Nordic cuisine as a tool of Nation Brand

Abstract

New Nordic cuisine has been studied with the main objective to contribute to the research field of integrating the Norwegian food culture into the nation branding of Norway. The study conducts a detailed description of "New Nordic" food concept; the theoretical framework of nation branding, public diplomacy, and soft power; government’s statements of the Norway destination strategies and text analysis of Norwegian media. This has been examined with the aim of describing the ways of Norwegian gastronomic promotion and studying the role of New Nordic cuisine in it. The findings show that there is a significant need for creating a clearly defined nation gastronomic strategy in order to be able to improve nation brand and obtain soft power.