Located in western Anatolia, the city of Afyonkarahisar is preparing to host world-renowned chefs as a part of the 2nd Gastro Afyon Taste Festival, scheduled to take place on April 26-27.

The two day event will host more than 40 famous chefs from all over the world as well as consular staff and ambassadors of the countries that have a consulate in Ankara. The participants will enjoy cooking contests as well as numerous events.

Speaking at the launch of the festival, President of the Cooks Federation of Turkey Zeki Açıköz said they are doing everything they can to make the festival one of the most established events in Turkey. "The important thing is the support of the locals to keep the festival going," he added.

Afyonkarahisar is surely a city of gastronomy well known for its pastries, sucuk and kaymak. Afyonkarahisar cuisine is very rich, with numerous traditional dishes. It is very common to use opium and opium oil especially in the pastry. Some of the traditional pastries are arabaşı, ağzı açık, bükme, haşgeşli, börek, ocak bükmesi, katmer, cızdırma and öğmen. Meat also has an important place in Afyon cuisine as the meals change according to which kind of meat is used.