Arts & Wellbeing
Arts & Wellbeing at the Kennedy Center is an expanded focus on the intersection of art and science.
Nourish
Breaking Bread:
A Conversation on Gastro-Diplomacy with Alex Prud’homme and Kwame Onwuachi
Terrace Theater
In a special event by journalist and author Alex Prud’homme and Chef Kwame Onwuachi, explore the impact of food and its uses in cultural diplomacy across history and into the present. Moderated by Dr. Johanna Mendelson Forman.
Sat. Oct. 19, 2024
Sat. Oct. 19, 2024 7:30p.m.
Genre
Discussion/Spoken Word
Part of Series
View Digital Program

Alex Prud’homme Image Credit: Michael Lionstar
From state dinners and the Camp David Accords to picturing yourself “having a beer” with a presidential candidate, food is at the center of diplomacy.
In a special event with James Beard Award-winning chef and author Chef Kwame Onwuachi, and author of Dinner with the President and My Life in France Alex Prud’homme, we explore the impact of food and its uses in cultural diplomacy across history and into the present.
The way we gain understanding of new cultures, people, and traditions begins with breaking bread—and it’s scientifically proven. Food is not just the source of life; it can also be the source of change.
This event is moderated by Dr. Johanna Mendelson Forman, a premier expert on gastro-diplomacy.
Books will be available for purchase before and after the event from Bold Fork Books.
Speakers subject to change without notice.
Alex Prud’homme
Alex Prud’homme has been a nonfiction writer since 1988. As a journalist, he has covered a wide range of subjects for the New York Times, the New Yorker, Vanity Fair, Talk, Time, and other publications. As an author, he has written nine books on topics ranging from biotech to terrorism, fresh water, and—most of all—food.
Dr. Johanna Mendelson Forman
Johanna Mendelson Forman is a premier expert on gastrodiplomacy, social gastronomy, and how food is central to survival and resilience in the world’s most active conflict zones. Her groundbreaking work is derived from her distinguished career as a practitioner and policymaker working with the U.S. government, the United Nations, and the World Bank.
Kwame Onwuachi
Kwame Onwuachi is a James Beard Award–winning chef, and author of the critically acclaimed cookbook My America and the memoir Notes from a Young Black Chef, which is being turned into a feature film by A24. Onwauachi has been named one of Food & Wine’s Best New Chefs, Esquire Magazine’s Chef of the Year, and is a 30 Under 30 honoree by both Zagat and Forbes.
The Kennedy Center is a non-profit institution, and your tax-deductible gift helps expand our arts and education offerings throughout the country.
All events and artists subject to change without prior notice.
Arts & Wellbeing at the Kennedy Center is an expanded focus on the intersection of art and science.
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