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Corum, in northern Türkiye, plans to submit its bid to join the UNESCO Creative Cities Network in gastronomy by year-end, joining Hatay, Gaziantep, and Afyonkarahisar if successful, officials said at a project review meeting Monday.
Mayor Halil Ibrahim Asgin said the bid is the next step for the Gastro Corum Project, an eight-month campaign to put the city’s cuisine on the national map, and that Corum could finish the lengthy process ahead of rival cities.
Corum Governor Ali Calgan said at the meeting that Corum’s place on the network’s list would bring major long-term benefits to the city.
He added that since the Gastro Corum Project began, people from across Türkiye have called him to ask about Corum’s dishes. “With the right moves at the right points, we have arrived at a good place,” he said.
Calgan said he is certain the best is yet to come, with Corum’s cuisine set to be showcased first to Türkiye and then to the world.
Asgin also stressed that they are determined to join the UNESCO Creative Cities Network.
Asgin noted that Corum ranks ninth in Türkiye in arable land, is an important industrial center with $6.2 billion in exports, has 8,000 years of archaeological history, and is home to a Super Lig club, Türkiye’s top football league.
“We want gastronomy to be the same,” he said. “If there are three to five cities that must be mentioned when it comes to gastronomy in Türkiye, we want Corum’s magnificent gastronomy not to be overlooked,” Asgin added.
Asgin said the eight-month-old Gastro Corum Project has already put Corum’s cuisine on the national radar.
Pointing out that joining the network is a long process, Asgin said that with the contribution of all the city’s stakeholders, they could complete the process ahead of their rivals.
“So what will happen once we get this result?” Asgin asked. “Corum, with its known history of 8,000 years and as the first capital of Anatolia, should reach, God willing, not a maximum of 100,000 tourists but 400,000 to 500,000 in the medium or long term, and later millions, along with the development of tourism infrastructure,” he said.
Asgin added that, under the project, they will soon launch major initiatives, including establishing a gastronomy library and a culinary arts center in Corum, having Michelin-starred chefs train local chefs, and translating the recipes found on Hittite tablets.
The Hittites were an ancient civilization that ruled much of Anatolia, the Asian part of Türkiye, more than 3,000 years ago.
Hittite University Rector Prof. Dr. Ali Osman Ozturk, the head of the university, said the university, a stakeholder in the project, contributes through its students, gastronomy departments, and archaeology and anthropology experts.
Corum Chamber of Commerce and Industry Acting President Omer Altikardes said Corum has significant potential not only in trade and industry but also in gastronomy, and that the project will bring this potential to light.
Recep Gur, president of the Union of Chambers of Tradesmen and Craftsmen, said they are working to ensure the project’s success.
Adnan Sahin, a local cuisine researcher, author and adviser to the Gastro Corum Project, said no journalists or participants were paid for the project’s events. He added that the eight-month-old initiative has organized many events in a short time.
Eray Cetinkaya, director of culture, arts and social affairs at Corum Municipality, presented the work carried out under the project at the meeting, where dishes and products protected by geographical indication (GI) were on display.
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