Foreigners’ Perceptions of Turkish Cuisine in Türkiye-Based Scholarship: A Systematic Review

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Çeşmeci N., Habıba N. S.

Journal of Global Tourism and Technology Research, cilt.7, sa.2, ss.89-104, 2026 (Hakemli Dergi)

Özet

This study systematically reviews academic work from Türkiye-based scholarship on the perceptions of foreigners towards Turkish cuisine. PRISMA informed procedure was used to identify and select studies for analysis from TR Dizin and DergiPark. In order to analyze the selected 18 articles, descriptive mapping and theory-informed thematic synthesis were used. Publication trends, methodological patterns, thematic orientations, and cross-study findings were examined. The results indicate that the literature on foreigners' perceptions of Turkish cuisine has increased significantly, especially after the mid-2010s, but is mostly descriptive and survey-oriented. Four main thematic areas were identified: Perceptions and evaluations of Turkish cuisine by foreigners; Gastronomic experiences and memorable food encounters; Destination image and development of gastronomy tourism; and Food-related motivations and behavioural tendencies. In the reviewed studies, Turkish cuisine was generally rated positively in terms of taste, variety, appearance, authenticity and cultural richness. But this positive image is countered by repeated criticism on sensory acceptability and perceived risk, especially oiliness, heaviness and spiciness. The synthesis additionally demonstrates that perceptions of foreigners depend on cultural background, previous culinary habits, familiarity, type of dish, social setting, service quality, and digital mediation. The review adds to the literature by presenting an overview of the scholarship on Turkish cuisine in Türkiye and indicating that the responses of foreigners are multi-dimensional and context-dependent and not uniformly positive or negative. Future research should adopt more comparative, longitudinal, mixed-method, and theoretically informed designs to examine the development of culinary perceptions and how they are transformed into actual behaviors.