“Tastes of Iran”

Food is the silent language of memories, a heritage lovingly passed down through generations.

To mark World Food Day 2025, the World Food Programme (WFP) in Iran has launched the campaign “Tastes of Iran / چشیدنی‌ها کم نیست”, a celebration of flavours and stories rooted in the collective memory and culture of the Iranian people.

The campaign invites everyone to share their traditional recipes, from their hometowns or families, along with a real photograph of the dish or an AI-generated image inspired by it, becoming part of a national collection of tastes and memories.

This initiative aims to:

• Celebrate Iran’s rich culinary and cultural diversity,
• Encourage public participation in World Food Day, and
• Use art and technology to revive flavours that tell stories of love, patience, and life itself.

Submissions will be judged in two categories, Photography and Artificial Intelligence (AI), with three winning entries in each category, selected based on creativity, authenticity, visual quality, and thematic relevance.

The jury includes Shahrzad Shokouhivand (Chef), Peyman Yazdani (Photographer), and Mohammad Seymari (AI Artist and futurist).

Selected works, images, and stories will be featured in a digital book, to be shared publicly through WFP Iran’s website and social media platforms.

The campaign’s media partner, Peeyade, supports the initiative as part of its corporate social responsibility, while Rood and Dastan Gallery are valued collaborators in promoting and implementing the campaign.

“Tastes of Iran” is a journey, from desert to forest, plain to sea, in search of flavours that are not only tastes of food, but tastes of life.

Participation Guidelines

Participation is free, open to all, and has no age limit.

Photography Category

This category seeks authentic and heartfelt portrayals of food, from local and traditional spreads to intimate family moments.
Each photo should tell a story, evoking flavours, gatherings, and memories behind every bite, capturing not just the appearance of food, but the culture, emotion, and life within it.

Submission Requirements:

• Photos must be sent in .jpg format to wfp.iran@wfp.org.
  (For large files, upload to a cloud platform and share the link.)
• Mobile photos are accepted.
• Minimum resolution: 10 megapixels
• Maximum file size: 10 MB per photo
• Each participant may submit up to 10 single images
• Each photo must include a short description (max 300 words) explaining the idea, dish, or inspiration behind it.
• Photos must not include signatures, frames, dates, watermarks, logos, or any visual marks.
• If a photo is selected, the original high-quality file may be requested for publication. Failure to provide it may result in disqualification.

Editing Rules:

• Basic edits (light, colour correction, cropping) are permitted, as long as they do not compromise authenticity.
• Photomontage, collage, and HDR images are not accepted.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) Category

This category encourages imaginative and conceptual artworks that go beyond reality, creations that use new technologies to reawaken tastes, aromas, and memories, or even invent new ones.

Participants may use AI tools to reimagine traditional recipes or to create visuals inspired by emotions, places, and memories, blending culture and technology, reality and imagination.

Perhaps you’d like to recreate your grandmother’s dish in an enchanted courtyard, or visually narrate a forgotten flavour. This is where culinary heritage meets creative innovation.

Submission Requirements:

• Accepted tools: all AI image-generation models (e.g. Midjourney, DALL·E, Firefly, Leonardo AI, Nano Banana, etc.)
• File format: JPEG or PNG
• Aspect ratio: flexible (preferably 1:1 or 4:5 for social media)
• Each image must include a short description (max 300 words) about the idea, dish, or inspiration.
• Images must not include signatures, frames, dates, watermarks, logos, or any visual marks.
• If the submitted quality is insufficient for exhibition or publication, the original high-resolution file will be requested. Failure to provide it may result in disqualification.
• Each participant may submit up to 10 artworks.

Responsibilities and Copyright

• The sender is recognized as the legal owner (copyright holder) of the submitted work and bears full responsibility for it.
• WFP reserves the right to use accepted works (with credit) in its publications, brochures, social media, and promotional materials related to this campaign.
• Participation in the campaign constitutes agreement with all the above rules.
• Submissions are accepted only via email: wfp.iran@wfp.org

Timeline

• Call for Entries: 24 Mehr 1404 (15 October 2025)
• Deadline for Submissions: 24 Aban 1404 (15 November 2025)
• Judging: Dey 1404 (December 2025 / January 2026)