The Foreign Service Journal, March 2019

THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | MARCH 2019 43 15 percent of the population). In July 2017 the embassy hosted a group of Afro-Panamanian chefs at the ambassador’s residence for a kitchen takeover and invited 25 members of the elite social class to enjoy food andmusic and celebrate their own talented youth. Further, Super Chef 2018 received the most private sector con- tributions to date, including a sponsored trip to Atlanta, Georgia, fromDelta Airlines for the winning chef to participate in hospitality training courses. Delta’s head chef participated as a guest judge in 2018 and has personally expressed interest in expanding this program to other countries in the region as part of Delta’s commit- ment to corporate social responsibility. Creation of the Super Chef model from scratch took a lot of work—and it almost didn’t happen, despite the fact that it was launched in the heyday of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s culinary diplomacy program. Originally, Washington public diplo- macy experts opposed the program; they thought it frivolous and could not see how it related to the mission to share American poli- cies and values with foreign audiences. Officials inWashington, D.C., recommended ending the experiment or shifting to a simple culinary exchange program. Fortunately, Panama’s deputy chief of mission at the time, a seasoned public diplomacy expert, defended the program, recog- nizing its potential. The culinary exchange program that Washing- ton originally wanted is now carried out by partner Delta Airlines. Meanwhile, using few resources, the embassy regularly shares American values and educational programs with thousands, not just a lucky few travelers. Spreading the Super Chef Model Other countries and embassies around the world should con- sider the Super Chef recipe for success. In the Dominican Repub- lic, the USAID At-Risk Youth project Alerta Joven offers an excellent framework for implementing the model to connect vulnerable youth fromdisadvantaged communities to the growing tourism industry and promote culinary tourism. A Super Chef program could help inspire success in the often-elusive goal of “graduation,” in which USAID programs are passed on to local entities for sup- port and continued success. In Panama, there is little doubt that the success and popularity of such soft-power programs supported the successful graduation of USAID programs in 2012. Today, programs like Youth Outreach Centers and Ponte En Algo continue to do well—without USAID funding. In countries like Tunisia and Egypt, which have strong culinary and tourism industries but also suffer from violent extremism, a Super Chef program could help expand opportunities for young people and diminish the siren call from groups like ISIS and al-