The Culinary Arts Center (YESAM) was established by the Turkish Cultural Foundation (TCF), a US tax-exempt public charitable organization supported entirely by private donations, with offices in Boston, Washington, DC and Istanbul, Turkey. TCF was established in 2000 with the mission to support the preservation and promotion of Turkish culture and heritage worldwide through original programs and cooperation with like minded organizations. The programs of TCF help build cultural bridges between the United States and Turkey, increase knowledge on Turkish cultural heritage and its contributions to world culture and humanity.

The mission of YESAM is to conduct research on Turkish culinary culture, past and present, records foods and food-related traditions both in Turkey and other regions inhabited by Turkish people; recreate traditional dishes and develop educational models so that this culture is passed on to future generations and brought to the attention of world gastronomy.