A joint publication by the Saudi British Joint Business Council, developed in partnership with Kitchen Theory
Robert McNamara, SBJBC Researcher and Chef Jozef Youssef, Kitchen Theory
Summary
A shared meal is one of the oldest instruments of relationship building, and it remains among the most reliable to break the ice and find common ground. Long before a contract is drafted or a memorandum signed, parties from different countries tend to meet across a table, and the character of that table shapes the trust on which later commercial decisions rest. This publication examines how food and dining are coming to influence cultural understanding, tourism, and inward investment across the United Kingdom and Saudi Arabia, at a moment when both the appetite for the exchange and the formal architecture supporting it have matured considerably.
The argument that follows is organised into three connected movements, each leading into the one after it. The first establishes why national cuisine has become a recognised instrument of soft power, drawing on the academic literature that has formalised the study of culinary diplomacy over the past two decades. The second turns to Saudi Arabia, where the ambitions of Vision 2030, the work of the Culinary Arts Commission, and the rapid development of a fine-dining sector have placed gastronomy near the centre of the Kingdom’s tourism and cultural strategy. The third addresses the commercial dimension, including the design of dining experiences that do not depend on alcohol, the etiquette that British firms encounter in the Saudi market, and the investment opportunities now open to operators, designers, educators, and experience studios. The article then closes with a case study of Al Maidah, the multisensory showcase of Saudi cuisine developed by Kitchen Theory with the Culinary Arts Commission, followed by a closing reflection from Chef Jozef Youssef. The case study demonstrates in a single project the themes that the earlier sections set out in principle.
Read the full report: [Food as a Bridge – Kitchen Theory x SBJBC]
