Past forward in Cappadocia

Cappadocia (Kapadokya in Turkish) is the pearl of tourism in Turkey. It is an unmatched tourism destination with its balloons floating in the sky, almost extraterrestrial fairy chimneys, and unique natural and historical assets. But what about the gastronomy angle? Unfortunately, despite the rich food and wine heritage of the region, this culture has never been brought to tourism. Hopefully in the near future, with the efforts of Kapadokya University (KÜN), the food culture of the region might be another reason to visit Cappadocia.

Cappadocia has always been the locomotive of tourism in Turkey. Once upon a time, the grand Turkey tour started with a quick visit to Istanbul, then the jewel of the Anatolian leg was always Cappadocia, continuing with Pamukkale/Hierapolis and Kuşadası/Ephesus. This was the must-do standard culture tour route. Unfortunately, it was not possible to talk about gastronomy tourism at any of the stops, including the Istanbul leg, but those were the days when food was not really the motive to travel. Istanbul has now become a gastronomy destination with a wide variety of eating and drinking opportunities ranging from fine dining to street food. Kuşadası and Pamukkale are no longer the preferred absolute stops. However, in the Cappadocia region, which still maintains its primary importance as a major destination in tourism, the gastronomy angle is yet to develop, many properties cater international standard fare and the choices to get to know the local food are scarce, apart from a few individual efforts. It is not the lack of food culture here, on the contrary, the region has plenty to taste and sip and discover, but it is the shortfall of the tourism sector that did not bother to put the regional tastes to the table.

When it comes to the cuisine of the Cappadocia region, there is a wide spectrum as the term encompasses several provinces. The provinces and districts of Aksaray, Kayseri, Kırşehir, Nevşehir and Niğde are within the boundaries of Cappadocia, each having an extremely rich culinary heritage. Moreover, the culinary culture of not only these lands but also the immigrants who came with the population exchange between Turkey and Greece and migrants from the Balkans is deeply rooted here. So we are talking about a very diverse and rich culture, the local dishes and artisanal products of the Cappadocia region are worth exploring, and the gastronomy angle can easily be annexed to the extraordinary natural and historical heritage as a magnet to attract visitors with its deep-rooted diverse food culture, and especially viticulture, vineyard products from vine leaves to wine, from grape molasses to dried grapes and “köftür,” a local confectionary sort of a gelled grape must which I call the ancestor of Turkish Delight.
However, despite this rich heritage, for some reason, gastronomy has always been in the background, and mediocrity prevailed, food here has been like nothing to write home about, which we used to call simply as tourist fare.

Now there is hope for the future. Kapadokya University carries out studies in order to bring the food culture, which is an important part of the cultural heritage of the region, to the light of day. Kapadokya University started to provide education in the field of gastronomy with the two-year cookery associate degree program opened in 2005, and soon after launched undergraduate and post-graduate programs. In addition to this professional practice-oriented curriculum, the Department of Gastronomy and Culinary Arts was established in 2018 and is structured in a way that will simultaneously provide its students with both business and culinary skills in the F&B sector. The department, which will give diplomas to its first graduates this year, also aims to focus on the regional culinary culture, parallel to international cuisines. This is almost “breaking news,” a very important attempt to initiate an interest in local tastes, and in the long term, it will be extremely vital for the sustainability of the food culture and agricultural practices in the whole region. Plus, having a good command of the culinary culture in the region and having a thorough understanding of local ingredients will be an asset for graduates, who will have job opportunities and continue their professional careers in the region. They will help to build the future, sustain the food culture and aid the local producers by being in direct contact with them.

Of course, education is not the only solution. Permanent publications, research and documentation projects are also very important. Recognizing this shortcoming and seeing the issue as a social responsibility, KÜN also aims to make publications that will provide a reference source for the local recipes. With the collaboration of the Gastronomy and Culinary Arts and Cookery Departments, they have already published a book titled “Gastronomy Heritage: Cappadocia Dishes” in 2021 from KÜN publications, alas only available in Turkish for now. Within the scope of the “Cappadocia Gastronomy Inventory Project,” the gastronomic products of the region are documented and recipes are collected, all researched in relation to their histories and stories. They are also trying to put them into a website, https://gastrocappadocia.com, for public access. These are only baby steps, but a huge leap to bring gastronomy as an asset, as part of intangible cultural heritage. Hopes for the future growth with the bright young people who are graduates of KÜN and the values of the past will be carried to the future with them. So now we can start to talk about the past forward in Cappadocia.