Gastromasa Istanbul is preparing to celebrate its 10th anniversary at the Haliç Congress Center on November 6–7, 2025. As the meeting point of the global gastronomy world, the Gastromasa Istanbul International Gastronomy Conference & Exhibition will host more than 60 world-renowned chefs, over 350 local experts, and four original concepts. Gökmen Sözen, Founder of Gastromasa and CEO of Sözen Group, reflects on Gastromasa’s journey and present day, while also announcing exciting surprises planned especially for its 10th year.
Speaking about Gastromasa’s 10th anniversary, Gökmen Sözen emphasizes the personal significance of the name: “With Gastromasa, we built a bridge to the world. We connected Türkiye to the world and brought chefs from around the globe together. It wasn’t just a Turkish brand—people everywhere could easily say ‘Gastromasa.’ By the end of the first year, influenced by Ferran Adrià and Spanish chefs, we opened Gastromasa to the world, and we started running with it globally.”
Gökmen Sözen, Founder of Gastromasa & CEO of Sözen Group: “We believe we’ve expanded Türkiye’s horizons with Gastromasa.”
Sözen says they began laying the foundations of Gastromasa many years ago and expresses great excitement for this year’s 10th anniversary. He notes how gastronomy has evolved since the early days of Gastromasa, adding: “We believe we’ve expanded Türkiye’s horizons with Gastromasa. Many international brands and awards have come to Türkiye—and I believe Gastromasa has been the driving force behind that.”
Gökmen Sözen explains that through Gastromasa and other Sözen Group brands, they have brought over 500 high-caliber chefs, gastronomy professionals, tourism investors, and hundreds of media representatives to Turkey so far. He states: “We can say that Gastromasa has made a significant contribution to promoting Turkish gastronomy. There are outstanding culinary schools in Türkiye, and their students eagerly wait for Gastromasa each year—to see new creative videos and to receive new messages.”
Sözen: “We are one of the most important players in global gastronomy.”
Sözen describes his extensive travels to various international events, congresses, and festivals, along with personal visits to top chefs, sustainable food projects, and individuals passionate about quality ingredients, technique, and creativity. He says the themes of Gastromasa were born out of these journeys. Referring to Türkiye’s chef-driven restaurants, he explains that they’ve expanded the perception of Gastromasa—and with its expansion to London, they now confidently say: “We are one of the most important players in global gastronomy.”
Calling Gastromasa “the most important event for promoting the country,” Sözen highlights the tremendous effort that goes into the organization: “Gastromasa is an event built by traveling the world, inch by inch. For the 10th anniversary, we are more excited than ever to bring world-renowned professionals together with Turkish gastronomy. We’ve prepared major surprises.”