The Founding Story
Hasan Özen, one of the founding members of the Gastronomic Society of Türkiye, recounts the founding story as follows:
"It was the year 1990. We were celebrating the 10th anniversary of my Çatı restaurant. In order to reintroduce forgotten dishes to our society, I organized a cooking competition under this title. My goal was to gather recipes that were not found in books, unwritten, and had not entered professional kitchens. As the jury, I invited the late Ergun Köknar, the late Tuğrul Şavkay, and the master of Turkish cuisine, Aydın Yılmaz, who are no longer with us today, but are remembered with gratitude and respect. Our conversations extended, and together we found an answer to the question, 'What can we do for Turkish cuisine?' We decided that those who love the kitchen, who are devoted to it, should come together. Eventually, the decision to establish a society was made. The main idea put forward by the founding members was the preservation, promotion, and support of our cuisine."
