ISTANBUL, Sept. 21 (Xinhua) -- World-renowned chefs, cooks, gastronomists, writers and academicians representing different culinary cultures gathered in Istanbul on Thursday for a cooking show.
The so-called "Gastronomist 2017," the first of its kind ever hosted in Turkey, was organized in the historic Sultanahmet Square in central Istanbul with the cooperation of the Turkish Ministry of Culture and Tourism and the city's Fatih district.
"During this four-day event, we would like to get to know the world's well-known traditional culinary cultures, observe their practices in kitchens closely and learn about their recipes," Mustafa Demir, Fatih's mayor, told Xinhua.
Turkey is also seeking to present the unique samples of its traditional culinary developed over a period of 2,000 years to the rest of the world, the mayor said.
For Cuneyt Asan, the owner of a chain of steak houses in Turkey, gastronomy is the most effective way of establishing links and bridges among countries and peoples around the world.
"The important thing here is the fact that we make friends," he said. "Otherwise you can cook whatever you want, wherever you want, that has not much significance."
To mark the opening ceremony, Asan had a whole beef cattle roasted on the spot in a specially-designed open-air oven for some five hours.
A variety of activities have been planned for the cooking show, including food presentations, panels, tasting workshops and presentations of recipes created by chefs of the guest countries including Italy, Spain, China and Japan.
