A women’s cooperative operating a restaurant in the central province of Nevşehir’s Ürgüp district is supporting female university students with scholarships funded by its business revenue after being included in the Michelin Guide’s 2026 Türkiye selection under the “recommended restaurants” list.
The restaurant has been operating since 2018 under the Cappadocia Tık Tık Women’s Labor Production and Management Cooperative and serves home-style dishes, including traditional flavors from the Cappadocia region.
Women working at the cooperative prepare local specialties such as “Ürgüp meatballs,” “peravu,” “tık tık mantı,” “stuffed vine leaves” and “pumpkin seed noodles.” They take an active role in every stage, from production to presentation, contributing to the promotion of regional cuisine and local products.
Focusing on women’s labor and local gastronomy, the cooperative attracted international attention by being included among the Michelin Guide’s recommended restaurants for Türkiye in 2026.
“We have reached up to 35 students with scholarships this year,” said Hatice Ersoy, one of the cooperative’s managers.
Ersoy said the initiative began by gathering with women in their homes before evolving into an association and later a cooperative. She said their goal was to provide socioeconomic support for women in the district.
Ersoy noted that they started by supporting just a few students and have gradually expanded the scholarship program to reach 35 students this year. She added that the cooperative hosts local residents as well as domestic and foreign tourists, who also purchase packaged local products sold at the restaurant.
Stressing that they have received several awards over the years, Ersoy said being included in the Michelin Guide was a major source of pride and motivation. “We received awards every year, but being recognized by Michelin was the crowning achievement. We are the only women’s cooperative in the world to be included on the list,” she said.
Sevil Halıcı Ayhan said the cooperative received training through partnerships with the Ahiler Development Agency and Cappadocia University. She noted that 18 women work at the restaurant on a rotating basis and expressed their aim to increase the number of scholarship recipients to between 60 and 70 in the future.
