Turkish chefs showed the tastes of Turkey in Kazan

Turkish chefs, who introduced Turkey's culture, culinary delights and halal food to foreigners at international fairs, displayed their skills this time in Kazan, the capital of Tatarstan.

As part of the cultural program of the 14th Kazan Forum, of which Anadolu Agency (AA) is a global communication partner, Islamic Cuisine Days and International Chefs Cup were organized.

In the competition held in Kazan, the chefs cooked in various categories in groups. According to the scores of the 35-member jury formed by the World Islamic Chefs Union, the winners were given their trophies at the end of the day. At the closing ceremony, the Tatarstan team won the first place cup, while the Azerbaijan and Algeria teams took the second place. Chefs from Türkiye, Uzbekistan and Iran shared the third place in the competition.

Halal foods showcased

All Cooks and Pastry Confederation (TAŞPAKON) Chairman Öner Çulfaz told Anadolu Agency (AA) that only halal products were used in the competition and that they aimed to introduce halal fairs and halal food to the world.

Çulfaz stated that the widespread use of the concept of halal abroad paves the way for companies selling these products, and stated that they can reach people who want to eat halal products in a foreign country more quickly.

Stating that they exhibit the diversity of Turkish cuisine through fairs in all provinces of Turkey and abroad, Çulfaz said:

"We came to Kazan with 16 national chefs from Turkey. Besides Turkey, we brought 14 countries including Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Russia, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia and Jordan. From now on, we will exhibit our dishes all over the world as a team and confederation. This is our second competition abroad. We did the first one in Kosovo, so it's growing slowly. It was a slightly smaller competition in Kosovo. From now on, we will go to Uzbekistan, Germany and the USA with the same concept. Our aim is to introduce Turkish cuisine and get to know the cuisine of the country we are visiting."

"Çiğköfte is our Mascot"

Çulfaz informed that as the confederation, they organized approximately 70 cooking competitions in various provinces of Turkey and noted that they wanted to participate in more events abroad.

Emphasizing that 'Çiğköfte' were very popular at the event, Çulfaz said, "Çiğköfte has become our mascot. We take it everywhere. We want people to taste our Çiğköfte and baklava. We want people to hear about Çiğköfte, doner kebabs and juicy dishes abroad."

They tasted the flavors of Turkish cuisine

In the competition, it was seen that the visitors showed great interest in the Çiğköfte and formed a queue to taste the it.

University student Kseniya Popova stated that the Çiğköfte were very unique and said, "I liked it very much. It was spicy and very tasty. It was the first time I ate Çiğköfte. I had eaten pancakes before and I liked it very much. I definitely eat pancakes every time I go to Turkey and I recommend it to everyone."

Rustem Azanov, one of the students, said that he finds Turkish food delicious and that he especially likes baklava.