Turkish Airlines has introduced ‘The Oldest Bread’ to the in-flight service menu, to share Turkish history, traditions, and culture.
The bread is made of Einkorn and Emmer Wheats, ingredients that are considered the oldest of their types in Anatolia, home to the most ancient civilisations. It was introduced to the menu on flight TK3 from Istanbul to New York on 22 September, alongside a film that was short in the Göbeklitepe, Karahantepe, and Euphrates River regions, and supported by Türkiye’s Ministry of Culture and Tourism.
The new menu item is served warmed and in a cloth bag with butter and olive oil before the main meal, and is available for Intercontinental Business Class passengers. The recipe was developed in partnership with Turkish culinary historian Ömür Akkor and academic Çetin ªenkul.
“As the flag carrier that offers the world’s finest flavours to its guests and receiving numerous accolades for it from world renowned organisations, we are pleased to introduce our business class travellers to the world’s oldest bread grown from the reproduction of ancient wheat discovered in excavations in the Anatolia region,” said Turkish Airlines Chairman of the Board and the Executive Committee Prof. Ahmet Bolat. “With this bread, traditional to Turkish cuisine and significant to global culinary history, we aim to blend past and present together on our inflight guest experiences. We hope that our new menu item will be appreciated by our guests as we continue our award-winning leadership in the field of inflight dining.”
The Oldest Bread project reflects Anatolian agricultural history from 12,000 years ago in the Taº Tepeler region, considered one of the central places of the Neolithic Revolution and leading to the transition from hunter-gather lifestyles to agricultural society. Turkish Airlines has promised to source 80 per cent of all menu products from local producers, and the in-flight meals are prepared daily.
Photos: Turkish Airlines
