Historical Mengen Rice and Cooking Culture Route

History and General Information / Local Legends and Folklore Mengen has been known as the capital of the culinary profession for centuries, from the chief cooks of the Ottoman palace cuisine to today's world-class gastronomy chefs. Rumor has it that the masters from Mengen, to whom the sultans entrusted their kitchens since Mehmed the Conqueror, invented the famous 'Mengen Pilaf' by blending meat, lamb mushrooms, walnuts and fresh spices specially for the sultan's tables. Mengen, the first district in the world where a culinary festival was held and a culinary high school was established, transmits its secrets of taste from generation to generation with the master-apprentice tradition. Geographical Structure, Altitude and Natural Features It was established in a lush green valley surrounded by rich oak and beech forests, at an altitude of approximately 620 meters, in the mountain belt behind the Black Sea. The most important factor in the taste of Mengen Pilaf is the lamb meat grown in the local plateaus, wild lamb belly and kanlica mushrooms collected from the Bolu mountains, butter, walnut kernels and dill, steeped and cooked in traditional copper pots. Visiting Hours, Days and Entrance Fees