Journey to Sephardic Delicacies
Translation by Janet MITRANI
On Sunday, April 16th, the Quincentennial Foundation Museum of Turkish Jews hosted the opening night of 'The Sephardic Flavors and Aromas' Exhibition organized within the scope of researching, preserving, spreading, and promoting the Sephardic culinary culture, in cooperation with the Spanish Embassy in Turkey, Istanbul Cervantes Institute, and Red de Juderías de España.
With a journey dating back to 1492, the gastronomic culture that Sephardic Jews brought to the lands they migrated to is presented in the exhibition through boards. This exhibition, telling about Sephardic cuisine and its history, gets its name from the book "Sabores de Sephardi" written by the Spanish author, cook, and food photographer Javier Zafra.
Following the opening speeches of Fernando Vara de Rey the Director of Cervantes Institute, Marta Puig Quixal from Juderías de España, Silvyo Ovadya the Director of the Quincentennial Foundation, and Nisya İşman Allovi the Director of the Museum of Turkish Jews, Chef Zafra introduced his book and the dishes exhibited on the boards.
The opening night of the exhibition, which took place with a rather large number of participants, came to an end in a joyous atmosphere along with the serving of Spanish champagne, sandwich with taramasalata, and Borekitas, the essential delicacy of Sephardic cuisine.