Imagine a seafood restaurant overlooking the Aegean, with tables set just meters from the water. One of its guiding principles is to source as much line-caught fish as possible. In other words, it cares not only about how the fish is cooked, but also about how it was caught. At first glance, this may sound like the kind of sustainability narrative many good restaurants embrace today.
But this story does not end there.
When the waters in front of the restaurant gradually filled with ropes, discarded fishing gear, tires and ghost nets originating from nearby fish farms and other marine activities, simply claiming to serve responsibly sourced fish was no longer enough. Instead, the team took action.
Along a 12-kilometre stretch of coastline, divers carried out 176 underwater missions, removing more than ten tons of tires, ropes and abandoned fishing nets from the sea. In 2025, the initiative evolved beyond marine clean-ups into habitat restoration. Artificial reefs were installed at Anhinga Beach, sponge restoration projects were launched and a further 1.5 tons of marine debris were removed from the seabed and coastline around Akbük.
There is an important distinction here. Cleaning the sea is one thing. Helping the sea regenerate is something entirely different. The first removes the damage. The second attempts to restore the ecosystem itself. That is precisely what makes the story of Meze by the Sea so compelling. The restaurant’s sense of responsibility does not end at the kitchen door.
The moment you sit down, a few crisp cucumbers, slender green peppers and one of the most fragrant tomatoes you are likely to taste are placed on the table. To me, a restaurant that confidently serves a tomato without dressing it up with elaborate techniques is making a powerful statement. Truly exceptional produce needs no disguise.
These vegetables come directly from the organic gardens surrounding the resort. According to Six Senses Kaplankaya, a significant proportion of its fruits and vegetables are grown on site, while the remaining ingredients are sourced from nearby farms and vineyards. This approach shortens transport distances, reduces packaging and naturally shapes the menu around the seasons. Even the soil in the garden is nourished with compost made from organic kitchen waste.
The menu at Meze by the Sea speaks in the language of the Aegean without ever trying to overpower it. Bodrum fava made from local gambilya beans, wild Aegean herbs, samphire, Cretan cheese spread with Ezine cheese, smoked aubergine baba ghanoush, spicy atom yoghurt and baby artichokes in olive oil all celebrate the region’s culinary identity. Alongside them are marinated octopus, lightly cured anchovies with mustard and capers, sea bass crudo, cured mackerel, salted bonito, grilled octopus, calamari, prawns and seafood casseroles. The culinary programme is overseen by Executive Chef Özgür Bozgurt, while Chef Orçun İdiz has been leading the restaurant’s kitchen for more than nine years.
Although Meze by the Sea presents itself as an independent seaside restaurant, it is ultimately part of the larger Six Senses Kaplankaya resort. As a food engineer who has spent years working closely with professional kitchens, I have seen how large-scale hospitality operations often function behind the scenes. I have watched industrial rolls of plastic wrap disappear in a single service. I have seen untouched dishes from lavish buffets thrown away. I have seen perfectly edible vegetables trimmed and discarded simply because they did not meet aesthetic standards.
That is why I am not easily convinced when a large hotel claims to operate a zero-waste kitchen.
Or rather, I wasn’t until I came here.
Of course, no property serving hundreds of guests every day can honestly claim to be completely waste-free. Nor should that be the goal. Sustainability is not about perfection. It is about measuring every process, identifying weaknesses and building systems that continually improve them. What impressed me most at Kaplankaya was not a handful of showcase initiatives designed for marketing brochures. It was the fact that sustainability had become embedded throughout the entire operation.
Compared with 2019, water consumption per occupied room and guest night has been reduced by 10.49 percent. More than 16.6 tons of glass, paper, plastic and metal have been recycled. Around 635 kilograms of retired bed linen have been repurposed into cleaning cloths.
More than 5.5 tons of used cooking oil have been converted into biodiesel, while 713 kilograms of timber have been upcycled. The resort’s organic gardens alone produced 267 kilograms of vegetables during 2025.
Six Senses Kaplankaya is also the only hotel in Türkiye to employ a Sustainability Director whose sole responsibility is overseeing this field.
Yasemen Erdemir approaches the role with the attention to detail of an investigator. Where did every product come from? How was it packaged? How much water was used? What ended up in the waste bins? Could it have been recycled instead?
Sustainability loses much of its meaning when it exists merely as a department responsible for producing an annual report. What truly matters is whether it can influence the purchasing manager’s decisions, the chef’s daily mise en place, the materials chosen by housekeeping and ultimately the menu served in the restaurant.
One sentence from Tolga Karagülle, the resort’s Food and Beverage Director, perfectly captures this philosophy: “Even if we absolutely love a product, we simply won’t buy it if it comes wrapped in unnecessary plastic.”
That single sentence says more about sustainability than pages of corporate reports ever could.
What sets the team at Kaplankaya apart is that sustainability no longer feels like a job description. It has become a shared way of thinking. From General Manager Can Göktaş to the chefs, gardeners and operational teams, everyone I spoke with explained not only what they do, but why they do it.
They speak enthusiastically about the ghost nets recovered from the sea.
They talk about the monthly local market created for women producers from nearby villages.
These women are supported not only in selling their products, but also in formalizing their businesses, improving their skills and investing in the equipment they need to grow. Even the handcrafted “Zeytin” mascot sold at the resort contributes directly to this initiative, which supported twenty women during 2025.
To me, this is where sustainability truly begins: When its impact extends far beyond the boundaries of the hotel itself.
Another observation stayed with me. Gamze Büyüksarıyıldız, the resort’s Director of Sales, told me that an increasing number of international guests ask about the restaurants and culinary experiences before they even ask about the rooms.
That may sound like a small detail, but I believe it reflects a much bigger shift. Luxury travel is changing.
Travelers are no longer searching only for larger suites, softer mattresses or more spectacular infinity pools.
They want to understand the place they are visiting. They are curious about where the ingredients come from, how much water the hotel consumes, what happens to its waste and what kind of relationship it has built with the surrounding community.
A good restaurant serves an excellent meal. A great restaurant tells the story of the landscape that produced it. But perhaps the finest restaurants of our time are those that recognize they also have a responsibility to protect the landscapes that continue to nourish them.
