Adana, the melting pot of ancient cultures with a rich history dating back centuries, is once again preparing to captivate hundreds of thousands of visitors with its unique flavors. The 7th Adana Taste Festival, organized this year from October 6th to 8th, under the auspices of the Adana Governorate, in collaboration with the Metropolitan Municipality, district municipalities, chambers, and civil society organizations, is ready to welcome its guests.

At the press conference held for the Adana Taste Festival in Feriye, Adana Governor Yavuz Selim Köşger began his speech by expressing that Adana has tremendous potential in every aspect. Governor Köşger emphasized that Adana is a significant force both in agriculture and industry. He also pointed out that Adana has great tourism potential, being only 40 minutes away from the sea and the beach, suitable for highland trips, and ideal for mountain tourism.

Governor Köşger said, “Adana’s greatest feature is its gastronomic cuisine, its unique cooking, presentation, and hospitality traditions. This is essential for tourism development. If you want to boost tourism, you need a dynamo, a locomotive. In Adana, gastronomy, flavor, cuisine, hospitality, and presentation style are the locomotives of tourism. Let your eyes be delighted, your hearts be satisfied, and of course, let your bodies and souls be filled with those exquisite meals, and I guarantee that.”

Governor Köşger also mentioned that every corner of our country has its beauty and unique values, and Adana, as he stated, has various specific characteristics in terms of its industry, trade, and agriculture. He expressed the intention to elevate Adana to the top ranks of gastronomy in the field of tourism and emphasized the collective effort to improve the festival.

Following the Governor, Adana Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Zeydan Karalar greeted the guests and started his speech by stating that Adana is one of the rare cities that combines numerous qualities. Mayor Karalar said, “We are the people of a city with rich and beautiful attributes in terms of flavor, culture, art, nature, climate, and historical identity. Anavarza, Tatarlı Höyüğü, Tepebağ, and Magarsus each hold incredible historical treasures. These lands have hosted many civilizations. Adana excels in everything it does. We are the city of festivals. We recently hosted the Golden Boll Film Festival. Our other festivals resonate nationally and internationally. Elected and appointed officials have been working harmoniously together in Adana for the past 10 years, leading to success. The promotion of Adana’s values is done beautifully. Our governors work like they are from Adana. Our media and press play a crucial role in promoting Adana. We invite everyone to Adana for our Taste Festival, which will be held on October 6-7-8, 2023.”

Adana is a city that transforms historical tastes into a contemporary experience. The warm and hospitable people of Adana are waiting for you.” Mayor Zeydan Karalar concluded his speech with the now-traditional and well-known phrase: “Come to Adana, eat my liver.”

Becoming a Major Event in Gastronomic Tourism

The Adana Taste Festival continues to grow every year with more participants and visitors. Panels featuring influential speakers with innovative ideas in designated topics and fields make contributions towards planting the seeds for the future. The Adana Taste Festival, which has become a gastronomic tourism event, attracted over 660,000 people last year and will be held from October 6th to 8th this year.

The festival is organized under the auspices of the Adana Governorate, with contributions from the Metropolitan Municipality, district municipalities, chambers, and civil society organizations, under the coordination of the festival’s executive committee. The organization of the festival is led by Haluk Özsevim, while Ebru Koralı is responsible for the conference program and stage content. The opening speech will be delivered by Adana Governor Yavuz Selim Köşger and Adana Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Zeydan Karalar on October 6th at the New Adana Museum Conference Hall.

Theme: Republic Flavors in Its 100th Year

This year, the Adana Taste Festival has a particularly meaningful theme. In the 100th year of our Republic, the festival focuses on “menus from the early Republic period.” Topics such as “invitation and dining culture, gender equality in the early Republic era, the current image of Turkish cuisine, Turkish entrepreneurs’ brand restaurants contributing to the world with Turkish products and service quality, from olive oil to the export potential of local products,” will be discussed.

Various environmental values, including local and timely production, waste-free kitchens, carbon footprint, and responsible resource use, will also be addressed.

Mediterranean Gastronomic Tourism in Focus

According to research, 88.2% of the annual tourist population exceeding 1 billion people says, “Food is very important in destination selection.” Gastronomic tourism events held in the Mediterranean Basin, which boasts highly preferred destinations for travelers, have a significant impact as quality investments in their regions. They also contribute to the reappropriation of local culture and the increasing creativity of chefs. Based on this important data, specific topic headings with clear objectives and outcomes were determined for the panels at the Adana Taste Festival. Additionally, new culinary designs that bring together different flavors, from Yörük cuisine to Karataş Havzası seafood, from turnip juice to sumac, from citrus products to be enjoyed worldwide, will be presented under the title “From Adana to the World,” inspired by the expert chefs of Turkey and Adana cuisine.

Extra Flights by Turkish Airlines for the Festival

Due to the intense interest, it is reported that all hotel reservations in the city are fully booked during the festival period. Turkish Airlines has also added extra flights to Adana due to high demand during the festival season. Significant increases in hotel occupancy rates have been observed in the surrounding provinces of Adana as well.

Over 50 Chefs Exploring New Flavors at the Adana Taste Stage

The Taste Stage will kick off with a grand bonfire on the evening of October 6th in Adana’s Merkez Park. Over 50 chefs from all around Turkey are coming to discover Adana’s products and explore new flavors. This year, the Adana Taste Stage will be colorful and cheerful, from showcasing forgotten dishes to passing on the Adana cuisine to the new generation.

Young Chefs Competition

The “Young Chefs Competition,” which took place for the first time last year, will be held for the second time this year. New talents will showcase their creativity in the competition held within the festival area. This year, the competition promises to be exciting for aspiring chefs.

Aylin Yazıcıoğlu, Arda Türkmen, Melih Demirer, Ömer Bozyap, Hazer Amani, Yoldaş Sönmez, Marc Pauquet, Ali Ronay, Türev Uludağ, Umut Karakuş, and Doğa Çitçi are among the famous chefs participating in the festival. Masterchefs Somer Sivrioğlu and Mehmet Yalçınkaya are also among the colorful faces of the festival.

During the press conference, Zeki Kıvanç, President of the Adana Chamber of Industry, and Bilal Uludağ, Mayor of Sarıçam District, made brief speeches inviting everyone to the Adana Taste Festival. Famous Adana natives like Fatih Terim and Haluk Levent, along with Sahrap Soysal, Somer Sivrioğlu, Türev Uludağ, and others, attended the press conference.