Cretan Food Culture and It’s Sustainability

Abstract

One of the fastest-growing types of tourism, which has an important role in the economies
all over the world, is the gastronomic tourism. Today, eating is not a physiological need
anymore; however, knowing and experiencing the culinary culture of different countries
or regions has emerged as one of the most important reasons for travelling. Having a
different and rich food culture specific to a country/region may not be enough by itself;
thus, it is also important to ensure the sustainability of this culture. The Cretan Cuisine is
one of the cuisines that offer a healthy eating model with its distinctive and unique
features in terms of food culture such as using olive oil with plenty of herbs and less
spices, cooking herbs in their own juices. Cretan cuisine is one of the most refined
examples of human beings using of the nature. In 1923, Cretan Turks, who settled in
different regions of Turkey by maintaining the Cretan cuisine pristine, has made a
significant contribution to the enrichment of Anatolian cuisine. In this study, in order to
ensure the sustainability of the food culture of Crete, various suggestions have been
developed.