AYLİN ÖNEY TAN

Parade of starred chefs AYLİN ÖNEY TAN

Parade of starred chefs

Last weekend was a gastronomic weekend for the lucky ones who made their way to Maçakızı in Bodrum, a very special boutique hotel famous for its heavenly atmosphere submerged in nature cascading toward the sea on a hillside. The hotel is named after Ayla Emiroğlu, who is affectionately known as Maçakızı, meaning 'Queen of Spades' in Turkish. Eventually, her son, Sahir Erozan, took over the bohemian-chic place and transformed the property into a heavenly secluded hideaway, unique in every sense. The strong element of this exceptional property is its devotion to arts and gastronomy. One comes across carefully chosen artworks that blend beautifully with the architecture and landscape, often with a touch of humor that brings a smile. The exceptional cuisine also makes devoted returning customers smile as they pamper themselves with impeccable service. In the last 25 years, the kitchen has been under the control of Chef Aret Sahakyan, a Tukish-Armenian who met Erozan in Washington D.C. when they were both studying at the university. Since then, they have been partners in crime, in creating the most unexpected startling projects ever, like the much-talked-about “Cities” restaurant and club in the U.S. capital.

October 06 2024
Ayla: Masterwork of a cook AYLİN ÖNEY TAN

Ayla: Masterwork of a cook

“Ayla” is a female name in Türkiye. Several decades ago, it was the name of a woman who single-headedly changed the course of tourism in Bodrum, once a sleepy fishing village on the Aegean, now the must-go destination of the high society. Ayla Emiroğlu had dark curly hair with an upright stance and piercing dark eyes. She was once nicknamed “Maça Kızı,” which is the Turkish name for Queen of Spades. hile playing cards, her fluffy hair seemed to rise like an upside-down heart, resembling the spades in her hand. A famous poet friend noticed this and dubbed her “Maça Kızı,” a name that would stick with her and also with the humble beach club she was managing at the time. She was a magnetic figure in the Bodrum scene and befriended famous artists and writers, the places she ran were always the hub of intellectuals and creative people. The beach club evolved into a little guesthouse and then with her son Sahir Erozan taking over Maçakızı became a trademark place in Bodrum, attracting celebrities and people with gusto. Erozan himself had enormous success in Washington with his legendary club/restaurant “Cities,” and that is where their life-long partnership began with Aret Sahakyan, an Istanbul Armenian, a talented cook who had experience in an Italian restaurant, but also inherited his family’s fine cooking. They were both young students when the idea of “Cities” was born. “Cities changed the whole decoration and menu every six months, each time hosting a different city, starting with Buenos Aires, and visiting outstanding cities across the globe from Bangkok to Paris, of course also visiting their home city Istanbul. The place was frequented by diplomats, journalists, politicians and intellectuals, in a way Cities became the heart of the city of Washington D.C. The cities visited were actually visited by the Erozan-Sahakyan team, gathering ideas for the next theme city. This lasted for 18 long years, visiting and working with consulting chefs, accumulating a world of culinary experience hopping around the globe.

September 29 2024
Memory lane AYLİN ÖNEY TAN

Memory lane

I think I have a soft spot for Didim. On the way from the Izmir airport to this well-kept secret of Turkish summer vacationists, I remember the days long gone by. It must have been about 35 years or so when I spent countless days at the ancient site of Miletus. I remember the exact day when I first stepped into the courtyard of İlyas Bey Mosque together with the late eminent art historian Doğan Kuban. I was a young conservation architect then, commissioned the task of the restoration project of the building. I remember the thrill, both bewildered by the beauty of the unique masterpiece of architecture and the fear of not being up to this demanding task. I remember nonrelevant details too, such as the purple iris flowers blooming in March, adding to the magical beauty of the site. The rest was toiling under the scorching sun, measuring and documenting every single stone, tracing cracks and so on. The nights were joyous tables watching the Apollon temple, and days off would be the sun & sand day, going to the Altınkum beach, literally meaning “Golden Sand.”

September 22 2024
Tarhana: Trigger of memories AYLİN ÖNEY TAN

Tarhana: Trigger of memories

When September comes, a yeasty odd smell lingers at many homes across Türkiye. One of the most obsessive tasks of a mother is preparing tarhana, undoubtedly one of the homeliest soups in Turkish cuisine. So, what is tarhana? First of all, it is a dried soup mix, which is a must-prepare winter provision in Turkish homes. You just reconstitute tarhana in water, give it a few rolling boils, drizzle with sizzling butter spiked with paprika, and voilà, on the table, everybody is happy!

September 15 2024
Allure of the peach AYLİN ÖNEY TAN

Allure of the peach

There are probably few fruits as attractive and alluring as peaches. With its velvety fuzzy skin, rosy white to sunset tan flesh, round contours, juicy but firm texture, sweet taste with just the right splash of tang and most importantly its seductive fragrance, the peach deserves the title of the queen of fruits. It is even said that “the peach should have been the fruit that led Adam and Eve astray.” Taste, smell, texture, color, visual appeal... Peach has been a muse for artists with its hard-to-resist appeal, many artists could not remain indifferent to peach, which is a source of inspiration in every branch of art. Especially literature and painting cannot be imagined without peaches.

