Day 48 16th June Istanbul Hospitality from the heart Cooking from both heart and head with Ata and Ahmet
A couple of days ago Mel found a great website called ‘Eatwith” which highlights locals all around the world that provide local cuisine in their homes. So we thought we would give it a try here in Istanbul chose to try the “Living Room”. It is run by two guys Ata and Ahmet who are professionally trained chefs.
From the moment we were greeted at the door by the guys we knew we were in for something special. They greeted us with wide smiles and were wearing crisp white smocks and terrific aprons bearing their logo. After an introduction and a tour around the apartment, we were seated at a dining table where a printed menu was waiting.
We started with raki (a Turkish anise-flavoured drink) and then we started working our way through the menu. And wow!! what a joy that was! I could regale you with hyperbolic descriptions of each dish and go “all Gourmet Traveller” but I won’t. I will, however, highlight some of the variations to traditional Turkish food that made the evening particularly memorable. As each course was presented, the guys described it in detail. First, the dish was connected to traditional Turkish cooking methods and then how the guys had reinterpreted some traditions.
So each dish was wonderful but here were some of the highlights.
For the first dish, the bulgur had tomato paste whipped through it to give it a terrific colour and a tang. The molasses was a tart accompaniment along with the homemade green oil (a combination of Roquet and white cheese).
The meat-stuffed chard leaves were not unlike what we have had at home as dolmades. But this was an improvement of those with the chard leaves not being as tough as the vine leaves commonly used.
Followed up by artichokes an amazing accompaniment of Tulum(a Turkish regional goats cheese) melted and combined with parmesan and honey. I had to be stopped from licking the plate-it was amazing!
Next off were sardines in a lovely tempura batter and contrasting accompaniments.
Now if all that wasn’t enough we then had the main course!!! And ingeniously the guys had us in the kitchen helping to turn the kebabs ourselves. Ingenious because if the ice wasn’t broken by then it certainly, is when you are packed into the tiny kitchen helping to make your meal. This course like all the others was fantastic -the combined lamb and beef for the kebab was delicious. And the pistachios made the outer coating crunchy and flavoursome.
And now to one of my all-time favourites Baklava! Well, what a surprise-a combination of strawberries and blackberries with patisserie cream and wafers made from Baklava dough.
No meal would be complete without good conversation and this was free-flowing and informative. One of the wonderful things coming out of tonight is that we now have friends in Istanbul. We are starting to think of Istanbul as a good hub for our adventures as well as wanting to see more of Turkey, so we are looking forward to seeing the guys again.
This was our first “eat with” experience and we came away completely sold on the idea. The only thing will be that future hosts will be judged by our “Living Room” experience. Given that this was an 11/10 experience that will be hard to live up to.
Congratulations to Ata and Ahmed on their approach to providing what was an amazing experience.Professional but personal. Highly recommended if ever you are in Istanbul.
