A century-old battlefield diet from World War I has been brought back to life in Türkiye’s northwestern province of Çanakkale province, as academics and students reinterpreted the meals served to Ottoman soldiers during the Gallipoli Campaign.
The project was launched by Çanakkale Onsekiz Mart University to mark Jan. 9, 1916 — The date Allied forces withdrew from Gallipoli. Led by scholars from the university’s gastronomy, history and war studies departments, it sought to correct widespread misconceptions that frontline soldiers fought while undernourished.
Researchers examined more than 1,400 archival documents, including wartime journals, military orders and commanders’ reports to reconstruct what Ottoman troops actually ate. The findings revealed that soldiers were supplied with structured, protein-based meals whenever conditions allowed, supported by a disciplined logistics system.
Using original ingredients documented in the archives, the team recreated the menu at the Dardanos Culinary Academy with modern culinary techniques.
The dishes included hardtack bread with butter, flour-based soup flavored with local herbs, chickpeas and roasted meat served on rice cakes, broth-soaked breat with olives, dried fruit desserts and orange-based refreshments.
Oranges, once shipped in crates from Anatolian villages, were particularly valued for maintaining soldiers’ health at a time when fresh produce was scarce.
The reconstructed menu was served to senior military officials, diplomats and academics.
University Rector Cüneyt Erenoğlu said the project demonstrated that Ottoman commanders were held accountable for troop welfare, noting that officers who failed to ensure proper nutrition could be reprimanded or removed.
Project coordinators emphasized that the initiative used gastronomy as a historical lens into the time.
“Ottoman soldiers were not left hungry,” said instructor Emre Mümin. “Food was a strategic necessity, not an afterthought.”
Tea was really important during breakfast, he said. “We even found they drank tea through porcelain cups.”
