The selection below brings together different evidence types: testimony, archive records, secondary research and clearly labelled interpretation. Each card states its own source and evidence status. Principal sources: Halit Atay · Kemal Erten · Prof. Dr. M. Tezcan · Murat Bardakçı (2022) · Full Bibliography →
01Named First in Testimony · Main Dish
Kuru Fasulye
"Yağlı Fasulye" — as he called it
By his chefs' first-hand testimony, the dish they recall him naming first and asking for most, kuru fasulye, Türkiye's slow-cooked white bean stew. He called it "yağlı fasulye" and always asked for it to be cooked without meat. This habit, carried from his military school years, was, by their testimony, strong enough that the Çankaya kitchens kept it ready at all times — a ranking that rests on testimony, not an archive-measured preference.
SourceHalit Atay's testimony: "He used to say he would never tire of kuru fasulye." It came with bread dipped in ayran and rice pilaf.
At the Table
In the same testimony kuru fasulye arrived with pilav (rice or bulgur), and a bowl of ayran stood on the table. The habit of dipping bread into ayran travelled with him from Salonika.
Political Meaning
Choosing the people's table over palace cuisine, even as President — read historically as an expression of the Republic's populist spirit; this is an interpretation, not documented intent.
Interpretation
02Side Dish · Staple
Pirinç & Bulgur Pilavı
The inseparable companion of kuru fasulye: pilav, made with rice or bulgur. Halit Atay personally recounted that whenever kuru fasulye was served, a properly grained pilav was always prepared alongside it.
SourceDirect testimony of Halit Atay (Çankaya chef, 1931–1935).
03Indispensable · Beverage
Ayran
According to the testimony attributed to Halit Atay, at breakfast, lunch and dinner — even in mid-afternoon — a bowl of ayran (the traditional Turkish yoghurt drink) stood on the table. The account that the habit of dipping bread into ayran came from Salonika belongs to the same testimonial level.
SourceHalit Atay: "At every meal, even mid-afternoon, there was always ayran."
04Main Dish · Frequent
Karnıyarık
Karnıyarık — split aubergines filled with seasoned minced meat — is among the dishes most often recalled in table testimony. Those accounts describe it being eaten with pilav. The record is testimony-based; the purchase archive does not establish a ranked preference.
SourceProf. Dr. Mahmut Tezcan, First International Symposium on Atatürk and Turkish Folk Culture (presented 2000; published proceedings 2001).
05Provisional Account · Pastry · Salonika
Selanik Usulü Ispanaklı Börek
Some memoir and secondary accounts associate this Salonika-style spinach börek with his mother's recipe. The full citation for that connection is still being verified; the preference and continuity-of-recipe claims are therefore presented as provisional.
SourceProvisional source record — full citation verification is in progress.
06Provisional Testimony · Meze · Rakı Table
Fava
Some testimonial accounts associate fava, a broad-bean purée, with the rakı table. The precise witness and page citation for the categorical claim that he would never sit without it has not yet been verified; the association is therefore presented as provisional.
SourceProvisional source record — the full witness and page citation is being verified.
07Breakfast / Night
Peynirli Omlet
According to the testimony attributed to Halit Atay, working late into the night Atatürk would ask for a peynirli omlet — a simple cheese omelette — when hunger struck. The account that he often requested it at breakfast is not part of that testimony (unverified transmission), and describing it as a symbol of a plain, practical approach to eating is editorial interpretation.
SourceHalit Atay: "When he grew hungry at night, he would ask for a cheese omelette."
08Main Dish · Anatolia
Bamya
Bamya — okra stewed in the Anatolian manner — represented the vegetable cuisine of the land. In the Çankaya purchase ledgers published by Bardakçı, it is among the vegetables most frequently brought into the kitchen. This supports regular kitchen use; it does not by itself establish a personal preference ranking or a health rationale. Any bond with the people's cuisine is a historical-cultural reading, not a fact. Derived Inference
SourceBardakçı 2022, pp. 12–13 and 112–114; WTCA D18, items 3–5 and 31–32.
09Yalova Residence · Vegetable · Special Interest
Haşlanmış Kuşkonmaz
An account states that asparagus was grown in the garden of the Yalova residence. This may be interpreted in the context of Atatürk's interest in agricultural production; the degree of personal preference or any specific health rationale is not conclusively established by the present source.
Interpretation · no proven health rationale
SourceProvisional source record — the Yalova record, witness name and page citation are being verified.
