Friday kicked off pretty cool: my assistant for the day, a young soft-spoken woman referred by our neighbor, arrived early. We were to prepare Friday dinner and Saturday lunch at once. Some 40 guests in total according to the reservations. The night before I examined my kitchen utensils and not without satisfaction concluded that I own sufficient number of XX-Large cooking pots, baking trays, mixing bowls and storage containers. Thanks anne for sending a bunch and insisting that I buy more. I also stocked the produce. For two meals I bought 5-6 times the amount I would usually purchase for the whole week. My mom sighed when I told her about the festival reservations in a skype chat, “I wished things could build up gradually, not like a storm“.
My New Kitchen
My home kitchen and our restaurant kitchen is the same person. In a minor identity crisis. Deciding whether it gears towards an old village kitchen, a kitchen that can serve dozens of restaurant guests or a kitchen I want. First I thought I would give her time to make up her mind, but since she has been taking a while, I am going to open the wooden door (that we removed upon declaring this possibly the most robust part of the whole kitchen obsolete) and get you to meet her.
Spasibo Babushka
We came to Alaçatı in the evening of Republic Day. Public holiday may not have been the best day to move and according to our lawyer even impossible to start the rental agreement on. We arrived in our rented Doblo filled to the rim. I spent the 600 km journey with the pot of aloe vera over my knees and a bag of organic cleaning detergents under my feet. [click to continue…]
Farewell Istanbul, Hello Alaçatı
2014 has been the year of two questions I heard over and over again. My food walk guests have been asking whether I am planning to open a restaurant of my own while my cooking class customers have been wondering if I have a cookbook in the workings. After many heated debates and painful hours of contemplation I finally have the answer: my cookbook has to wait.
