Antalya’s signature dishes, including grilled meatballs, piyaz salad and pumpkin dessert, will be served to world leaders and high-level participants at the upcoming COP31 climate summit, as Türkiye seeks to showcase the southern city’s culinary heritage to an international audience.
The city will host the 31st Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP31) on Nov. 9-20 under Türkiye’s Presidency, with preparations continuing for accommodation, catering, exhibitions and conference venues.
The 1,200-decare summit site will be divided into two sections, the Blue Zone, reserved for leaders and high-level participants, and the Green Zone, which will be open to civil society participants.
As part of efforts to promote the host city, an Antalya House is being established in the Green Zone to introduce the region’s traditional cuisine and products registered under Türkiye’s geographical indication system.
Throughout the summit, the venue will showcase Antalya’s local specialties to heads of state and government, diplomats and representatives of institutions and organizations arriving from around the world.
Yavuz Tekelioğlu, head of the Turkish Research Network on Local Products and Geographical Indications, said that the Antalya House would host gastronomic promotions featuring the city’s regional products and traditional dishes.
He said the initiative would highlight both products registered under the geographical indication system and local specialties that have yet to receive such recognition.
“Antalya’s products registered under geographical indications, as well as its unregistered local delicacies, will be introduced at the Antalya House to heads of state, government officials and representatives of nongovernmental organizations, as well as guests arriving from around 200 countries,” Tekelioğlu said.
Highlighting ongoing efforts to secure geographical indication registrations for local products, Tekelioğlu said showcasing regional specialties at international events could contribute to efforts to obtain recognition for these products abroad.
He added that the companies selected to provide the food had been identified and were continuing preparations for the summit.
Cem Yıldırım, a third-generation representative and chairperson of the board of one of the companies selected to serve food in the Blue Zone, described COP31 as an important opportunity to promote Antalya through its culinary heritage.
“We will be there with şiş köfte, piyaz and pumpkin dessert to promote Antalya. We will try to make the most of this opportunity,” Yıldırım said.
He said the summit’s coordinators had visited his restaurant, where they sampled the dishes and expressed their appreciation.
Yıldırım added that the event would help bring Antalya’s traditional flavors to an international audience, contributing to the city’s visibility as a gastronomic tourism destination.