Turkish home cook
Beyazit’s story
With Mustafa, otherwise known as Chef Beyazit, you are in a safe pair of hands, having trained at one of the prestigious Le Cordon Bleu institutes, learning the art of French haute cuisine, and earning himself the accolade of Diplôme de Cuisine Supérieur and the title of Executive Sous Chef – a both physically and mentally demanding job, supervising and coordinating every aspect of food production and ensuring a high level of quality and service, but with 21 years’ experience, ranging from experience in executive chef shift management in one of the biggest inflight catering company the airline catering industry to developing menus for special events for clients such as Formula 1, the Turkish royal family and the United Nations, to name just a few, Mustafa is accustomed to working in high volume and under pressure without compromising his customers' high quality gastronomy experience.
With his classical training you can experience the delights of dishes like succulent lamb shank and perfectly considered quiches, to desserts like carefully constructed tiramisu and rich, chocolatey souffle. For Mustafa the great dining experience is not about just filling food and wine, it should also be a ‘mystical journey’ - a meal that ‘tastes of your desires’ and transports you to the ‘smells of your childhood’. Through Hey! Food is Ready you too can share in a taste of Turkish cuisine, with Mustafa preparing traditional meals from Ramazan pidesi, a traditional soft leavened Turkish bread often served during Ramadan, and perdeli pilava, typically consisting of rice with chicken, onion and peanuts enveloped in a thin layer of dough, topped with almonds, served in slices like a cake, potentially served with Mustafa’s very own original pesto sauce or basil hummus, and of course, the option to have an authentic taste of the popular dessert: baklava.
It is unsurprising to learn that the cuisine from this transcontinental country has rich and varied origins, with its heritage largely that of Ottoman cuisine, which in itself is a fusion and refinement of Mediterranean, Balkan, Middle Eastern, Central Asian and Eastern European cuisines, and has in turn become an influence for European cooking. Many of the distinct Turkish dishes were invented in the Ottoman palace kitchen, where Mustafa has had the experience of working, and so you can be sure that with Chef Beyazit, you will be witness to exceptional culinary talent, with the renowned marrying of his high standards of presentation and his rainbow of colourful flavours.
With an estimated population of over 500,000 people of Turkish origin in the UK, Hey! Food is Ready is a platform that allows this growing community to connect through a nostalgic taste of home, whilst also giving people the opportunity to have an authentic taste of a cuisine they may be unfamiliar with.