The Biggest Bowl Of Soup Ever Made Was Over 8,000 Gallons

In 2024, 45 chefs made history when they gathered around a gigantic cauldron in the Turkish city of Uşak and cooked up one big pot of soup. It was on the second day of the first annual International Uşak Tarhana Festival, a celebration of one of Turkey's most traditional soups, and thousands of people gathered to watch the phenomenon. These chefs weren't just preparing soup to serve festivalgoers (though there was plenty of that); they were working on something bigger. Chefs started making this batch of tarhana with one goal in mind: to make the biggest bowl of soup ever recorded, and they were monitored the whole time by a representative from the Guinness Book of World Records itself.

The Mayor of Uşak took charge of planning the mission. After six hours of careful monitoring and cooking, the world's biggest bowl of tarhana was finished – topped off with a lid that was delivered by crane. It weighed in at 8,002 gallons and won the title of the world's largest bowl of soup, surpassing the previous record holder, a 7,042-gallon bowl of vegetable soup made in the Netherlands in 2009. The mayor celebrated with a speech as the soup was added to the list of world records for food and drink.

Tarhana is known as one of the world's oldest instant soups, made with fermented yogurt, flour, vegetables, and yeast that is dehydrated and turned into a powder. It's used in all sorts of Persian cooking, much like another dehydrated Persian ingredient called kashk. Instant tarhana soup is made by mixing the tarhana powder with hot water and spices, and it's a staple in many Turkish households. It's a great addition to your soup recipes for a comforting fall meal, and one that fed thousands during the 2024 International Uşak Tarhana Festival.

After the city of Uşak's 8,000-gallon tarhana soup was recorded in the Guinness Book of World Records, the fun didn't stop. All sorts of festivities continued, including folk music, games, and events for attendees – like a soup-eating contest with first prize going to whoever consumed the most. The second annual International Usak Tarhana Festival was held in July, and the itinerary featured everything from tarhana workshops to DJs and folk dancing – but not an extra-large bowl of soup. As of this writing, 2024's 8,000-gallon bowl of tarhana still holds the record for the world's largest.