Michelin-star chefs to train Harran’s women

ŞANLIURFA

Harran Kaymakamlığının öncülüğünde GAP Bölge Kalkınma İdaresi (BKİ) finansmanıyla ilçede yapımı tamamlanan Harran Gastronomi Merkezi hizmete girmeye hazırlanıyor.

World-famous Michelin-star chefs will train the women of the southeastern province of Şanlıurfa at the Harran Gastronomy Center, which recently opened in Harran district. Harran is on the tentative list of the UNESCO World Heritage and known for its conic-dome houses.

In the center, which was opened under the leadership of the Harran Governor’s Office and with the financing of the GAP Regional Development Administration, women will be trained by Michelin-star chefs as part of a program. Şanlıurfa’s unique dishes, made by Harran’s local women, will be promoted to wider masses.

A team of 10 people led by Gökmen Sözen, who has been organizing events in the gastronomy field in the world for 20 years, and made up of the cooking show producer Mehmet Yalçınkaya along with chefs, gastronomy writers and blog writers, have carried out examinations at center.

The sector representatives recently cooked and introduced local dishes with the women in Harran.

Within the scope of the program, set to start after the month of Ramadan, the women of Harran will take applied and theoretical training from the Michelin-star chefs and present their cooking skills to the visitors of the city.

Harran Governor Ömer Faruk Çelik said that the district was one of the first settlements in the world.

He said that the local and special dishes of the district would be presented and prepared in line with the people’s appeal.

“Harran is one of the first places where the seed was first planted. In the gastronomy journey, from the first seed to the point of the final consumption, we aim to find the best food and to serve it to people. Our goal is to ensure that our women, who are in the disadvantaged group, are trained by the most important Michelin Star chefs in the world and that our people get better food service in the region, which hosts an increasing number of people thanks to Göbeklitepe. We want to evaluate the centuries-old food culture of the region and to promote it to the world,” he added.

Sözen said that their goal was to promote the rich culture of the southeast in the gastronomy field.

“This year we host the world’s most important chefs in Gaziantep, Şanlıurfa and Diyarbakır. Because we care a lot about this route. Göbeklitepe and Harran also have a special importance this year. We will bring around 100 international writers and conductors all over the world known in the field of gastronomy. Our aim is to get them taste and recognize our local products. This region is already made up of the cities that have been registered by UNESCO with their tastes. Hatay, Gaziantep, Şanlıurfa, Mardin and Adıyaman are on a very important gastronomy route,” he added.

[HH] Return to local and natural products

Cook show producer Yalçınkaya said that Harran had a significant history in the food culture.

“The mosaic structure here makes us very excited. The world’s best restaurants serve local and natural products. People returned to local and natural products now. In this sense, the best place in Turkey is the Mesopotamia region, including Şanlıurfa, Gaziantep and Mardin. We need to benefit from this area better. This region can become a very good gastronomy route. We should not miss this opportunity. We need to contribute to the economy by marketing the products well here. Within the scope of the program, the Michelin-star chefs will cook in the gastronomy center. We have just seen the making of plain oil, which is unique here. This is a very old technique. There are many things to learn from women here and also there are things that we will teach them on how to use a product properly. In fact, we will exchange ideas with mutual win-win logic, so I believe that good things will happen,” Yalçınkaya said.
Şanlıurfa Tourism Development company director Mehmet Uncu said that the city had a busy tourism city thanks to the Year of Göbeklitepe.

“We will host well-known chefs in the city. Gastronomy tours will be made to the southeastern region. Thanks to this center, the people of the region will develop socially and economically. I believe that the city developing with agriculture and tourism and gastronomy is the best bridge between these common values,” he said.