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By Root 857 0

Anatolian based. Istanbul cuisine used to be and still is much more refined. Unfortunately, not many Istanbul natives live in this city, let alone professionally cook. The “New Istanbul Cuisine” is a term I use (or maybe have invented), and not many people think about it. But here is what I think: Istanbul is a great metropolis, with more than a thousand years of history attached to it. During all of its existence, Greeks, Armenians, Jews, and Turks have lived here. All the people have contributed to the cultural and social life. That includes food, cuisine, eating habits, and all. Today, with the globalization of everything, foods of different countries and cultures also affect each other. The New Istanbul Cuisine treasures its roots but at the same time reaches out to the world to update and refresh itself, uses local seasonal ingredients, combines classic techniques and recipes with contemporary needs of today, uses traditional to create untraditional, and is based on Turkish cooking but allows itself to be influenced by other world flavors.

Q: Kantin’s menu seems to be very seasonal and very local. What are some examples that would only appear under your Today section?

A: Aubergine dishes, tomatoes, and sardines are in abundance in the summer, but in winter you will never see this on the menu. I have artichokes on offer almost every day from mid-March to the end of June, but then that’s it until the following spring.

Q: What would you recommend first-time visitors order at Kantin?

A: It would be best if they choose from Kantin’s Today section, as these dishes, which change daily, represent our approach to food best. They can always ask for a tasting menu. We would be more than happy to serve them (unless, of course, the lunch service is in a rut). We don’t serve mezes, by the way, though we do have beer and wine by the glass. Actually, anyone who cares for good food would leave Kantin happy and content.

Q: Do you recommend any Turkish cookbooks (in English) for visitors who are serious about learning to cook Turkish dishes?

A: I can’t really recommend any, but if they are willing to take any private lessons or have a class as a group, they can get in touch with me.

Q: Are you working on a cookbook of your own?

A: Yes, I am. It will be Kantin’s cookbook, and I’m trying to get it ready for Kantin’s tenth anniversary at the end of 2009!

Recommended Restaurants

The key to fantastic eating in Istanbul is to eat at a variety of different types of eateries. Just as in France you might alternately eat at a café, a brasserie, a wine bar, a bistro, a tea salon, and a Michelin-starred restaurant, in Istanbul you should try street food, a steam table place, a köfte or kebab place, one of the trendy new-wave restaurants, and a palace restaurant. In this way, you’ll experience a wide range of flavors and ingredients and discover all the culinary specialties of Turkey, past and present. Here are some places I highly recommend, in addition to others mentioned elsewhere in this book:

Changa (Sıraselviler Caddesi 47, Taksim / +90 212 249 1348) and Müzedechanga (Sakıp Sabancı Müzesi, Sakıp Sabancı Caddesi 22, Emirgan / +90 212 323 0901 / changa-istanbul.com). Changa is a favorite for many locals and visitors alike, and it’s hard not to feel that something exciting is happening in the kitchen here. Chef Peter Gordon, originally from New Zealand and now in London, laid the groundwork for what might be called the New Istanbul Cuisine in 1999. Changa means “mix” in Swahili, and it’s an appropriate word for these southeast Asian/Mediterranean dishes that really work. The Taksim location is in an Art Nouveau building with an interior that’s completely the opposite: slick, stark, and with a most unusual “ceiling” of sorts set in the floor, so that diners may view their food being prepared in the kitchen below. Changa was honored as the only Turkish restaurant featured among the top fifty restaurants in the world by the UK’s The Restaurant magazine. Müzedechanga, which opened in 2005 on the beautiful grounds of the Sakıp Sabanc