Hatay's Tastes Are Opening to the World with BigChefs!

BigChefs, which has decided to support the cities that are on the UNESCO World Heritage List, will make the world taste the unique flavors of Hatay, the cradle of civilizations. In the project developed in cooperation with Hatay Metropolitan Municipality, flavors selected from over 600 Hatay flavors will be included in the 2022 spring-summer menu with BigChefs interpretation. With the project, both the awareness of our gastronomy culture will be increased and local producers will be supported.

BigChefs has signed a collaboration that will introduce Turkish cuisine and gastronomy culture to the whole world by adding a new one to its projects that have a social impact. The first guest of BigChefs this season, which has decided to support cities that are on the UNESCO World Heritage List, is Hatay, the city of civilizations.

A press launch was held to present the details of the project, which was realized in cooperation with Hatay Metropolitan Municipality, hosted by Hatay Metropolitan Mayor Assoc. Dr. Lütfü Savaş , BigChefs Founding Partner Gamze Cizreli , and BigChefs CEO Altan Kosova . Numerous business owners from the food and beverage sector also attended the meeting, which was held at the Hatay UNESCO Gastronomy House.

Hatay Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Assoc. Dr. Lütfü Savaş described the project, which will contribute greatly to the economy, gastronomy and culture of the city, as "a very important step for the flavors, accumulation and culinary culture of our city". Reminding that Hatay's work on the “Turkey's Taste Corner” brand continues, Savaş said, “The flavors and scents rising from Hatay's cuisine will be on the menu of BigChefs, one of the world's leading restaurants. With this valuable cooperation, the tastes left by civilizations will meet BigChefs customers in world cities. In this way, our UNESCO-approved cuisine will be one step ahead.” Expressing his belief that Hatay flavors will contribute to BigChefs flavors, Savaş stated that their cuisine carries the traces of 13 civilizations of thousands and hundreds of years.

Emphasizing the value of collaborations for the proper promotion of Hatay cuisine, Savaş stated, “This collaboration is crucial for the accurate promotion and recognition of our cuisine both domestically and internationally. We will demonstrate that we deserve the title of "Gastronomy City" with our unique flavors to our guests from different parts of the world at EXPO 2021 Hatay, which will begin on April 1st. I would like to express my sincere thanks to Gamze Cizreli, the Founding Partner of BigChefs , her managers, and the valuable chefs of BigChefs, who have made a great contribution to the realization of this project.”

BigChefs Co-Founder Gamze Cizreli thanked Hatay Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Assoc. Dr. While thanking Lütfü Savaş, he said:

“It was our duty to introduce the rich and delicious cuisine of Hatay, which has lived in peace and tranquility for years and hosted many civilizations, as a growing chain in the world. In this context, we signed a very valuable cooperation with Hatay Metropolitan Municipality. The flavors we choose from Hatay cuisine will be interpreted by our chefs and included in the BigChefs 2022 spring-summer menu. We also made a call to our Hatay Metropolitan Municipality Mayor to contribute to the export of these unique flavors. For this purpose, we will start by including a few products from the Hatay menu in our overseas branches. With our menu consisting of Hummus, Babagannuş, Zahter Salad, Semirsek, Oruk, Squeezed Cheese, Firik Rice, Paper Kebab, Crispy Pumpkin Dessert with Tahini, we will offer our guests a very special eating and drinking experience. At the same time, we will supply Hatay's local products from our local producers. I hope that this valuable project will grow exponentially with the support of our other colleagues in the sector, and our ancient gastronomy culture will find the value it deserves. This is a beginning; After Hatay, we will continue this project in other cities that are included in the UNESCO World Heritage, such as Afyon and Konya.”

Source: HORECA Trend and BigChefs