Türkiye's largest institute promoting Turkish language and culture worldwide, Yunus Emre Institute (YEE) has recently started a four-week cooking workshop in Tehran, which received significant interest from participants and trainees, according to media reports Tuesday.
Iranian women of all ages, including the ones who do not speak Turkish, joined the workshop organized by the YEE branch in the Iranian capital.
Ibrahim Furkan Özdemir, the YEE's coordinator in Tehran, speaking to Anadolu Agency (AA), noted that besides language, drama, archery and translation workshops, the institute also offered a workshop focused on Turkish cuisine.
Stating that the Iranian women had shown tremendous interest in the workshop within the institute, Özdemir said that the quota for placement was filled in less than 24 hours after placing an advertisement for the workshop.
The workshop was initially planned for four weeks, but they are considering opening another one due to the high demand. "During the workshop, we will have the opportunity to introduce more than 20 Turkish dishes from different regions to Iranians," he said.
Seda Özdemir, the trainer of the Traditional Turkish Cuisine Workshop, also expressed happiness regarding the level of interest shown by the participants.
Noting that they are in the second week of the workshop, Özdemir explained that they taught the trainees in the first week how to make dishes like lentil meatballs, bulgur pilaf, spinach pie and the dessert şekerpare. She also said that the trainees' performance in the workshop motivates them more, adding that they are happy to have the opportunity to promote Turkish dishes.
One of the trainees, Mehsa Mukaddemmeniş, similarly expressed satisfaction with participating in the workshop stating she began to cook some of the dishes at home.
"Last week, I learned how to cook lentils and Islim kebap. Then, I prepared those dishes for my guests a few days ago. They liked it a lot," she said.
Another workshop attendant, Meryem Rafii, noted that she had learned Turkish from beginner level to C2 at the YEE. Explaining that she generally takes part in the workshops organized by the YEE, Rafii described the workshop as excellent, praising the instructor as well.
