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. While 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.

After this success story, their destiny was back to their homeland. When Erozan took over Maçakızı, Sahakyan stood by him and came to Bodrum to run the kitchens. Soon people started coming for the fresh and seasonal choices and well-executed dishes, Maçakızı became synonymous with good food. Quality was always guaranteed, it remained classic offering a cornucopia of Mediterranean cuisine, also featuring Turkish classics. Even eating a simple home-style grilled köfte (meatballs) was a taste-guarantee experience, Turkish dumplings “mantı” were the singular cause to come back and back again for amazing Sunday brunch. While Erozan’s focus was more on the art pieces dotting the property in the most creative ways, Aret Sahakyan was confidently serving his food. Confidently is a key word here, as he was never inclined to show off, serving a classic dish executed perfectly was his style. So, when he served forth a simple lahmacun, the meat-topped flatbread, it became a hit, and the most spoken plate of Bodrum, both with its quality, but also with its price tag. In a way, he was saying to the public that if you do not hold back spending a high price for a pizza, you should also do so for a perfect lahmacun, a masterpiece of our own cuisine. In a way he was silently manifesting his stand, elevating home cooking or our own local cuisine to a higher level, to a level saying that even a simple dish deserves recognition. His kitchen was also a learning place. He has been a muse to many young chefs, who later became successful and famous, and even gathered Michelin stars in their own restaurants, so he is often referred to as the chef of chefs, the talents he tutored are like the complete list of the Michelin-starred chefs in Istanbul.

This creative team created perfection in their Maçakızı partnership which is now in their 25th year. Having spent more than four decades in a partnership in quality, it was time to have a fine-dining restaurant for Aret to shine on his own. That is how “Ayla by Aret Sahakyan” came into being. Tucked into a hidden silent corner of Maçakızı premises, Ayla was inevitably the chosen name for this gem of a restaurant, paying homage to the very first creator of Maçakızı. He is still in charge of the whole kitchen, but this year another talented chef Ali Ronay is back at his home address, he had been on and off collaborating with the team since the days of "Cities" in D.C. 25 years ago. He is now in charge of operating all the Maçakızı kitchens, so Aret Sahakyan can focus more on Ayla. And he is not alone, the Greek head chef of Ayla is another long-time celebrated Maçakızı chef Kyrkos Zisis. While guests staying in the exclusive Villa Maçakızı are treated to the fine cuisine of Carlo Bernardini, it seems that Maçakızı is becoming like an incredible collection of artworks, housing a collection of the finest chefs.

Ayla’s cuisine is confident and decisive in going back to the true flavors of the best ingredients and produce possible. And we all know that confidence backed with true mastership always shines. Aret Sahakyan is a humble person, he does not like to show off, but he is confident in what he is doing and he excels in executing the perfect plate. Yet he is full of passion and never short of ideas. He is not very talkative but when you start talking with him over a simple bean or finding the ideal chickpea for his dish, he opens up leading to a long conversation. He is a curious cook, and curiosity always leads one to explore, and gastronomy is an endless medium for exploration. Just like the Cities concept they created back in Washington, Ayla is open to exploration but also sticks by its very roots. Even naming this new venue Ayla suggests this back-to-basics approach paying homage to the very core of the existence of Maçakızı.

Sahakyan starts his tasting menu with a single olive. No, do not think about that molecular cuisine miracle of spherification gimmick. That single olive is the Memecik variety olive, which is the local indigenous variety, cured with very little salt and apple peels, giving it a wonderful briny yet fruity aroma. That single olive is like a manifestation of a sharp decision to go back to basics, in a way to our roots, saying that if nature gives us wonderful olives, why play with it? An olive is an olive in Aret’s case, and a perfect olive deserves to be presented as a masterpiece. All the dishes are just perfect, just focusing on the ingredients, at items going to the shores of minimalism, but in a fine way. The lamb loin with beğendi, and the roasted eggplant puree, the classic of Istanbul cuisine, bring back fond memories of home. Of course, the long-classic “mantı” dumplings make an appearance midway through the tasting menu, but with Sahakyan's twist, these humble dumplings achieve perfection in just a single spoonful.

“Ayla” is definitely a long-awaited, I’d rather say, the belated decision of Aret Sahakyan. Now, just like the single olive that he starts the tasting menu, every course on the menu displays confident perfection. Queen of Spades needed a king. It came in the name of Aret. Ayla by Aret Sahakyan will definitely mark the future of gastronomy in Bodrum. As he has been the ultimate muse to many chefs, he now has his own throne to wear.