‘Mother recipes’ integrated into gastronomy high school curriculum
Gastronomy high schools across Türkiye have begun putting “mother recipes,” traditional home-cooked dishes passed down within families, into practice as part of a broader effort to preserve culinary heritage.
Education Minister Yusuf Tekin announced the move at a large-scale student gastronomy event and competition, which brought together 1,221 students from vocational high schools from the country’s 81 provinces. Held in Istanbul, the competition highlighted a multidimensional approach that combined technical culinary skills with cultural memory, discipline, aesthetics, tradition and innovation within a single framework.
Speaking at the award ceremony, Tekin stressed ongoing efforts to enhance the attractiveness of vocational and technical education while reinforcing students’ connection to national and moral values.
He underlined that culinary arts constitute a key channel of cultural transmission, encompassing not only cooking techniques but also presentation, table etiquette, preparation practices and hospitality traditions.
