I get inspiration from recipes I read or I hear from my friends and relatives. I also get inspired from my food idols whom I follow on instagram, some I know personally, like dear Karima Moyer whom I had the pleasure of meeting during this year’s Dublin Gastronomy Symposium. I have been closely following her […]
My favorite neighborhood farmer’s market is on Thursdays. This market consists of only two stalls, I think run by two brothers. One of the brothers, Soner, quite a charming guy I must add, brings most of produce from his family farm located in the outskirts of Istanbul. Every Thursday morning before my classes begin, right […]
Hello all, Recently I have returned from a three week vacation of home stays. In this pandemic times, my family and I were actually scared to take any type of public transportation including a plane and stay in a hotel even though they are advertised as safe. We drove to the southwest part of Turkey […]
After starting this brand and leading over two hundred gastronomical walks around Istanbul and around Turkey, since 2009, I have neglected to write in my blog. Maybe I would have been one of those world famous bloggers had I not been slacking all this time. Shame on me! Today I start with this blank page… […]
Here is a short list of my favourite top 10 cheap eats, in and around the Grand Bazaar area. If you ever find yourself around the old city area and craving some tasty local food, these are my suggestions. Afiyet olsun!!! *** Ziya Büfe Molla Fenari Mah. Åžeref Efendi Sok. No:45/A , Fatih, Ä°stanbul This […]
Last week I was invited to attend an “asparagus harvesting” trip in Sarıcakaya district of EskiÅŸehir (located approximately 240 km west of Ankara). My friend Arman Badur, who is the founder of NOMAD Agriculture, has been growing asparagus for the past 10 years. Arman has set his heart on asparagus after falling in love with […]
Today I had a radio interview that will be taped in Istanbul but aired in Philadelphia sometime in November. The program is called “Tours and Detours” with Birtan Colliers. We talked about Turkish cuisine and the new food trends in Istanbul. Then my colleague talked about the natural and organic products of the company that […]
It’s raining cats and dogs in Istanbul, and this time I am determined to get a pair of plastic rain boots. My father and I met up after work and went to a store and got the most beautiful looking and comfortable plastic rain boots. It got really cold in the evening and I started […]
This year in April, I was in U.S.A., visiting four different cities to give lectures on history of Turkish cuisine, do cooking demonstrations and also attend Roger Smith Conference on Food Technology, where I gave a presentation on “Olive Oil Extraction Techniques used in Western Anatolia”. At the end of my trip I paid a […]
It is one of those days and I am a tourist in Istanbul with my best friend. I wanted to go to the Asian side and take a walk on the shore road by Moda and then go to eat at a place that I have been hearing about for a long time. We took […]
Hello! I am Banu. I am a culinary expert and aspired food writer.
Welcome to my blog!