Culinary Festival Brings Together Aspiring Iranian Chefs

Date: 20 May 2025 - 22:16

News ID: ۱۳۹۷۸۵

TEHRAN -- Persian cuisine is a tapestry woven of history, regional diversity, and a deep sense of taste and aesthetics.
Its traditions date back thousands of years, with influences from the Achaemenid Empire (550-330 BC) and ancient Greek and Roman civilizations.
Located along the Silk Road, Persia was a melting pot of ingredients and culinary techniques, incorporating spices, fruits, and nuts from the East and West.
Persian cuisine developed in the royal courts, resulting in elaborate dishes and sophisticated techniques, especially during the Safavid dynasty (1501-1736), which saw the rise of rice dishes embellished with jewels and particularly refined stews.
The Nan & Namak preserving food culture in Tehran Slow Food Community, in collaboration with the Parsian Hotel and the Hotel Management Students Scientific Association (Mehman Nawazi), successfully hosted a two-day culinary festival and workshop in Iran’s capital city, titled A Journey to Good, Clean, and Fair Tastes, bringing together 40 aspiring young chefs for an immersive experience in sustainable gastronomy.
Tehran is home to numerous traditional restaurants that have been serving classic Persian dishes for decades, some even centuries. These establishments often offer an authentic taste of Persian heritage.
Alongside the traditional, Tehran boasts a growing number of modern and fusion restaurants. These establishments often experiment with traditional flavors, presenting them with contemporary culinary techniques and stylish presentations.
Chef Jalal Zavareh – 44 years old  – founded the Slow Food Community in 2024, with cooperation of  Hoda Dastpak, a woman active in the field of traditional plant based sweets, and is currently its leader.
After completing its studies in hotel management and starting its culinary career in a hotel, gradually expanded its activities in the food industry and wrote a book on cooking.
While researching for his second book, he became familiar with Slow Food in Iran and joined the Central Tehran Convivium, then Alvand, and eventually the Guilan Convivium respectively situated not far from the Caspian Sea and in Central Iran.
Over time, he became more and more familiar with Slow Food topics and protocols. He participated in the last two editions of Terra Madre in Turin (Italy), the biennial major international event about sustainable food systems.
In 2022, the Iranian delegation highlighted fair trade and sustainable agriculture, particularly from the Qa’en region in southern Khorasan.
In 2024, they presented a project created to make, in Italy, artisanal products with saffron from Qa’en, produced above 1,500 meters, as an ingredient.
Iranian food utilizes in fact a beautiful array of spices like saffron, turmeric, cardamom, cinnamon, and cumin to create warmth and depth of flavor. Saffron, in particular, is highly prized and used in many dishes, lending a distinctive color and aroma.
Ultimately, after returning from Terra Madre 2024, Jalal Zavareh took the initiative to register the Nan & Namak Slow Food Community in Tehran. He is also responsible for launching, equipping, and establishing restaurant projects as a head chef, and teaches as a cooking instructor in the fields of culinary arts and food tourism at universities in Iran.
The young chefs who attended A Journey to Good, Clean, and Fair Tastes Festival are mostly culinary students. Only a few are directly involved in cooking through their work in the restaurant industry.
Zavareh’s presence and activity facilitated communication and introduced the concept of Slow Food to the University groups, leading to an exchange of knowledge between the Slow Food Community (which counts 17 members) and the other participants.
The festival aimed to educate young chefs on the principles of the Slow Food movement and to support and promote small-scale producers.
The workshop featured hands-on training, discussions on sustainable sourcing, and an introduction to unique regional ingredients, ensuring that attendees left with both technical skills and a deep appreciation for ethical food production.
Under Zavareh’s guidance, participants explored Iran’s rich culinary heritage. They prepared dishes using local and indigenous ingredients and products.
These dishes were showcased and tasted by the participants themselves, food tourism professors from the University, hotel guests, and managers from Parsian Hotel.
At the end of the festival, a public session was held by Zavareh to introduce the Slow Food culture, the importance of researching and recognizing forgotten-traditional foods, and emphasizing cooperation with local producers.
The Nan Namak Slow Food Community has been at the forefront of reviving traditional food knowledge and promoting responsible food practices in Iran, by emphasizing the importance of preserving endangered food products and culinary traditions.
A hallmark of Iranian cuisine is the artful balance of sweet, sour, salty, and sometimes bitter notes in a single dish. This is often achieved through the use of fruits (fresh and dried), souring agents like lemon juice, pomegranate molasses, dried limes, and aromatic spices.
Fresh herbs such as parsley, cilantro, mint, dill, and fenugreek are used generously, sometimes taking center stage rather than just being garnishes.
Rice, especially long-grain basmati, is the cornerstone of most Iranian meals. It’s often prepared simply (chelow) or incorporated into elaborate dishes (polow) with various ingredients like herbs, vegetables, dried fruits, nuts, and meats.
A crispy rice crust called tahdig is a highly coveted part of the meal. Various types of kebabs, made from marinated lamb, beef, or chicken, are incredibly popular and often considered the national dish (chelo kebab).
Rich and complex stews, often served with rice, are a significant part of Iranian cuisine.
Examples include ghormeh sabzi (herb stew with kidney beans and lamb), fesenjan (pomegranate and walnut stew with chicken or duck), and gheimeh (split pea and lamb stew).
“In my community, we strive to continuously emphasize the importance of preserving local and traditional foods and incorporating them into family meal plans by organizing educational sessions, both in academic and workshop formats,” Zavareh said.
“This goal will be achievable through practical classes and workshops we hold from time to time, encouraging people to participate in local food festivals, researching endangered native plants, and introducing them during educational sessions to students, chefs, and even the general public.
The success of this festival highlights the growing interest in sustainable gastronomy among young chefs and reinforces the importance of collaborative efforts in shaping the future of Iranian cuisine. Special thanks to Slow Food for its support in making this event possible” he added.
Due to the lack of awareness and attention from government officials and the lack of importance placed by the public on traditional foods and old recipes, this culinary richness  is gradually becoming extinct, which is one of the biggest problems in the country’s food culture.
Therefore, through education and the community’s emphasis on reviving these endangered foods, as well as encouraging the public to use and purchase raw materials from local producers, it is hoped that the young and fresh student groups will play an important role in spreading this mindset through all Iran.