- ""People feel warm around food," said Steve Chen, Taiwan's economic consul in London, over dumplings and bubble tea, a Taiwanese drink featuring chewy black pearls of tapioca and sweet potato starch which he hopes will become a hit with the UK's coffee drinking set. "It touches your heart, and that is what we want."
- ""It is completely different to the image we have had as a centre of industrial production. Our most important job was to promote the hi-tech industries, but that is changing and the government in Taipei has decided that the food industry is the most important item to promote, because we need to make clear there is something unique about Taiwan.""
- "There are hints of a more political intent, and one goal is to use food to ensure the world understands the difference between Taiwan and mainland China. Taiwan is often treated as wayward province by China."
- ""Taiwan has figured out it can do better outreach work through the kitchen table," said Paul Rockower, a visiting fellow at the Taiwan Foundation for Democracy, who is studying gastro-diplomacy. "When someone tries a sea-salt latte [a Taiwanese drink] it creates awareness about Taiwanese culture [...].""
- Stinky tofu anyone?
- "Stinky tofu :
- A form of fermented tofu with – don't say you weren't warned – a strong smell. Popular in east and south-east Asia, particularly Hong Kong, Taiwan and China, where it is found at night markets or roadside stands, or as a side dish in lunch bars."
- "Bubble tea :
- Otherwise known as pearl milk tea, this sweet beverage created in Taiwan usually contains a tea base mixed with fruit and or milk as well as small tapioca balls or pearls called boba. The tea is shaken to mix the ingredients, creating a foam on the top of some varieties, hence the name."
