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In Sofia, a gala dinner held under the auspices of the Turkish Embassy brought together Bulgarian Deputy Prime Minister Aleksandar Pulev, Interior Minister Ivan Demerdzhiev and former Prime Minister Simeon Sakskoburggotski.
Chef Ebru Baybara Demir prepared the evening's menu, drawing on centuries-old recipes from all seven regions of Anatolia, including UNESCO-listed keskek and Gaziantep's geographically certified siveydi.
From Sofia, the journey moves east to Madrid, where Turkish Cuisine Week took on a dual identity.
At the Museo del Traje, Spanish photographer Pio Cabanillas unveiled an exhibition titled "Rock, refuge, faith, life," a collection of images shot across Cappadocia, Mardin and Sanliurfa.
Visitors moved from the gallery walls directly to tables set with yaprak sarma, mercimek kofte, baklava and sutlac—a pairing of visual and culinary culture under one roof.
The Balkans added another chapter in Shkoder, Albania, where the Turkish Embassy in Tirana and the Yunus Emre Institute co-hosted the week's events.
The route crosses the Mediterranean and arrives in Doha, where the Turkish Embassy hosted Qatari officials, chefs, gastronomy writers and journalists at its compound.
Guests participated in hands-on manti and sarma workshops, preparing traditional dishes alongside Turkish cooks.
In Abu Dhabi, the fifth consecutive Turkish Cuisine Week reception was hosted by Ambassador Lutfullah Goktas.
Diplomatic mission representatives and Turkish nationals gathered on the evening of May 21 for a dinner designed to build awareness of Turkish culinary heritage.
Guests departed with a gift kit containing traditional recipes alongside the dishes they had sampled—a continuation of the table beyond the evening itself.
Astana brought the week's most cross-cultural menu.
Chefs Ali Ronay, Gokhan Celik and Hakan Dogan presented a program titled "Two voices of the same dough," placing Anatolian lamb manti and Central Asian manti side by side on the same plate.
The menu also featured yaprak sarma, keskek, lamb tandiri and pistachio baklava rolls.
In Dakar, Ambassador Dilsad Kirbasli Karaoglu hosted a two-day program at the Turkish Embassy residence.
Senegalese guests were served olive oil-dressed yaprak sarma, mixed dolma, gavurdag salad, oruk kebabi and pistachio baklava.
Buenos Aires hosted three days of events organized by the Yunus Emre Institute. Chefs Idris Guler and Ilgi Isik introduced Argentine gastronomy professionals, students and journalists to hunkar begendi, sour cherry yaprak sarma, baklava and peynir helvasi.
Back in Türkiye, Trabzon anchored the week's domestic program with an event titled "Four Cities, One Heritage.”
Nearly 100 dishes were prepared using geographically certified regional cheeses from Trabzon, Rize, Gumushane and Artvin — products of high-altitude farms where traditional production methods have been passed down from one generation to the next.
The gallery closes in Corum, where vocational school students from four institutions set up stalls.
They prepared and served Corum mantisi, Hittite bread, keskek, Iskilip dolmasi, fellah koftesi and eriste, among other local dishes.
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