The event ‘The Ancestor of Wheat: Ardahan Kavılcası’ was organized.

An event titled “The Ancestor of Wheat: Ardahan Kavilca” was organized to promote dishes made from the 13,000-year-old unaltered Kavilca wheat in Ardahan.

To pass on, protect, and promote the natural, healthy, and delicious ancestral heritage of Kavilca wheat to future generations, a joint project was initiated by the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, the Directorate of Good Agricultural Practices and Organic Farming, Ardahan Governorship, Serhat Development Agency, and the Ardahan Chamber of Commerce and Industry. The project aims to promote Kavilca wheat, which is our local heritage, and to utilize local diversity especially in organic farming.

The event, held at the National Sovereignty Park in the Kapantanpaşa Neighborhood, was attended by famous chefs including Ramazan Bingöl, President of the Turkish Culinary Arts Association (TÜRES), Chef Ayvaz Akbacak, Başak Egesel, the Director of Good Agricultural Practices and Organic Farming at the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, and other stakeholders.

At the event, various dishes made from Kavilca wheat were introduced by chefs in an outdoor Kavilca kitchen. The dishes cooked in cauldrons placed over fire were served to the attendees.

TÜRES President Ramazan Bingöl stated, “Today is a historic turning point for Ardahan cuisine, and let us note it in history.” Bingöl added, “Now, Ardahan cuisine will be a reality in Turkey and around the world. We will promote that Ardahan is not just about geese, but it is an ancient city with a beautiful culinary culture. Ardahan will quickly become a city of gastronomy and tourism.”

Başak Egesel, the Director of Good Agricultural Practices and Organic Farming, stated that the ministry is working to promote organic farming and that she is in Ardahan for this purpose.

Egesel thanked the relevant institutions that contributed to the project, especially the governorship, saying, “This project was carried out to promote our local heritage, Kavilca wheat. We aim to use local diversity, especially in organic farming. We are conducting this project to promote the production of these varieties in a way that does not harm the environment or human health.”

Reminding that they are running 160 sub-projects as a ministry, Egesel said, “As a ministry, we have implemented various projects to raise consumer awareness about organic farming and to educate our producers about production systems and to increase certified production. Today, we value the work related to gastronomy being done in Ardahan very much. This project includes the entire chain from production to consumer. We conduct these studies with our directorates in the provinces.”

“We aim to introduce products from the Ardahan region to Turkish gastronomy”

Nurullar Karaca, the Coordinator of SERKA, which supports the project, stated that they aim to promote and market the product, saying, “We set out to promote this product. By bringing Turkey’s top chefs to Ardahan with our stakeholders, we aim to introduce products made from this product that belong to the Ardahan region to Turkish gastronomy. We also plan to promote our province and region this way. We aim for it to gain a place in the market not only as flour but also in other products. We want it to be on the shelves as an organic product.”

Ardahan Mayor Faruk Demir also expressed his gratitude to everyone involved in such a project that contributes to the promotion and development of Ardahan, stating, “This is a wheat that is very much preferred by celiac disease patients. We hope to bring our Kavilca wheat, which is a very important food source for human health, back to the place it deserves, starting from our region and throughout the country. Ardahan is a very young province, so our neighboring provinces can continue to develop on foot, but Ardahan needs to run. Because we became a province in 1992, we need to establish our identity; we will embody our city identity together with our cuisine, folklore, industry, music, folk dances, and clothing, meaning we will create our identity with all of it.