Investigation of culinary cultures and dishes of immigrants migrating from Bulgaria to Turkey: Bursa province example

Societies have identities blended with the components promised to them by the geography they live in, where different values meet in a common structure. These identities have evolved as a result of changing time and environmental conditions. Historical adventure, geographical conditions, belief systems and social structure are among the components of these identities. These identities that can be transferred from the past to the future are called culture. Culture can be evaluated in different categorisations. Every element that makes up a society actually constitutes a different cultural stone of that society. Culinary culture is one of them. The cuisine of a society is shaped within its geographical boundaries, framed in line with its natural resources and acts as a mirror reflecting its way of life. Culinary culture, which has such a multi-elemental structure, is influenced by other societies as in other cultures. In the world, people have to migrate due to various problems such as war, natural disasters, livelihood problems, etc. and this situation increases the interaction of societies with each other. At this point, the study focuses on the food and beverage cultures of individuals who migrated from Bulgaria to Bursa. By addressing the concepts of culture, identity, migration, the effects of migration and culinary culture, the impact of migration from Bulgaria to Turkey on culinary culture will be analysed. The relationships between migration, culture and culinary culture will be investigated. After the literature review, the eating and drinking habits of immigrants and the recipes they apply in the post-migration period will be examined in detail. The food and beverage culture of Bulgarian immigrants in Turkey, their food habits on special and religious days and their traditional dishes will be discussed. The food culture of immigrant individuals will be evaluated in the light of the data collected through content analyses and semi-structured interview techniques. Interviews will be conducted with Bulgarian citizens currently living in Bulgaria to analyse their culinary culture. As a result of the analyses and interviews, answers will be obtained to the questions of what kind of changes have taken place in the food cultures of the Bulgarian citizens who still live in Bulgaria and the Bulgarian citizens who have migrated, what kind of interaction the immigrants have with other communities in the post-migration period and the revision of the Turkish recipes of Bulgarian origin to a great extent. The findings show that the culinary traditions of immigrants from Bulgaria have been largely preserved, with some adaptations due to ingredient availability, while cultural memory—particularly mediated through women—remains strong. The Bulgarian immigrant cuisine in Bursa stands as a vivid example of both cultural continuity and gastronomic interaction shaped by the experience of migration.