September 15 2024
Fig: The harbinger of autumn AYLİN ÖNEY TAN

Fig: The harbinger of autumn

When August rolls over and September begins, fall weather is upon us. The sudden rains pour, the dry leaves start to gently fall and the first whiff of coolness is felt after the heavy humid summer heat. As summer is slowly waning, it is the prime time for figs. In ancient Rome, they used to call this first feeling of autumn weather “Prima ficus,” literally meaning “The first fig!” It is not only the Romans who felt this way. In Arabic, the fig is sometimes referred to as “Kharif,” the word for fall harvest. It means that if the fig is at its peak, summer is on its way out. It is as if the honey-sweet figs have absorbed all the energy of the summer sun, and when figs are in their full ripeness, the duties of sunrays are over and the weather may get colder. September is usually associated with melancholy. There is a saying in Turkish that figs are the harbinger of fall, so there is a dash of September sadness that sets in with figs.

September 08 2024
September’s essential ingredient: Red meaty peppers AYLİN ÖNEY TAN

September’s essential ingredient: Red meaty peppers

When September comes, the kitchens cannot be without mounds of meaty red pepper. Big and plump, thick and fleshy, bursting with juicy crispiness, and with their deep red nail-polish shine, they have a magnetic appeal. Those are the sweet ones, pretty much like thick-fleshed bell peppers, but they are long with pointy ends. When we talk about red peppers, one thinks of hot spicy varieties, but these on the contrary bear a distinct sweetness, though there are occasional hot ones that one must be cautious about. When they flood the market in September, people buy in bulk for winter provision preparations, price tags list quantities of 3 to 5 kilograms at a minimum; in the countryside, buying peppers in bulk in sacks is not an uncommon scene. When the first hints of fall are felt and when flocks of jars appear in stores, we all know that the clock is ticking to make endless jars of sauces or thick pepper paste to preserve the unmatched flavor of red peppers.

September 08 2024
The legacy of Michel Guérard AYLİN ÖNEY TAN

The legacy of Michel Guérard

It was one of those moments that one regrets not having met a person in life when I saw the post of Hélène Pietrini, managing director of La Liste, the famed restaurant grading system. She was declaring that we had lost chef Michel Guérard at the age of 91, the last living legend of French gastronomy. Classical French cuisine has influenced cuisines all over the world becoming a benchmark for finesse. But it was Guérard who almost single-handedly changed and brought a light angle to the cream and butter-rich heavy classic cuisine, creating “cuisine minceur” literally meaning “slimming cooking,” demonstrating that light diet food can be as delicious. He was dedicated to taking “nouvelle cuisine” further, being among the first defenders of the trend which is characterized by lighter, more delicate dishes with an increased emphasis on presentation. Hélène Pietrini wrote of him: “RIP - We are sad and will miss you so much but your nouvelle cuisine, your witty mind and poetry, your smile and generosity, your home and your Eugénie inspire the deepest respect. I wish every chef in this world had met this man and family to understand the secrets and modernity of French gastronomy and art of hospitality. I have no doubt the legend will continue with his two daughters and fabulous team at Les Prés d’Eugénie. Hold the butter but keep the magic!” Guérard surely had a special magic, that unique charm which has been influential to many; to the extent that he has had been the inspiration to the children’s favorite animation film “Ratatouille” and that magical chef-rat Remy. My regret of not having met him in person was not being able to ask a particular question: "How did his iconic ratatouille dish come into being back in 1976, and why did he name it after a dish of Turkish cuisine when he created it?"

August 25 2024
Time to grab the grape AYLİN ÖNEY TAN

Time to grab the grape!

Time for the grape harvest. One can ask if isn’t it too early, but the vineyard calendar seems to be constantly changing and challenging for wine producers. The grape harvest I’m talking about is what we call “sofralık” in Turkish, literally meaning “for the table,” for the grapes that are not meant to end in bottles, but to be eaten out of hand as fresh fruit. For most people in Türkiye, the ultimate fruit is always considered as grapes. People love the juicy burst of the fruit, the profound sweetness and the effortless way of munching bunches of it, all in all, grapes have a very straightforward connection with humans. When vineyards are full of ripening bunches hanging heavily from vines, it is hard to resist the urge to go and grab one. Knowing the temptation, there have been ways of protecting vineyards in this geography, sort of sets of regulations, sometimes imposed with religion or simply by tradition. The reason for that is, after when people are done eating the fresh fruit, the real purpose of the grapes is on the way, turning them into grape molasses, grape juice leather and other sweet delights, drying them for later use, the vineyards constituted an imported source of sweetness in ages were sugar cane sugar was not even heard of, beet sugar not yet invented, honey being the sole source of sweet. Only the white mulberry could compete with the grape, another fruit with high sugar content. But then there is the drink aspect, wine making and grape-distilled hard liquors have always been in the history of Anatolia. So, vineyards had to be protected from folks that have an early temptation to grab the grape, the Christian communities of the Ottoman era that tended and sustained on vineyards had a brilliant solution for that: A holy figure stepping in, precisely in the form of St. Mary.

August 14 2024