Turkey’s food and restaurants are becoming a bigger draw as it raises its gastronomy game
Turkey is becoming a gastronomic destination as its food and restaurants gain global recognition in guides like Michelin and Gault & Millau
“Ours is a cuisine of millennia – what does it mean when we speak about improvement?” asks Maksut Askar, chef-owner of Neolokal in Istanbul, Turkey. “Are we improving our knowledge or recognition of the cuisine? Or are we cooking it at a refined level?”
Askar instead likes to think that improvement means “bringing back our traditional cuisine, based on recipes often not written down but passed on from mother to daughter.”
Yet, what Askar puts on the plate at Neolokal does not necessarily look like what was eaten in previous generations.
Take his dish called Artichoke, comprising olive-oil-braised artichoke, fried crispy baby artichoke, caramelised artichoke purée, artichoke emulsion, and pea and carrot cream. It is strikingly presented as a flat octagram reminiscent of a mosaic tile.
He may be using modern cooking techniques and presentation, but the bedrock of his cuisine is rooted in traditional Turkish ingredients, flavours and approaches.
He likens what he is doing at Neolokal – which opened in 2014 in the Salt Galata art space and has jaw-dropping views across the Golden Horn – to the progression from black-and-white television to the full-colour screens of today.
