Destinations
Gastro -Orgasmic Gaziantep! Te x t b y J U H A N K A M A R U D D I N Images by JUHAN KAMARUDDIN & ED JUNAIDI ABU BAKAR
Gaya Travel Magazine team was in Gaziantep, Turkey to cover the GastroAntep International Gastronomy Festival that took place from 12 until 15 September 2019.
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Jointly organised by the Gaziantep Metropolitan Municipality, Gaziantep Governorate and Gaziantep Development Foundation (GAGEV), the GastroAntep International Gastronomy Festival intended to place Gaziantep on the international culinary map since the destination is Turkey’s culinary capital where gastronomes and foodies head to because the area is blessed with fertile soil that produces crops like pistachio (called fistik in local language) and vegetables in abundance. Gaziantep’s richness in gastronomic offerings and heritage earns it a spot within UNESCO’s Creative Cities Network since 2015. Gaziantep sits within Turkey’s South East region that has been trading with many nations and civilisations since ancient times, receiving products and influences from East and West that enrich its culinary traditions and techniques. The destination is renowned for dishes like lahmacun (delicious flat-crusted pizza topped with spicy meat and herbs), baklava (Turkish pastry sweetened by sherbet, which is a light syrup made from sugar, water, and lemon juice) and kofte (meatball cooked with paste made of cracked wheat and meat then fried). Besides showcasing various comestibles that hail from various parts of Turkey including neighbouring Syria, GastroAntep International Gastronomy Festival 2019 was attended by many world-class, Michelin-starred celebrity chefs, food industry professionals, gourmands,
gastronomy writers, UNESCO officials, and members of media. Culinary presentations by local and international chefs, including cooking competitions based on Gaziantep ingredients, were also held. Malaysia’s own Tourism Ambassador for Gastronomy, Dato’ Chef Ismail Ahmad, gave a rousing and entertaining live cooking presentation by demonstrating the preparation of a delicious Kelantanese dish called ayam percik (Malaysian grilled or roasted chicken marinated in spices doused with spicy coconut milk gravy). His exuberance won over the audience, whom at the end of the presentation leapt out of their seats to sample the ayam percik, took photographs with him and even requested for the recipe. Dato’ Chef Ismail, together with the rest of the entourage from Malaysia, were flown to Gaziantep by Turkish Airlines in collaboration with Tourism Malaysia to promote the Visit Malaysia 2020 campaign. The overwhelming response from the crowd motivated the Turkish Airlines and Tourism Malaysia officials to consider participating in the festival again in 2020 in conjunction with Visit Malaysia Year, this time introducing more Malaysian dishes and delicacies as a way to encourage more Turkish citizens to visit Malaysia. Flying on Turkish Airlines also provided Dato’ Chef Ismail and the Malaysian entourage the opportunity to learn more about Turkish cuisine while flying.
