"It takes patience, knowledge, and love for a seed to grow. The same is true for a culture."
Engin Akın
Founder and President of Ula Garlic Association
A Woman Who Opens Her Table to the World
Finding the reflection of cultural interaction on the table fascinating, Engin Akın believes that food is a bridge that brings cultures closer together — sometimes even blurring the boundaries between them. She advocates that Turkish cuisine should be promoted to the world not only for its taste but also as a historical and cultural heritage.
Born into a family from Ula, Akın has observed Turkey’s rich culinary traditions since her childhood — through the meals she tasted, the tables she shared, and the people she met across Anatolia. Whether setting the table for her family or hosting her guests, she has always recreated the flavors of her youth, blending these experiences with the deep-rooted values of Ula’s culture.
Committed to preserving the local traditions of Ula — from its unique dialect to its culinary rituals — Akın continues her work as an advocate and ambassador of Turkey’s authentic gastronomic heritage.
Journalist, Author, Educator, and Cultural Ambassador
Over the years, Engin Akın has written numerous gastronomy columns for Vatan, Yeni Yüzyıl, and Yeni Binyıl newspapers, and produced and hosted the radio program Tat Muhabbetleri (Taste Talks) on Açık Radyo.
In 1998, she prepared the culinary segment of TRT1’s Günden Güne (Day by Day) program, welcoming some of Istanbul’s leading chefs and gourmets.
In 1999, she hosted the Tat Sohbetleri (Taste Conversations) segment on TRT1’s Öğleden Önce (Before Noon) program, and in 2002, she prepared culinary features for TRT2’s art and culture show Kent Yaşam (Urban Life).
Throughout her career, Akın has represented Turkish cuisine at national and international platforms. Her interviews and Turkish recipes have appeared in leading U.S. gastronomy magazines such as Food and Wine.
She was invited to speak at The Culinary Institute of America’s 2003 conference on Turkish cuisine, where her warm bulgur salad recipe was later selected as one of the “World’s 10 Healthiest Dishes”.
In 2007, Saveur magazine named her among the “7 Best Cooking Instructors of the Year” while Bon Appétit featured her recipes in several issues.
Carrying Culinary Heritage into the Future
Through her newspaper columns, radio programs, and books, Engin Akın has brought Turkish cuisine to an international stage, introducing global culinary cultures to Turkish readers and demonstrating the power of cultural exchange through food. Her books are reflections of these experiences.
Her first book, Two Nations at the Same Table: Turkish-Greek Cuisine (2002), co-written with Greek food writer Mirsini Lambraki, brought together the shared flavors of two countries and won the award for “Best Mediterranean Cuisine Book.” It stands as a pioneering work showing how gastronomy can contribute to peace and cultural understanding.
Her second major work, From Tent to Palace: Ottoman-Turkish Cuisine (2005), published by Türkiye İş Bankası, explores how Turks incorporated the flavors of the many cultures they encountered throughout history. The book was praised by American physicist, historian, and author John Freely, who described it as “one of the best books I have ever read about Turkey”.
Her 2007 book Lezzetiye takes readers on a culinary and cultural journey from France to India, from Greece to Morocco, uniting diverse gastronomies through the Turkish palate.
Her latest book, Tadımlık Yazılar (Tasty Writings, 2021), is a collection of her newspaper articles for Vatan, where she delicately reflects on the flavors of Turkish cuisine while offering insights into foreign culinary traditions. “Cooking is not just about feeding the body; it is about preserving the memory of a culture.” — this has always been her guiding motto.
The Ula Garlic Association and the Social Gastronomy Approach
Engin Akın continues her work as the founder and president of the Ula Garlic Association. The association aims to revive and promote Ula Garlic, Muğla’s geographically indicated local product, contributing to rural development and demonstrating that food can serve as a tool for social transformation.
Through this initiative, Akın defends not only the sustainability of a product but also of a culture — uniting the abundance of the land with the unifying power of the table.
Her work has revived and illuminated Turkish cuisine at a time when it risked losing its authenticity amid the growing admiration for foreign cuisines. Through her writings and projects, she has earned recognition as a defender and promoter of Turkish culinary values.
Engin Akın stands as a pioneering cultural ambassador who preserves, sustains, and introduces the authentic essence of Turkish cuisine to the world.
“For a seed to grow, it needs patience, knowledge, and love. The same is true for a culture."