Baku Weekends and a Table of Plov

Azerbaijan has hosted ten Grands Prix in Baku since 2016, and its cooking draws on Caspian fish, pastoral meat and more than 200 kinds of plov.

Baku brought Formula 1 to Azerbaijan in 2016 with a round billed as the European Grand Prix. A year later the race took the country's own name, and the Azerbaijan Grand Prix has been held nine times since, skipping only 2020. That makes ten championship rounds, all on the Baku City Circuit, the latest in 2026.

The streets of Baku have rewarded a wide cast of winners. Nico Rosberg won the first race and Daniel Ricciardo the second, while Sergio Pérez and Max Verstappen have each won twice. Lewis Hamilton, Valtteri Bottas, Oscar Piastri and, in 2026, George Russell have also won there. Baku, it seems, does not play favorites. No Azerbaijani driver appears in our records.

Azerbaijani cooking belongs to a land of grassland pastures between Europe and Asia, with the Caspian Sea along its shore. Produce, dairy and meat fill the table, especially lamb, beef and poultry, and mint, coriander, dill, tarragon and basil arrive with almost every main dish. Saffron lends its gold to more than 50 national dishes. A typical meal opens much like a meze, with fresh greens, bread, white cheese and pickles, and closes with black tea and fruit preserves.

Plov is the centerpiece, cooked in more than 200 versions, enough for a different one every day for well over half a year, and brought out in three parts on separate platters: warm rice, a topping of fried meat, dried fruit, eggs or fish, and fresh herbs. Fish from the Caspian and from the Kura and Aras rivers is prepared in many ways, and sturgeon goes onto skewers over the grill with a tart pomegranate sauce. For dessert, seek out pakhlava, the nut layered pastry that is the pride of Shaki.

A taste of Azerbaijan

• Şirin qovurma plov, Saffron rice with lamb and dried fruit
• Yarpaq dolması, Vine leaves stuffed with lamb and rice
• Göy qutab, Thin flatbreads filled with herbs
• Lula kebab, Grilled ground lamb skewers
• Düşbərə, Tiny lamb dumplings in broth
• Göyərti kükü, Thick fresh herb omelet
• Pomegranate wine spritz
• Kəklikotu çayı, Black tea with thyme
• Şəkərbura, Walnut filled crescent pastries

Circuits

• Baku City Circuit

Drivers