Our Story
We honor the past
while bringing together learning, production, and experience.
The idea behind Kapurcuk Academy — where the processes of learning and teaching are designed to preserve social values and ensure sustainability — was first established in 2011 with the opening of the Kapurcuk Culture and Gastronomy House, an ethnography and gastronomy museum located in the Old Town of Marmaris.
What began as a journey of production rooted in the soil gradually evolved into an educational philosophy, giving rise to Kapurcuk Academy.
The philosophy of Kapurcuk Academy is inspired by the Kapurcuk Culture and Gastronomy Book, which was honored with the Food Heritage Award at the Gourmand International Cookbook Awards 2022.
Kapurcuk
Culture and Gastronomy House
Established under the leadership of Mehmet Baysal, the Kapurcuk Culture and Gastronomy House is an ethnography museum dedicated to preserving, reviving, and promoting the authentic culture and traditional way of life of Marmaris.
Within the scope of our project aimed at sustaining local natural and cultural values, the Disappearing Crafts Workshop offers not only visual presentations and storytelling about traditional crafts that are fading away, but also hands-on practical training experiences.
In our Lost Flavors section, we bring the forgotten tastes of Marmaris into the present day by serving freshly prepared traditional desserts made daily with local milk, flour, eggs, honey, almonds, and walnuts from the region.
Kapurcuk
Culture and Gastronomy Book
Marmaris and its villages possess a rich cultural and gastronomic heritage that remains largely undiscovered, hidden, and insufficiently recognized. Even today, it is still possible to witness in everyday life the traces, traditions, and ways of living left behind by the many civilizations that once flourished in Marmaris and its surrounding villages.
With the philosophy of “Respect for the past, greetings to the future,” Kapurcuk aims to preserve and sustain the cultural and gastronomic richness of Marmaris. This work was created as a tribute to Marmaris — a region that, for centuries, has provided shelter, nourishment, and an exceptional quality of life to every civilization that has lived upon its lands — and to contribute to the continuation of its values for future generations.
Extensive academic research was conducted through visits to villages across the region, and the culture and gastronomy of Marmaris were documented firsthand through the testimonies of the last representatives of their era.
Our book, created through the compilation of these records and studies, was honored with the Food Heritage Award at the Gourmand International Cookbook Awards 2022.
Field
Established on a 20-decare agricultural land in the village of Çamlı, Marmaris, Kapurcuk Field practices pesticide-free farming using heirloom seeds. A wide variety of local products are cultivated here, including geographically indicated Turgut peanuts, sesame, Karakılçık wheat, olives, wine grapes, citrus fruits, and carob.
Products harvested seasonally each year are processed at the Kapurcuk Production Facility and offered directly to consumers through the Kapurcuk Store.
Visitors to our field are invited to experience production and harvest processes firsthand, including Karakılçık wheat and sesame harvesting, aromatic herb planting, and citrus picking.
From the Academy’s perspective, the significance of Kapurcuk Field lies in giving students the opportunity to understand and select quality raw ingredients while becoming part of the cultivation journey itself. The products grown in the field serve as the primary ingredients used in the Academy’s educational programs and kitchens.
Kapurcuk Store
From Marmaris pine honey and olives to traditional fruit preserves and local sodas, we source a wide range of regional products either directly from Kapurcuk Field or from local producers, transforming them through traditional recipes combined with modern production technologies.
At Kapurcuk Store, visitors can observe and experience production processes through our honey filling, Turkish delight, and soda production areas.
Within the store, the Marmaris Dessert House offers our freshly prepared local delicacies on a daily basis.
Kapurcuk Restaurant
One of the most distinctive advantages of our Academy is the Application Restaurant located within our campus. Kapurcuk Restaurant provides students from all educational branches and levels with the opportunity to gain hands-on practical experience, while also serving as a platform for learning food and beverage service management.
Offering visitors a delicious menu where local ingredients are blended with modern international culinary techniques, Kapurcuk Restaurant provides a refreshing dining experience in harmony with nature.
Gastronomy Museum and Library
Located within Kapurcuk Academy, our museum presents visitors with a curated journey through gastronomic heritage, featuring tools, utensils, and photographs used from ancient times to the present day in village life, Ottoman cuisine, and European culinary traditions.
The museum also includes a dedicated space suitable for discussions and knowledge exchange on interdisciplinary subjects such as gastronomic history, gastroanthropology, and gastrodiplomacy.
Situated within the same area, our library offers a quiet study environment and features a carefully selected collection of books focused on gastronomy and local history. Containing resources aligned with the Academy’s educational programs, the library continues to expand with every new contribution to gastronomic literature.