Promoting Turkish Cuisine at the World Bank

CULTURAL HERITAGE PROJECT

Food can become a language of cultural exchange. Through Turkish cuisine, this project brought culinary heritage, tradition, and storytelling to an international community at the World Bank.

Turkish stuffed grape leaves served as part of Yvonne Maffei’s Turkish cuisine presentation at the World Bank.

ROLE

Chef, Cultural Storyteller & Presenter

DISCIPLINE

Culinary Heritage, Cultural Exchange

TIMELINE

2023

PRESENTED AT

The World Bank

01 CULINARY HERITAGE

Turkish cuisine as cultural memory.

Turkish cuisine carries generations of knowledge shaped by place, family, migration, agriculture, and hospitality. Through a menu of traditional dishes, the project introduced an international audience to the ingredients, techniques, and traditions that continue to shape Türkiye's culinary heritage.

02 CULTURAL EXCHANGE

More than a meal.

Sharing food creates an opportunity to experience culture beyond borders. Presented at the World Bank, the project used Turkish cuisine as a point of connection — inviting people to encounter heritage through taste, tradition, and the stories behind the dishes.


Food creates a place where culture can be experienced, shared, and remembered.


03 FOOD DIPLOMACY

Culture shared through the table.

From stuffed grape leaves and cacık to kısır, Turkish-style hummus, vegetable dishes, and baklava, the menu became a way of communicating cultural identity through everyday food traditions. The experience demonstrates how cuisine can create curiosity, conversation, and connection across cultures.

Turkish baklava with pistachios featured in Yvonne Maffei’s cultural food presentation at the World Bank.

04 OUTCOMES

Culinary Heritage

Traditional Turkish cuisine

Cultural Exchange

Connecting an international audience

Food Diplomacy

Culture communicated through food

Discover more

Food is one of the most immediate ways we encounter another culture. Discover more of Yvonne's work exploring the relationship between food, heritage, place, and identity.

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