23 May 2024

A plethora of flavours, some sour, cucumbers mixed with yoghurt and herbs, nuts, cheese, olives, flat bread’s and eggplant are some of the foods and ingredients you will find in a Turkish cuisine.

Launching the Turkish cuisine week in Gaborone on Tuesday, Ambassador Ahmet Idem Akay said they aimed to promote their food, flavours and recipes, especially from the Aegean region, the western part of the country.

He said they would organise a workshop at Gaborone College of Culinary Arts where a top Turkish chef, Tolga Guner, would give cooking lessons. He said chef Guner would also cook Turkish cuisine at the Hilton Garden Inn up to May 26 as part of the week-long celebrations.

Ambassador Idem Akay said each nation’s cuisine represented its cultural identity, and that one of the most effective ways of introducing one’s country was through food to the foreigner.

He said Turkish cuisine was a treasure trough dating back centuries and combined historical experiences.

Chef Guner said the dishes that he planned to prepare at the Hilton Garden Inn and Gaborone Culinary College to commemorate the cuisine week were different from the ones he presented at the launch.

He said the dishes and menus were influenced by the Aegean cuisine, but that it was not easy to find some ingredients locally. He added that they specifically chose menus that had ingredients available in the local market.

The 30-year-old chef said Tswana cuisine such as Seswaa was similar to how they also cooked some beef dishes.  ENDS