26 August — WTCA/TMDH Institutional Chefs' Day Proposal and Commemorative Framework

Abstract

On these grounds the report argues that 26 August, and the week of 26-30 August, are the dates with a counterpart in national memory for Turkish cuisine and Turkish chefs. It is published as WTCA’s reasoned institutional assessment, grounded in the historical and cultural sources cited by the report.

Historical foundations

• 26 August 1071, Manzikert. Under Sultan Alp Arslan the Great Seljuk army prevailed over the Byzantine forces. The report treats this as the final and permanent entry of the Turks into Anatolia, and as the ground on which the culinary culture took root in this geography.
• 26 August 1922, the Great Offensive. The offensive opened from Kocatepe under Commander-in-Chief Mustafa Kemal Atatürk and brought the occupation to an end.
• 30 August 1922, Victory Day. The Battle of Dumlupınar consolidated national independence, and with it the conditions under which Turkish cuisine could be preserved as a distinct cultural identity.

The theses of the report

Thesis 1

The significance of a commemorative day must rest on the historical memory, struggles for independence and cultural foundations of the nation concerned, rather than on determinations of foreign origin.

Thesis 2

Without national independence it is largely impossible for a national culinary culture to sustain its existence while preserving its authentic identity.

Thesis 3

The report cites registrations of geographically indicated products such as Antep baklava, Kayseri mantı and Ezine cheese as contemporary illustrations of internationally documented Turkish culinary products.

Thesis 4

The report argues that, for Turkish cuisine and Turkish chefs, the date with the strongest historical and cultural foundation is 26 August.

Thesis 5

The presence of Turkish cuisine in the international field of gastronomy is among the outcomes of those same foundations; attempts to appropriate products of Turkish cuisine are resisted from that basis.

Thesis 6

WTCA's institutional analysis proposes that, assessed academically, 26 August is the choice resting most strongly on historical continuity and cultural foundation.

Examination of the alternative dates

Two dates have circulated under the title of Chefs' Day. The report examines both and finds neither defensible for Turkish cuisine.

• 15 April marks the beginning of Tourism Week and has no direct relation to culinary culture.
• 20-21 October is of foreign origin and has no established connection to Turkish culinary history.

The report frames the test as a question of method: a commemorative date should have a counterpart in national memory, represent historical continuity, and be defensible on scientific and cultural grounds. It records that no satisfactory answer has been given as to the historical or cultural basis of the alternative dates, or as to the coherence of observing the same commemoration more than once in a year.

Recommendations of the report

• That universities and research institutions treat the history of Turkish cuisine in the context of 26-30 August through courses and seminars, and that courses on culinary culture, culinary history and independence be introduced.
• That the date be reflected in official calendars and that culinary programmes be organised during it. The report presents this as a recommendation to third parties; any subsequent adoption is documented separately when supported by the relevant source.
• That Turkish cuisine weeks be observed internationally between 26 and 30 August, with the participation of diplomatic missions and diaspora institutions. The report presents this as an institutional proposal; any subsequent adoption or participation is documented separately when supported by the relevant source.
• That chefs, culinary professionals and gastronomy students hold events on these dates.

References