On the third day of the 91st Izmir International Fair and Terra Madre Anatolia, Izmir Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Tunç Soyer with İzmir Village Coop. İzmir Sofrası, hosted by the Association President Neptün Soyer, brought together important names. Famous names, who were guests of the Izmir Table set on the Kitchen Show stage, talked about the future of agriculture and gastronomy and shared its importance for the country and the world.
Mayor of Izmir Metropolitan Municipality Tunç Soyer with İzmir Village-Koop. Union President Neptün Soyer brought together important names at the Izmir Table, which they set up as part of the 91st Izmir International Fair and Terra Madre Anadolu. Okan Bayülgen, famous food chef and presenter Danilo Zanna, and Turkish food expert and writer Sahrap Soysal, who were guests of the İzmir Table set on the Kitchen Show stage on the third day of the fair, talked about the importance of Terra Madre.
“The balance of the whole society is disturbed”
Mayor of Izmir Metropolitan Municipality Tunç Soyer, 'Another Agriculture is Possible', they set out because agricultural policies caused the small producer to leave his village, he said. President Soyer said, “We need to feed the villager where he was born. We need to be supportive. We need to encourage production. If the villager leaves his village, the balance of the city is disturbed. When the balance between the village and the city is disturbed, the balance of the whole society is disturbed. Therefore, the peasant should stop in his village. He should be able to fill his stomach with what he produces. It must continue to perpetuate that ancient culture. That's why we called it 'Another Agriculture is Possible'. The agricultural policies we are in today cause us to be dependent on foreign sources every day.
Cheddar cheese was made from the milk taken.
Reminding that the country has started to import everything, İzmir Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Tunç SoyerHe said that as Gazi Mustafa Kemal Atatürk did in the Republican era, İzmir Metropolitan Municipality also established a factory in Bayındır to make cheese. Soyer said, “The point where the wrong agricultural policies have brought us, but this is not destiny. It is possible to change this. We decided to purchase the manufacturer's product. We produced a shepherd's map in Izmir. We identified 4 shepherds one by one. How many animals does the shepherd have, how much milk does he get, where does he sell it? We've inventoried all of these. We started to buy that milk. We bought 600 million liras worth of milk and made cheddar cheese, 18,5% of which was from sheep milk and 70% from goat's milk. This is before you with the İzmirli brand”.
“Ecologies must speak now”
İzmir Village-Koop. Chairman of the Union Neptün Soyer said, “If we define politics correctly, if we look at the word meaning of politics, if we define it as the art of changing life, the art of changing people's lives and touching, yes, this can be considered a political activity as well. Because now ecologies should talk, not economies.”
Soyer said, “When we are talking about gastronomy here, if we are not aware of how the air in the field is, how clean it is, how important it is for our health, this is just a chef's list. And we may think that we are full and taste good, but now our chefs don't look like that either. We hear how important the geographical indication is. He started to prepare that we should buy products from small producers by looking at its ecology while they were preparing their plate. So yes, this is a political event that changes people's lives. A 75 percent small producer that sets the tables in this way in the world. The closure of villages in Turkey and their transformation into neighborhoods made all these tables dry. That's why cooperation is so important. If Izmir is mentioned with only one feature, it will lose its soul. Izmir is a city with a soul. There is a lot of gastronomy in İzmir,” he said.
“This is a culture and we must protect our culture”
Turkish food expert and writer Sahrap Soysal stated that she loves İzmir very much and said: “I love İzmir very much, I am glad there is İzmir. I love İzmir. Izmir is another city. Beautiful, civilized, free, sweet. I feel very good here. I care a lot about Terra Madre. 75 percent of the world's producers are small farmers and women producers. Supporting them is very important. We make the healthiest food with their products. That's why I support such events. This is a culture and we have to protect our culture.”
“No culture without food”
Danilo Zanna, on the other hand, stated that the local culture is important and said, “I traveled a lot and looked a lot. Turkey's beauty cannot be found anywhere else. Few countries have this abundance. Food is a culture. Without culture there is no food. But culture is also something that comes from ourselves, not just from outside. Let's live this fair culture. It's a holiday, but at the same time, let's not forget why we're here. You are Izmir. Learn about your own culture. This is wealth,” he said.
“Congratulations to President Soyer”
At the end of the program, Okan Bayülgen said, “We see how important it is to support the small producer, to support the pure, the good and the fertile. The President will have an important service to Izmir. To turn this place into a great gastronomy center. It is an issue that affects the future of the whole world. An issue within his own policy; seeds, agriculture. As a politician who made this policy, I congratulate President Soyer for this initiative.”
President Soyer also entered the kitchen
President Soyer also dined with Sahrap Soysal on the Kitchen Show stage. Izmir Cooks Federation cooks and Chef Turgay Bucak served the guests with ancestral seed karakılçık, chickpeas obtained from ancestral seeds and İzmir baguette, İzmirli salad made with İzmir olive oil, sour cream and grape vinegar.
Taste Hunters received their awards
Terra Madre Anadolu also witnessed a different excitement. With the Izmir Flavor Hunt event, its participants embarked on a flavor journey with the motto "It's time to pursue this flavor for good, clean, fair food all together". 50 teams and 200 people in total participated in the Flavor Hunt, organized with the theme of “The Blessings of Anatolia” at Kültürpark as part of Terra Madre Anadolu İzmir. The participants had the chance to get to know the Slow Food movement closely by chasing these flavors and deciphering the codes at 35 points in Kültürpark on the map given to them throughout the day.
After the day-long event, the winning teams were announced. Team number 3 won the first place, team number 37 won the second place, and team number 15 won the third place. Contestants presented their awards to the Mayor of Izmir Metropolitan Municipality. Tunç Soyer, Izmir Village Coop. It received it from the Chairman of the Union, Neptün Soyer and Okan Bayülgen, from Danilo Zanna and Sahrap Soysal.
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