Emine Errdoğan Attended the Balıkesir Gastronomy Festival as Part of "Turkish Cuisine Week
Emine Erdoğan Attended the Balıkesir Gastronomy Festival as Part of “Turkish Cuisine Week”
Organized under the auspices of the Presidency and with the support of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, Turkish Cuisine Week (21–27 May) began with the Balıkesir Gastronomy Festival, attended by Emine Erdoğan, the wife of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, and Minister of Culture and Tourism Mehmet Nuri Ersoy.
Turkish Cuisine Week will be celebrated every year with a different theme in 81 provinces of Türkiye and around the world through embassies, consulates, and overseas cultural offices.
Within the scope of the week, the book “Turkish Cuisine with Century-Old Recipes”, prepared under the auspices of the Presidency and led by Emine Erdoğan, was introduced to promote Turkish cuisine internationally.
Speaking at the opening ceremony of the festival held in the Edremit district, Emine Erdoğan stated that the beauties of Balıkesir are countless. She emphasized that Turkish cuisine is already known around the world but deserves even greater recognition with its deep history and wide culinary diversity.
Emphasizing that gastronomy has become an important cultural and diplomatic tool, Emine Erdoğan noted that concepts such as gastro-culture, gastro-tourism, and gastro-diplomacy demonstrate the growing influence of cuisine. She stated that Turkish cuisine, with its rich variety and historical heritage, has the potential to become one of the world’s leading cuisines.
After the speeches, the chef coat ceremony for first-year students of the Gastronomy and Culinary Arts Department of Balıkesir University Burhaniye Faculty of Applied Sciences was held. Emine Erdoğan personally dressed the chef coat of student representative Melisa Selen and later took photos with the students and participants.
Following the ceremony, Emine Erdoğan joined renowned chefs and local women in a cooking workshop prepared in the garden of a historic olive oil factory. During the workshop, she helped prepare “Seferberlik çöreği”, a traditional pastry from Savaştepe, together with chef Ömür Akkor and baker Fatma Erdil.
Later, together with chef Asuman Kerkez and farmer Nuray Bozdağ, she prepared “hırçikli bulgur köftesi,” a dish made from dried vegetable peels from the Malatya region, emphasizing the importance of an “zero-waste kitchen.”
In the final part of the cooking event, Emine Erdoğan prepared “root vegetable börek” with chef Mehmet Yalçınkaya and local producer Emine Keskin.
After the workshop, Emine Erdoğan visited the Turkish cuisine stands at Güre Beach together with Minister Mehmet Nuri Ersoy. At the stands, where local dishes, street foods, and geographical indication products such as olive oil, cheese, and honey from Balıkesir were introduced, she tasted several products and received information from the exhibitors.
Stands featuring zero-waste cuisine, local clothing, and natural products made from Kaz Mountains plants such as soap, vinegar, tea, and shampoo also attracted attention.
The event concluded with the promotion of the book “Turkish Cuisine with Century-Old Recipes,” prepared under the auspices of the Presidency with the support of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, aiming to introduce Turkish cuisine to the international arena.
