Turkish Cuisine Week
Timeless, Sustainable: Turkish Cuisine is Back on the World Stage!
Shaped by more than a thousand years of cultures and traditions, social heritage and stories, Turkish cuisine presents its distinctive and diverse flavours to the world during Turkish Cuisine Week, 21-27 May. In its second year, Turkish Cuisine Week introduces Türkiye's rich gastronomic culture to a broad audience at home and abroad through the representations of the Republic of Türkiye. This important seven-day event features unique recipes from timeless Turkish cuisine while highlighting the sustainability of an age-old culinary tradition where pots have been boiling with the philosophy of zero waste for millennia.
Unique examples from Turkish cuisine are presented within the scope of Turkish Cuisine Week. This year's special menu consists of local dishes from the cuisine of Hatay.
Included in the UNESCO Creative Cities Network in gastronomy, the city of Antakya in Hatay province has long been world-renowned for its diverse cuisine. Featuring more than 650 dishes, Hatay's gastronomy is a Mediterranean cuisine characterized by fresh vegetables, quality olive oil, and legumes and cereals. Hatay menu, showcased in this year's international events, includes flatbread with red pepper paste, olive salad, hummus, kısır (fine bulgur salad), oven-baked kebap and künefe (Kadayıf dessert with cheese).
During Turkish Cuisine Week, numerous dishes reflecting timeless and sustainable Turkish cuisine will be prepared with local ingredients and traditional cooking techniques. Events held across Türkiye's 81 provinces will showcase all aspects of Turkish cuisine, including Turkish coffee, Turkish tea, and Turkish delight.
Rich Cuisine Shaped Over Millennia
Nourished by the interaction of different cultures in a historical process exceeding thousands of years, Turkish cuisine brings deep-rooted traditions to the present day, benefiting from the favourable climate and diverse flora and fauna of the fertile geography of Türkiye. The Turkish taste heritage, shaped by countless civilizations such as the Seljuks and the Ottomans, is among the richest cuisines in the world, featuring traditional recipes, healthy and waste-free tables, and a timeless identity. Consisting of original tastes prepared with local products in almost every region of the country, Turkish cuisine supports healthy and balanced nutrition through its rich biodiversity, high-quality natural products and different storage and cooking techniques. In addition, Turkish food, which draws on a wide variety of field-to-table vegetables and fruits, has numerous vegetarian and vegan nutrition options. With these characteristics, Turkish cuisine draws attention to its existing and potential synergy with diverse dining and drinking trends.
Turkish cuisine is naturally waste-free, with recipes that use every component of each product and stand out with a sustainable structure. Meals are prepared without wasting ingredients, and tables are laden with healing specialties such as vinegar and pickles that are made of food scraps. The transformation of potential food waste into edible delicacies reveals a gastronomic tradition that preserves biodiversity and is ecologically sustainable. Turkish cuisine also stands out due to its cultural sustainability – featuring dining and drinking rituals formed around feelings of unity and solidarity. Tables, where the entire family gathers and guests are accepted as guests of God, bring together people of all ages, conditions and social classes, playing an essential role in social cohesion. Traditional tables are one manifestation of the generosity of the Turkish people, their love of sharing and solidarity, and a daily life-affirming culture that has existed for thousands of years. Turkish cuisine, also an essential component of Türkiye's intangible social heritage, guarantees the transfer and sustainability of cultural heritage to new generations in this respect.