Mary Işın will look at various aspects of Ottoman cuisine, including its origins, influence and symbolic role in society.
As Prof. Robert Dankoff says, the Ottomans saw their cuisine as reflecting the greatness of their empire. Not just the foods themselves but many related customs were an essential component in forging a shared Ottoman identity that bound people of different classes and backgrounds together. Culinary culture is a mirror of society, reflecting the way people lived, their attitudes and their relations with one another.