Food is not only culture, it’s diplomacy: Leah Selim at TEDxGowanus

Leah Selim is a co-founder of Global Kitchen, a social enterprise that hosts immigrant-led cooking classes to promote cultural exchange and awareness through food. In her recent TEDx talk, she discussed how food, identity, environment and politics intersect - contributing to a larger concept known as “gastrodiplomacy“. It is through the communal act of sharing food that ideas can be exchanged freely, an essential first step in growing a community. For more talks from TEDxGowanus, please visit In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. At a TEDx event, TEDTalks video and live speakers combine to spark deep discussion and connection in a small group. These local, self-organized events are branded TEDx, where x = independently organized TED event. The TED Conference provides general guidance for the TEDx program, but individual TEDx events are self-organized.* (*Subject to certain rules and regulations)