I never knew Birol Altınkılıç in person, but I knew of him far enough to be writing these words in his memory. The news of the sudden loss of Birol Altınkılıç spread quickly through gastronomy circles in Türkiye, almost at lightning speed. Every single post about him was full of admiration; about his kind personality and, of course, about his successes as a businessman. He was the founder of Altınmarka, a global player in the cacao and coffee markets. Together with his wife, Alev Altınkılıç, he founded the Turkish coffee chain Kahve Dünyası, practically the Turkish answer to Starbucks, and the second generation is pursuing the business with many more brands in the group. He was 66. I said to myself, “Oh, so young!” and suddenly realized that we were the same age. Life is short, and one never knows whose turn it is.
As I mentioned, though I did not meet him personally, as a food writer, I know of the brands he created. I even had a brief encounter with the company. It was exactly fifteen years ago, on the day before a week-long religious holiday, when everybody was going on vacation, that I had a phone call from Bülent Erkmen, the foremost graphic artist in Türkiye. He was doing the new branding designs for Baylan, the iconic patisserie of Istanbul. Baylan was one of those legendary historic places, founded and owned by Harry Lenas, a Levantine visionary, that was destined to be lost forever, as Monsieur Lenas had no heir. It was practically rescued from extinction by Birol Altınkılıç, who considered saving the iconic brand a good citizen’s duty.
Bebek Baylan
Anyone who knows Erkmen in person could swear to that. When he asks you something, very politely and kindly, it’s not a request, but an order. He said, “You have to take a look!” In Erkmen’s terminology, that means “Leave everything and do it ASAP!” The order came from “His Highness,” and I had to forget about a seaside escape. The task was to write the new menu for Bebek Baylan in both English and Turkish. Naturally, the original was in French, as it was the menu of the famed French chef Alain Ducasse. Needless to say, I was stuck at my desk that holiday, canceling all plans and finally delivering the texts by the time everyone returned to work.
Mission complete! My initial work writing the menu was for Baylan, but my responsibility eventually expanded to include writing the English texts for the packaging of Kahve Dünyası products for their first shop in London, which was set to open soon. That is how I met Alev Altınkılıç, the wife of Birol Altınkılıç. She was modest, working endlessly together with her team. She was also accessible and very nice. This is how I began to understand the family’s approach to work. Together with their team, they were truly dedicated to getting things done.
Dedication, not ambition
There is a difference between dedication and ambition. We all know that most of the time, a successful brand is fueled by pure ambition. In Altınmarka’s case, however, it seemed to be more of a dedication to values and a sense of purpose than just business drive. Though Birol Altınkılıç succeeded in becoming big, he never left the original, humble shop in Eminönü. Just a few steps from the historic Spice Market, it is still operating today as a small branch of Kahve Dünyası. This shows his determination to remain loyal to his roots and not to forget where he got started. The chain started with only a few outlets, but eventually expanded to over 300 shops and around 1,000 outlets in Türkiye.
Their first venture outside Türkiye was a new shop in London. Opening a coffee chain to rival all other global coffee chains in the heart of London might have seemed crazy. It was daring. It was no ordinary location; it was just a few steps from Piccadilly Circus on the same street as the legendary Fortnum & Mason, the very British castle of high-end gourmet food and drinks. There were also fierce rivals in the chocolate business. Just across the street was La Maison du Chocolat, a quintessentially French artisanal chocolatier, which later closed. Further down the street was the elegant Japanese confectionery shop, K. Minamoto. In short, it was a premium location.
Interestingly, among those brands on the same street, proud of their British, French and Japanese identities, Kahve Dünyası has also embraced its Turkish identity. This demonstrated a commitment to establishing a Turkish institution in the heart of a global business capital. Having witnessed all the discussions, I admired their commitment to maintaining the original Turkish name, “Kahve Dünyası,” which literally means “The World of Coffee.” They refused to use a new, sexy, Italian-sounding name or to simply translate the brand name into English for the sake of sales. Kahve Dünyası was born in the heart of Istanbul and has remained Turkish. In the heart of London, they proudly serve Turkish coffee and Turkish delight. Ironically, we might have owned these two typical treats throughout history, but we never called them Turkish; it was the British who coined the terms.
New visions
The next generation, Kaan (son) and Dilara (daughter), will surely carry the legacy of their father to new horizons. Just a month ago, I met researcher Diego Prado and his partner, Esther Merino, at a reception in Istanbul. Diego Prado is the former head of the research and development department at Alchemist Restaurant in Copenhagen, which offers clients a one-of-a-kind, holistic culinary experience. We’ve met several times at the Science & Cooking World Congress in Barcelona and at several other symposiums and events. Previously, they authored a book titled “Beyond Chocolate” for Altınmarka. I was happy to learn that it was their very first day moving to Istanbul, and they were about to work on future projects. Hopefully, the bitter loss of Birol Altınkılıç will turn into a sweet future, and his legacy will live on through many other visionary projects.
