Serious Seven

The idea is simple: You ate a lot, now give back! 
This is the theme of a forthcoming food conference titled "Yedi" to be held in Istanbul on Nov. 6. In Turkish, the word "Yedi" has a dual meaning. First, it means the number "seven;" in this case, it stands both for both the seven regions of Turkey and the seven hills of Istanbul (Yes, like Rome, Istanbul is built on seven hills!). The number seven is also considered auspicious in Turkey, having numerous religious attributions to its holiness. Second, it means "ate," the past tense of the verb "to eat" in the third-person singular form. It seems that the theme and the title of the conference will give another dimension to the good fortune attributed to the number seven, and from now on, it will also stand for a good cause!

Now, first about Yedi: They describe themselves as an Istanbul-based, international food conference, bringing together chefs, producers and opinion leaders for powerful discussions on food and beyond. The foundations of Yedi were first laid at previous events titled "Discover Your Food" held back first as part of Gastro Istanbul in 2014, and later as a conference of its own earlier this year. This time the leading team is a trio (not seven!) of chef Mehmet Gürs of Mikla, Cemre Narin of Condé Nast Traveller Turkey and Sitare Baras of MSA. The reason that they felt the urge to make another conference following one in April was the growing discomfort at the injustice in the food world.

I've written about Refettorio of Massimo Bottura previously, the one I witnessed in Milan during Expo 2015 and the one in the favelas of Rio. The good news is that he will be here in Istanbul to tell about his Milan and Rio experiences and his future prospects. It has to be noted that his projects...