Is it possible to reflect centuries of history in a single bite? Definitely so. This is the idea behind the newly aired program of the Turkish international broadcaster TRT World, titled “One Bite: Centuries in a Day.” The program, directed by Ezgi Otuz and presented by Elif Bereketli, is part of the Turkish Cuisine Week campaign that takes place between May 21 and 27. Launched to anchor global media coverage of Turkish cuisine, the program spends a day in Istanbul discovering what the city’s food reveals about its history in a single bite. Food is the storyteller here; every bite unveils a past that dates back thousands of years. The program explores how millennia of migration, cultural mixing, and deep-rooted traditions are distilled into single, profound culinary experiences of Turkish cuisine.
Istanbul, the food city
Istanbul has a fascinating history. Can you taste centuries of this history in a single day? In Istanbul, the answer is on the table before you even sit down. This is one of the only cities on earth where a breakfast table maps an entire geography. Where a palace recipe is still being argued over in a working kitchen. Where food is not preserved in museums, it is actively lived, questioned, and reinvented.
Where did this food come from? How did it become its own thing? What is it still saying? These are the questions one day in Istanbul set out to answer, because Turkish cuisine didn’t survive by being preserved. It survived because it never stopped absorbing geography, empire, migration, time and making everything it touched feel like it was always there.
The programmatic tagline, “Centuries in a day, in a single bite,” drives the narrative of exploring a city through its food, focusing on the concept that food is like a living historical map. Rather than a standard culinary travelogue, it explores food through dialogues with food experts, historians and chefs; me being the one who talks about the phenomenal Turkish breakfast, Turkish tea and coffee, and historian Özge Samancı talking about what classical Turkish cuisine is about and its Ottoman heritage.
Food represents heritage
Turkish Cuisine Week is celebrated annually with events across our country and around the world from May 21 to 27 under the patronage of Mrs. Emine Erdoğan. Now in its fifth year, the week aims at promoting Turkish cuisine worldwide, celebrated with various events taking place across Türkiye and at Turkish diplomatic missions and cultural centers around the world. The Ministry of Culture and Tourism of the Republic of Türkiye has announced the official theme of Turkish Cuisine Week 2026 as “Heritage at the Table.” The theme highlights the stories, memories, culture, traditions, and accumulated wisdom woven into our shared culinary heritage.
It invites food enthusiasts to reflect not only on the unique flavors we savor but also on the value of the shared heritage found at our tables. The message is simply about how our food represents our heritage. Our culinary culture is not a static entity. It is a collective body of knowledge shaped by shared production practices and communal life experiences that have evolved over time. The dining table, meanwhile, is the most tangible expression of this body of knowledge; it serves as a silent yet enduring platform for dialogue across eras, regions, and ways of life.
Food connects people
The statement “The table is the most ancient language of togetherness” reflects the theme’s central message: “Food connects people across time.” This year’s theme is explored across three conceptual layers: Dialogue — the table as a meeting ground where shared meanings from different eras and cultures are collectively built; Transformation — the culinary memory passed down from recipe to recipe, from generation to generation; and Archive — the kitchen, as the most reliable repository of unwritten history, coming to life anew every day at the table. This trifold concept is the backbone of all activities that will be performed throughout the week, reflected at all the tables set up for the occasion with the slogan “One Table, One Heritage!” and all the dishes are chosen accordingly.
This year’s selection features dishes that reflect both cultural richness and culinary mastery. “Keşkek” — a slow-cooked wheat and meat dish listed on the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage List — embodies a culture of shared celebration and the spirit of collective effort. Baklava symbolizes a craft requiring mastery and the transmission of traditions from one generation to the next but also reflects the imperial power of the Ottoman past through refinement of culinary skills in the Topkapı court kitchens. “Mantı” reflects themes of migration and travel; the tiny Turkish dumplings served with garlicky yogurt and sizzling chili butter embody a voyage to the central Asian roots of our culinary past. “Dolma” showcases the diversity within a shared culinary language and also about a technique that can be multiplied in countless variations and creations. The sweetest ending, “helva,” represents solidarity and memory through its symbolic significance. Even the choice of these representative dishes reflects the message of food connecting people across time and geographies.
All event materials, including menus, recipes, instructional videos, corporate identity materials, posters, and social media content, are available at turkishcuisineweek.com. The TRT World program titled “What Istanbul’s Food Tells You / One Bite” can be watched at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oe8DcsQGNwU
