Local Food Competition held in Zeytinburnu

As part of the activities of the 25th Traditional Merkezefendi Medicine Festival organized by Zeytinburnu Municipality, a ‘Local Food Competition’ was held. The dishes and desserts made by 190 citizens who participated in the competition were presented to the jury members for evaluation. Zeytinburnu Municipality organized the 25th Traditional Merkezefendi Medicine Festival, within the scope of which the Local Food Competition took place. Held next to the Merkezefendi People’s Tea Garden, the competition was attended by 190 Zeytinburnu citizens who presented various local dishes and desserts they made. While the citizens’ interest in the competition was high, Zeytinburnu Mayor Omer Arisoy visited the contestants and wished them success. The jury members tasted and scored the contestants’ dishes, and all participants were gifted porcelain dinner sets. At the end of the competition, the first prize winner was awarded a full gold, the second prize winner received half gold, and the third prize winner received a quarter gold.
“Our aim is to draw attention to our culinary culture” Zeytinburnu Mayor Omer Arisoy, speaking at the event, stated, “As known, for 25 years we have been organizing a festival inspired by Merkez Efendi, the literary resident of Zeytinburnu. This year marks the 25th year. In general, the Merkezefendi Festival actually makes us think about ‘how to live in harmony with nature.’ As known, Merkez Efendi developed the ‘mesir paste’ in Manisa, using 41 different spices. He later came to Istanbul and was buried in his current grave in Zeytinburnu, after carrying out construction activities here for a long time. 25 years ago, inspired by Merkez Efendi, we conducted activities related to folk medicine, traditional medicine, and the surrounding area. Within this framework, in order to draw attention to our culinary culture and to promote the rich culinary culture of Anatolia, we organize this cooking competition alongside the festival to draw attention to our magnificent dishes, reflecting the taste of our women and showing the regional differences in cuisine, against the ‘fast food’ culture that has engulfed the whole world and our country. There is always great interest every year. This year, 190 of our fellow citizens applied for it. In essence, our aim is to draw attention to our culinary culture within the framework of the Merkezefendi Traditional Medicine Festival. Each year, magnificent flavors emerge. I wish luck to the jury. The most important thing is to express my heartfelt thanks to the valuable fellow citizens who showed interest in this competition. In fact, it is a competition with no losers, but of course, there will be an award for the dishes appreciated by the jury.
“I would like it to happen every year” Fatma Sirin, who participated in the competition with the ‘bat dish,’ said, “I made the ‘bat dish’ specific to the Tokat region. I am confident and hopefully will win the first prize. It is my first time participating. The competition is very nice. I would like it to happen every year.”