Future chefs bring 4,000-year-old Hittite recipes to the table

Kayseri University students learn Hittite meat dishes and bread varieties such as “Zalpa, Kariya” and “Happena” in the school kitchen

Recipes discovered on ancient rock reliefs thousands of years old from the Hittite period are being brought to the table by Kayseri University students.

Students of Develi Huseyin Sahin Vocational School Culinary Program receive a wide range of education from modern world cuisines to Central Asian and Ottoman tastes, and learn the food culture of prior civilizations that once lived in Anatolia.

With the work initiated by academics at the school, the recipes compiled from the Fraktin rock relief belonging to the Hittite period in the Develi district are taught to students in hands-on sessions of preparing the meals. 

Students, who prepared meat dishes such as “Zalpa,” “Kariya” and “Happena” which date back to 2,000 B.C., are planning to expertly prepare them professionally in kitchens across the country as working graduated chefs.  

Kayseri University, Develi Huseyin Sahin Vocational School Culinary Program Lecturer Tarik Erturk said that they strive to prepare students for the future and equip them in every way.

Stating that they teach students not only how to cook but also about the food cultures of different civilizations. Erturk said, “Lately, French terms dominate the food and beverage sector. French terms have been introduced to gastronomy in the process, but for example, there is the term ‘glazing,’ the polishing of meat after cooking. This term belongs to the Hittites and appears on tablets before Christ.”

Training intermediate staff for the sector

Lecturer Sinan Kilickaya stated that they train intermediate staff for the sector in the culinary program, which opened 3 years ago, and that they provide application-oriented education as a university.

Yusuf Caglar Ozkan, one of the students, stated that he had a childhood interest in cooking and that he came to the department with love, and said that they learned important information from Hittite cuisine.

Begum Akpinar stated that they learned about the cuisine of many civilizations and she believes this will add value to them after graduation.

Source: Newsroom