TMDH & WTCA · Atatürk Cuisine Week

Organising Institutions

Who Are TMDH & WTCA?

Turkish Cuisine MovementTMDH · tmdh.net · Declared: 7 January 2020

An independent Turkish-cuisine research and advocacy movement created to study, document, protect and promote the identity and history of Turkish cuisine. Its work, led by Founding President Tolgahan Gülyiyen, is carried out entirely in the higher interest of Turkish cuisine and without any material gain.

TMDH uses institutional reports to present accounts it regards as disputed or inaccurate concerning Turkish cuisine, and works on professional ethics, the master–apprentice relationship and culinary culture. The phrase "We Will Continue to Say 'Atatürk Cuisine Week'" is a concise expression of this institutional advocacy approach.

Institutional Website · tmdh.net

World Turkish Cuisine AcademyWTCA · Dünya Türk Mutfağı Akademisi

WTCA’s current institutional name is World Turkish Cuisine Academy / Dünya Türk Mutfağı Akademisi. The form “World Turkish Cuisine & Chefs Academy” is a historical name variant retained in certain institutional documents and in the original logo.

Inspired by the working model of the Turkish Language Association, WTCA carries out the review, reporting and institutional-level documentation of the Turkish culinary arts worldwide. Through theses and reports grounded in scientific sources, it aims to raise the quality of Turkish cuisine's international representation.

Works it examines are added to the World Turkish Culinary Heritage List, entering a permanent institutional record; the book Atatürk'ün Mutfağı has been evaluated within this list. This list is WTCA's institutional heritage inventory; it is not a UNESCO or any intergovernmental list. Its double-headed-eagle emblem symbolises the bond between Turkish cuisine and a deep-rooted tradition of statehood.

Mission Statement · worldturkishcuisine.com

◆ Founding President

Chef Tolgahan Gülyiyen at Anıtkabir — Anıtkabir · TMDH archive

Tolgahan Gülyiyen — Founding President of the Turkish Cuisine Movement (TMDH) and the World Turkish Cuisine Academy (WTCA). He is the founding architect of Atatürk Cuisine Week (Decision No. 40, 2024) and of the Commemoration Week of the Legendary Chefs of Turkish Cuisine; the content, architecture and publication of this site were carried out under his first-hand direction and without commercial sponsorship. A top graduate in Gastronomy and Culinary Arts, he has practised for more than twenty years as a chef and consultant, on a line extending from Türkiye's leading hotel kitchens to Washington, D.C. His professional roots rest on the legacy of his father, Chef Zeki Gülyiyen, known in Türkiye as the "Master of the Chefs". He defines the week as the institutional expression of a resolve to build the past, present and future of Turkish cuisine with inspiration drawn from Atatürk's intellectual legacy.

Full biography: worldturkishcuisine.com · About

◆ Founder's Archive

The frames below are selected from the Founding President's professional journey and are held in the TMDH institutional archive. Captions are kept at the level verifiable from the photograph itself and from institutional records; frames whose place–date details cannot be independently verified are presented by context only (see Method · Limitations).

Congratulations at the podium during the diploma ceremony — **KA-I** · University diploma ceremony — at the top-of-class podium.

In graduation gown, holding the first-place trophy — **KA-II** · Graduation day, with the first-place award.

A young chef on the marble balcony of a historic building — **KA-III** · Early career — Istanbul.

In chef whites on the flag-lined ceremonial plaza of the Turkish State Cemetery — **KA-IV** · The Turkish State Cemetery (Devlet Mezarlığı), Ankara — an institutional visit.

In chef whites before the United States Capitol; the WTCA seal at left, a Zeki Gülyiyen memorial banner in the background — **KA-V** · Washington, D.C. — before the United States Capitol; an institutional composition with the WTCA seal. A Zeki Gülyiyen memorial banner in the background.

Source: TMDH institutional archive · worldturkishcuisine.com

Portrait of Hülya Duranoğlu Erol in WTCA ceremonial attire — Hülya Duranoğlu Erol · Institutional portrait, 2026

Institutional Contribution & Honorary Recognition

WTCA Honorary Professor Hülya Duranoğlu Erol

WTCA institutional honorary designation · Decision adopted: 30 August 2025 · Published: 19 May 2026

"WTCA Honorary Professor" is an internal honorary designation of the World Turkish Cuisine Academy. It is not an academic degree, university appointment, statutory professorial title, official academic rank or formal academic qualification.

Hülya Duranoğlu Erol was granted this internal honorary designation by the WTCA Senate in recognition of her work concerning the research, written and audiovisual documentation, preservation and intergenerational transmission of Turkish culinary culture and regional culinary memory. The decision was adopted on 30 August 2025 and published on 19 May 2026.⁸

According to TMDH records, Erol contributed to the discussion, review and final amendment process of the D18 institutional review report concerning Murat Bardakçı's book "Atatürk'ün Mutfağı". The 10 November 2021 Atatürk special broadcast and the 1 July 2022 book-assessment programme are audiovisual records of institutional discussions conducted by Tolgahan Gülyiyen and Hülya Erol on Atatürk's culinary legacy.⁹

These broadcasts must not be treated as stand-alone primary evidence for historical claims concerning Atatürk's life or culinary preferences. Their source status is "audiovisual institutional discussion": they document the institution's review, interpretation and public-discussion process. Historical claims made in the broadcasts must be assessed separately against archival records, testimony and secondary research.¹⁰

In the TMDH–WTCA declaration of Atatürk Cuisine Week dated 16 May 2024, Hülya Erol was thanked for her contributions to the institutions' work. TMDH and WTCA thank Hülya Duranoğlu Erol for her documented contribution to the institutional review and public discussion of Atatürk's culinary legacy.

26 August 2021WTCA Turkish Cuisine Medal of Merit, Decision No. 30. "Mother of Turkish Cuisine" is an institutional honorary designation of WTCA.
9 November 2021"10 November Atatürk Special Broadcast — Şeffaf Bölge, Episode 3." An audiovisual institutional discussion featuring Tolgahan Gülyiyen and Hülya Erol.
1 July 2022"Unknown Aspects of Atatürk's Kitchen and Book Assessment." Institutional record of Erol's contribution to the discussion and final amendment process of the D18 report.
16 May 2024Acknowledgement in the declaration of Atatürk Cuisine Week for her contributions to the institutions' work.
30 August 2025 / 19 May 2026Adoption / publication of WTCA's internal "Honorary Professor" designation.

Honorary Designation Record (TMDH) Medal of Merit · Decision No. 30 D18 Report Assessment Atatürk Cuisine Week Declaration Book-Assessment Broadcast (1 Jul 2022) 10 November Special Broadcast (2021) Who is Hülya Erol?

Flag of the Turkish Cuisine Movement

The institutional symbol of TMDH, this flag carries a central Turkish kilim motif surrounded by the symbols of the peoples of the Turkic world. The design reflects the understanding that Turkish cuisine is a shared heritage belonging not only to Türkiye, but to the entire Turkic world.