Ten five-star hotels entered the competition, which took place in Amasya, near the Black Sea, on August 16 and 17, 2008. Judges included food writers and other dignitaries from the area.

The Four Seasons team of Executive Chef Mehmet Gök, Savaş Aydemir, Gürcan Gülmez and Fatih Yahşi won first place with a menu titled “A Modern Glance at the Ottoman Palace Cuisine.”

Executive Chef Gök and his team made a thorough investigation of Ottoman cuisine while preparing for the competition. They identified dishes that produced the best results when adapted to the cuisine of today while still maintaining their roots in the past.

“While preparing for the competition, the rules of the contest helped us define what aspects we were most careful about,” said Gök. “Keeping loyal to the information we found out through our research, we combined the special tastes of the past with the modern techniques and presentations of today.”

Sample dishes from “A Modern Glace at the Ottoman Palace Cuisine” menu, with Gök’s notes:

Ottoman Dish of Stuffed Vegetables in Olive Oil
Stuffed vegetables in olive oil is an Ottoman dish that dates back to the 15th century, when rice was stuffed into quince, chestnut, hazelnut and green bean leaves. For the competition, we prepared an assortment of stuffed green bean leaves with sour cherries, stuffed green tomatoes, stuffed squash flowers and stuffed leek.

Lamb Shank with Prune
Ottomans consumed a considerable amount of lamb and game, usually accompanied by dry fruits. We decided that the best fruit matching lamb shank was prune. After stewing the lamb, we divided it into small pieces and added prune along with fresh walnuts and smoked eggplant purée.

Thyme Juice
In the Ottoman cuisine, thyme juice was often served with meals because of its digestive properties. This beverage is created by adding lemon and honey to thyme brewed in water. It attracted much attention during the competition.

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