Beyond kebabs: Turkish cuisine seeks seat at table
ISTANBUL — In a bid to banish stereotypes of latenight greasy fast food, Turkish chefs are trying to burnish their image by showcasing the culinary riches the country has to offer.
A new breed of cooks has shaken up the Istanbul food scene with an innovative approach to Turkish cooking, while others are on a mission to show there is more to the nation’s cuisine than the perhaps notorious, doner kebab.
For many outside the country, Turkish food brings to mind images of pitta bread stuffed with shavings of meat roasted on a vertical spit, usually consumed after a heavy night of drinking.
The doner was brought to Western Europe by the Turkish diaspora, especially in Germany, where additions like salad and mayonnaise have made it a heavier meal than in Turkey.
But did you ever try karniyarik, a dish of split aubergines with a meat filling, or cilbir — poached eggs in garlic yogurt?
Ever heard of tulum, a traditional cheese ripened in a goat’s skin, or a dessert called cezerye — caramelized carrot with coconut?
“Turkish cuisine is largely known abroad through donor and kebab,” says Defne Ertan Tuysuzoglu, Turkey director of Le Cordon Bleu, an international culinary academy, which started in Paris and now has campuses all over the world.
“Turkish cuisine is not well known,” agrees Aylin Yazicioglu, executive chef at Istanbul’s Nicole Restaurant. “The food that comes to mind when people talk about Turkey is, unfortunately, all bad examples.
“We see this changing slowly. We’ll do our best to change it.”
Arnaud De Clercq, who has taught at the Istanbul branch of Le Cordon Bleu for the past two years and has worked in Michelin star restaurants in France, described Turkish cuisine as “very rustic” with its focus on sauces, ragouts and stews.
“It is close to the traditional French cuisine: beef bourguignon, veal blanquette, lamb navarin — all this you can find here, but a bit different.”
Turkish chef Serkan Bozkurt from the Chef’s Table Culinary Academy, an Istanbul-based cooking school, said perceptions about Turkish cuisine were changing.
Today, he said, Turkish restaurants and cafes were blossoming in Europe, with chains like the bakery Simit Sarayi and the Kahve Dunyasi coffee shop opening up in London and other places.
Its cheeses alone are likely to impress — Turkey has dozens of varieties, which differ sharply from region to region, he said.
“I always say if a weeklong cheese tour was organized in Turkey with trips to its seven regions, people would get dizzy!”
“Turkish cuisine is not confined to meat and kebab,” he said.