Giorgi Lomsadze's great Eurasianet story about Georgia's attempts to obtain trademark protection for khachapuri, "the cheese-filled Georgian pastry that has a lip-smacking fan base throughout the former Soviet Union," is not the first such effort in the region.
A few years back, the kebab makers of Adana, a city on the southern Turkish coast known for its, well, kebab, managed to obtain the trademark for "Adana Kebab" and have the name listed with the Turkish patent office. They also managed to have their city's famous export be given geographical protection in Turkey, much like only sparkling wine from Champagne can be called "Champagne" (although based on the thousands of kebab stands and grill houses in Istanbul serving Adana kebab, it would appear that enforcing the designation is a bit tough.) The Adana Chamber of Commerce, even has a whole section on its website devoted to explaining the city's kebab laws, with even a list of "certified" Adana kebab makers.
Meanwhile, the ongoing political battle between Greek Cyprus and Turkey has, in recent years, spilled over into the culinary realm, with the two countries arguing about which was the one to invent baklava. You can read about the sticky situation, yet another one of Cyprus's unresolved issues, here.
Sign up for Eurasianet's free weekly newsletter. Support Eurasianet: Help keep our journalism open to all, and influenced by none.