The Foreign Service Journal, March 2019

YouthEmpowerment andFood forThought CHEF THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | MARCH 2019 45 William O’Connor is a public diplomacy-coned officer currently at Embassy Copenhagen. This is his fourth tour and third PD assignment. He has served in Estonia, the Philippines and Afghanistan. Originally from Venice Beach, California, he was a lawyer and speechwriter prior to joining the Foreign Service in 2009. Here’s a look inside an innovative culinary approach to social problems. BY WI L L I AM O ’CONNOR L ong before the Department of State began exploring the reaches of “culinary diplo- macy,” and well before the term entered our lexicon, civil and labor rights leader Cesar Chavez captured its essence: “If you really want to make a friend, go to someone’s house and eat with [them],” Chavez said. “The people who give you their food give you their heart.” On a cool evening in November 2017, Embassy Copenhagen did just that. We opened up Rydhave—the storied and magnificent chief of mission residence in Denmark—to an energized group of school children and to the Insurgo Project, an organization of restaurant With Vice News filming and Insurgo staff assisting, students crowd around the kitchen table to watch Chef Harold Villarosa, at right, demonstrate plating. Inset: Student chefs at work. ON CULINARY DIPLOMACY SPOTLIGHT IVANHALPERN/INSURGOPROJECT