Istanbul, Feb 1 () - Yeditepe University’s department of gastronomy and culinary arts has become an official partner of the UNITWIN/UNESCO Chairs “Food Culture and Development” program.

The university’s culinary department and the UNITWIN/UNESCO Chairs “Food Culture and Development” program, which is represented by one of Spain’s most prestigious universities, Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (UOC), signed an agreement making the university an official partner of the program.

The UNITWIN/UNESCO Chairs program, founded as part of UNESCO, supports inter-university cooperation and scientific activities on an international level. In 2015, Yeditepe University’s culinary department signed the first partnership agreement with the UNESCO Chair “Safeguarding and Promotion of Cultural Food Heritage” program hosted by the Université François-Rabelais in Tours.

Being the first and only department of gastronomy and culinary arts in Turkey which has been accepted by the UNITWIN/UNESCO Chairs, the department will take part in and be able to propose projects which aim to safeguard and promote Turkey’s food culture, as well as preserve it for future generations, and also organize scientific seminars, conferences and events as UNITWIN/UNESCO Chairs’ official Turkey representative.

In this way, the university’s department, which was founded in 2003, will be able to make an important contribution to the protection and promotion of the culture of Turkish cuisine on a national and international level.