Azernews.Az

By Laman Ismayilova

"There is no sincerer love than the love of food." George Bernard Shaw.

Food is one of the defining aspects of culture. There's no better way to understand a culture than through its food.

One of the best ways to truly experience local culture is to taste its national cuisine. Chefs surprise us with fusion of myriad tastes.

Each year on October 20th, people around the world celebrate International Chefs Day.

Since its creation by esteemed chef Dr. Bill Gallagher in 2004, Worldchefs has committed to using International Chefs Day to celebrate this noble profession.

Various culinary contests, master classes and promotions are held as part of the celebration.

The holiday brings together a large number of people who possesses the most modest ingredients to create culinary masterpieces.

International Chefs Day is celebrated in about 70 countries, including Azerbaijan.

The Day will be marked at Sheraton Baku Airport Hotel on October 20. The Second Tea Festival will be also held as part of the event.

The tea traditions of Azerbaijan, Japan, Turkey, China, India, Russia, Uzbekistan and other countries will be presented at the festival.

Public and officials, representatives of ministries and government agencies, diplomatic missions will take part in the event.

Meanwhile, Azerbaijani cooks are known all over the world. They introduce us to impressive food of the Azerbaijani cuisine.

It's not a secret that Azerbaijani cooking abounds with numerous spices and intriguing flavor combinations. National cuisine employs a range of herbs, meat and vegetables. Fresh herbs, including mint, coriander, dill, basil, parsley, tarragon, leek, chive, thyme, marjoram, green onion, and watercress are very popular and often accompany main dish.

Dolma, bozbash, bozartma, Shish kebab, piti, pilaf, and govurma are unique dishes of national cuisine. Azerbaijan also attracts all those who have a sweet tooth. There are more than 30 varieties of Azerbaijani pastries that use unique ingredients such as poppy seeds, walnuts, almonds, sesame seeds, ginger, and cardamom, which make the treats spicy and especially tasty.

Azerbaijani chefs successfully represented the country at international culinary competitions. The national team was awarded the first place at in the 33rd Mengen International Culinary and Tourism Festival in Turkey. National chefs also participated in the third International Culinary Festival Kranjska Gora in Slovenia.

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Laman Ismayilova is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Lam_Ismayilova

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