Istanbul_ The Collected Traveler_ An Inspired Companion Guide - Barrie Kerper [170]
Q: During your year “off,” you traveled all over the world, and could have chosen to live anywhere you wanted. What made you decide on Istanbul?
A: It was sort of love at first sight. After living in New York and Paris, Istanbul seemed to have just the perfect combination of energy, culture, history, and physical beauty. It was all so new, so different and exciting, I became quite obsessed by wanting to live there. Istanbul easily becomes an obsession, an addiction that gets into your blood and keeps you on a continuous high.
Q: You’ve said it was difficult to find a job initially. Was there a point when you wanted to give up?
A: Yes, in fact I did give up, initially, and that’s when I accepted the job in Paris. But I couldn’t stop thinking or talking about Istanbul. No one around me could understand why I wanted to move there so badly, and I used to reply that I could think of a hundred reasons.… One night I sat down and wrote out those one hundred reasons—I still have them somewhere. I needed a little cue to go, and this came in the summer of 2001, when a friend of mine sent an e-mail announcing he was moving out of his apartment. He had this fabulous place with a 270-degree view of the Bosphorus, starting with the Bosphorus Bridge and Ortaköy, moving over the Dolmabahçe Palace, the Maiden’s Tower, the Sea of Marmara, Sultanahmet, and the entire neighborhood of Cihangir. That’s where I’m still living today.
Q: How did September 11 affect your plans?
A: It rendered all my hotel ideas ridiculous, of course. Tourism was at an all-time low, so investing in it didn’t seem a very logical idea. But I decided that if I didn’t move then, I never would and I would regret not doing it for the rest of my life.
Q: Once you finished redecorating the Sarniç Hotel, how did you get the idea for cooking classes?
A: Food is really important to me, so I hired a very capable chef, and he didn’t have enough to do. This—combined with the fact that we had a large kitchen in the hotel, there were no Turkish cooking classes available yet for travelers passing through, plus of course my own cooking background and my love for Turkish food—made me come up with the idea. The marketing of it was a lot harder than I thought it would be, though. Progress was slow but steady, and over the years, the classes have become very popular.
Q: How are your classes structured, and how much does everyone participate?
A: The ideal class size is between six and ten people. I divide up the basic tasks, such as chopping tomatoes and onions, which provides a chance for participants to get to know one another, but each person gets to do the important stuff: preparing eggplant for imam bayıldı and stuffing it, or filling a chicken breast Topkapı style. We start at ten-thirty a.m. and make a five-course menu, and then have lunch around one p.m. Upon request, we arrange evening classes as well, but my experience is that the concentration level is lower at night after a full day of sightseeing. Prior to cooking, I explain the recipes, which usually consist of three appetizers, a main course, and dessert. I also offer a meze class, which consists of five mezes and a dessert. Any dietary restriction can be accommodated and I do my best to include special requests, provided they are of interest to the whole group. We’ve also done Turkish cooking demonstrations for private groups of