Özgül Özkan Yavuz, the Deputy Minister of Culture and Tourism: ‘Istanbul has gained the title of Gastro City. Strengthening the positioning of cities in our country as Gastro City is one of our strategic goals as the Ministry’.
Gault & Millau, one of the two most prestigious gastronomy guides in the world, announced at a press conference that it came to Turkey in cooperation with Sözen Organization. The press conference was held at Six Senses Kocataş Mansions Istanbul with the attendance of Sözen Group CEO Gökmen Sözen, Gault & Millau CEO Patrick Hayoun and The Turkish Republic Deputy Minister of Culture and Tourism Özgül Özkan Yavuz.
Gault & Millau , which was first published in Paris in 1969 by two journalists and food critics Henri Gault and Christian Millau, stepped into Turkey in collaboration with Sözen Organization. Incorporating Turkey as the 17th country, Gault & Millau is considered one of the two most well-known and appreciated guides in the field of gastronomy. Gault & Millau Guide, which has gained a respectable place thanks to its strong gastronomy network, will start its field studies in Turkey in 2023 and will be published in 2024!
Believing in the authenticity of each chef’s restaurant, Gault & Millau continues to work with independent wine and gastronomy experts to rate restaurants and chefs. In pursuit of taste and talent for fifty years, Gault & Millau has eight regional guides, a wine guide and a champagne guide. Restaurants and chefs which are evaluated for the guide are given a score between 1 and 20 based on the quality and taste of the food, together with their separate evaluations about service, price and atmosphere of the restaurant by Gault & Millau. High-rated restaurants earn between 1 and 4 hats from Gault & Millau’s signature hats, depending on the degree of their scores.
Expressing that they are very excited about Gault & Millau, which has taken its place in the Turkish market with the cooperation of Sözen Organization, Gökmen Sözen emphasized that the initiative of these two important brands will be a bridge between the global gastronomy industry and Turkey. Sözen said, “We are proud to have added a new one to the giant steps taken for Turkish gastronomy, whose star is shining every day in the world. With the Gault & Millau Guide, we have added another golden ring to the service and investment chain in the gastronomy sector in Turkey. Through Sözen Organization, we bring Turkey to the center of world gastronomy with international events such as Gastromasa. We will continue to work together to build the future of Turkish gastronomy. I would like to express my heartfelt thanks once again to everyone who supported us on this path, and wish you a day full of health and taste.”
Patrick Hayoun, the CEO of Gault & Millau, said: “We are very happy to sign a new partnership with Gökmen Sözen for Gault & Millau Turkey and to be here today. Over the past 50 years, Gault & Millau has published numerous guides and a magazine, offering strong digital content and organizing various events. It has introduced chefs and restaurants around the world, from France to Japan. Above all, Gault & Millau continues to encourage young talents, creativity, curiosity and remain impartial, independent and objective. We unlock tomorrow’s talents. Our restaurant selection is based on a complete culinary experience, quality service and wine list combined with its atmosphere. Our aim is not to impose anything, to establish rules, but to encourage a new way of thinking and highlight those who truly deserve it. We welcome our guide to Turkey, which offers us a new gastronomy scene and has a great potential in the field of gastronomy. Our Millésime guide, which will be published in 2024, will be published in Turkish and English, and 300 selected from the 500 restaurants that our local inspectors will visit will be included in this guide. We will primarily evaluate the Marmara, Aegean, Mediterranean and Southeast regions.”
Özgül Özkan Yavuz, the Deputy Minister of Culture and Tourism of Turkey, said: “Today, we are together for Gault & Millau Turkey, where our country, whose potential has been proven with the achievements in the field of gastronomy, will once again come to the fore at the international level. We are very pleased to share the information that Turkish cuisine will be included in the Gault & Millau guide, which has a respected and important place in the world food and beverage industry. Turkish restaurants, Turkish chefs and Turkish cuisine in general have managed to become the focus of attention in the world. With our rich food culture, the increase in the number and quality of chef restaurants, we have come to a level that can compete with the leading countries in the field of gastronomy. Especially for Istanbul, we can now easily use the title of Gastro City. One of the prestigious food and beverage guides, Gault & Millau’s move to bring Turkey to the global gastronomy field and its cooperation with Sözen Organization are extremely valuable. The interest shown by this respected guide to our country shows us that we have made significant progress in gastronomy and indicates that we will carry our claim in the field of gastronomy to higher ranks. As the Ministry, one of our strategic goals is to attract gourmet tourists to our country, to brand Turkish cuisine around the world, to have the best examples of world cuisines in our country and to strengthen the positioning of the cities in our country as Gastro City. The arrival of Gault & Millau in Turkey constitutes an extremely important step in promoting the high standards of our industry to the whole world. We know the importance of every effort that contributes to Turkish tourism, and we will always support all efforts made on this path. I congratulate those who contributed to the arrival of this guide in Turkey, and I thank Gökmen Sözen for his efforts in this field. I hope it will be a long-term cooperation. I greet you all with love and respect.”
