Keşkek, also known as kashkak, kashkek, or keške, is a ceremonial meat or chicken and wheat or barley stew found in Turkish, Iranian, Greek, Armenian, and Balkan cuisines.

[3] Keşkek is documented in Iran and the region of Syria as early as the 15th century;[4] it is still consumed by many today, traditionally during religious festivals, weddings[5] and funerals.

The dish's name alludes to kashk, which in 16th- to 18th-century Iran had sheep's milk added to wheat or barley flour and meat, mixed in equal parts.

[8] In Lesbos, keşkek is prepared on summer nights when a ceremonial bull is being slaughtered, which is then cooked overnight and eaten next day with wheat.

[11] In 2008, after requests by various local intangible heritage boards across Turkey, the Turkish Ministry of Culture began preparing for the registration of keşkek on the Representative List of UNESCO.

However, at the international level, the Turkish government decided to submit the registration by itself, and did not contact the authorities in Armenia for a joint file.

Öcal Oğuz, its director, issued a press release, "stating that while the ICH Convention is not for portioning out intangible heritage among countries, UNESCO's conservation approach is often mistaken with EU's patent policy".