Welcome to the Azerbaijan National Culinary Association🇦🇿
ANCA has been a member of The World Association of
Chefs' Societies (WACS) since 1992, and the Traditional Food
Committee of the UNESCO Folk Art Organization since 1998.
Azerbaijan National Culinary Association took an active part in the
World Culinary Congresses (25th, Germany), (26th, Norway),
(27th, Israel), (28th, Australia), (29th, Netherlands), (30th, Japan),
(31st, Ireland), (33rd, United Arab Emirates) (34th, Chile), and
European Conferences (Germany, Italy, Czech Republic, Austria).
The teams of the ANCA have brought dozens of gold, silver, bronze
medals and several awards from Culinary Championships and
Olympics held in Malta, Korea, Singapore, Russia, Germany,
Austria, Norway, England, Czech Republic, Malaysia, America,
Greece, Kazakhstan, Serbia, Montenegro, and other countries under
the auspices of the WACS, held Days of Azerbaijani Cuisine
Culture in Russia, France, Austria, Germany, Japan, Uzbekistan,
Ukraine, Dubai, Belgium, China, and other countries.
ANCA acted as a judge in some International culinary competitions
in Russia, Romania, Greece, Malta,Turkey, Moldova and Georgia, America, Korea, Kazakhstan,
Serbia, Montenegro, and other countries.
ANCA introduced Azerbaijan as a founder of a new food theory in
the world. Dozens of scientific lectures were delivered by ANCA in
higher schools of foreign countries and scientific conferences.
Nowadays, students of several foreign universities take exams in
Azerbaijani cuisine.
As a result of ANCA's efforts, Azerbaijan became the first country
in the former USSR that was admitted to the WACS (1992).
Afterward, Russia (1994), Ukraine and Uzbekistan (2002), Belarus,
Serbia (2006), Turkey, Kazakhstan, Moldova (2008) became
members of the WACS under the auspices of the ANCA.
ANCA is currently assisting Georgia in this area.
Now Azerbaijan is represented as a member of the Presidium,
Executive Committee, Youth Committee of the World Folk Art
Organization, and chairman of the "Traditional Food Committee".
Employees of ANCA are the cavaliers of the highest culinary award
"Badge of Dignity" established by the Russian Culinary Association
in The World Association of Chefs' Societies, the highest culinary
award of the Ukraine "Kyлинарное слово" and other awards.
ANCA was awarded the Order of the International Foundation for
Human Values and the Academy of Public Recognition. It was
honored with the title of World Culture and Art master in the
Organization for World Masters on Culture and Art.
Today, the Azerbaijan National Culinary Association is the only
professional organization in the country that deals with culinary
problems in the Republic. Not only chefs, but also scientists (historians, doctors, ethnographers, philosophers, linguists, etc.),
and the media cooperate with the Association.

The specialists trained by ANCA within the national teamwork in
the leading enterprises of the Republic, in foreign countries
(America, Germany, Romania, England, Greece, etc.).
ANCA is the only organization working to promote the National
Culinary Culture in the country. Hundreds of different types of
speeches on TV and articles in the press have increased attention to
Azerbaijani cuisine recently,
The Republican Competition of Young Chefs, the Republican
Culinary Championships for Housewives, the Republican National
Cuisine Championships, Family Cuisine Competitions in the
framework of the International family holiday, the Republican
Competition of Bartenders, the Regional Cuisine of Azerbaijan
within the Tourism Day were displayed, and meetings were held at
higher, secondary specialty schools and the Teacher Training
Institute over and over, classes were taught to lyceum, college and
institute students and they were helped to gain experience.
ANCA has repeatedly held scientific-practical Republican
conferences on "Modern state of Azerbaijan National Culinary and
Mass Nutrition, ways of development", commented on scientific works sent from foreign countries and the Republic, defended the
first dissertation on "Comprehensive study of Azerbaijani national
cuisine culture".
The first magazine in this field "Kulina" was created in Azerbaijan
ANCA has a high rating not only in the Republic but also abroad.
We standardize our dishes and about 20 dishes for the restaurant
business are patented.
More than 1,500 samples of national cuisine have been placed on
the portal of state protection of our intangible national cultural
heritage of the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Azerbaijan.
We have collected more than 4,000 national dishes and we continue
this process.
We founded the modernization of the national cuisine in 1993,
and since 2005 the direction of neo-classicism has been studied and
applied. In ancient sources, kitchen samples are collected and
restored.
Court kitchen books of the XV-XIX centuries are collected,
translated, restored, and used in our restaurants. The heritage of
national cuisine is studied through scientific research.
National cuisine samples have been involved in complex research
on terms of historical, ethnographic, medical, archeological,
technological, esthetic, ethical, etc. As a result of these researches,
2500 national cuisine recipes restored according to modern
requirements have been compiled as a book and they have been
given to the usage of chefs and restaurant business. New standards
have been created by us, patented, and began to be applied.
There were halal food standards, but there was not halal
cuisine and halal service. These standards have been prepared by us within WICS and the notion of halal culinary that covers halal
restaurant combining halal cuisine-halal service and halal catering
was brought to the restaurant business. Hilal (star for restaurant and
Hilal for chefs) standards with 1, 2, 3 stars, that are the analogue of
Michelin, have been created, patented, and now work is carried out
on them.
The initiator, founder, and president of ANCA is Takhir Amiraslanov İdris.