Chef Gazi Ciftci from Istanbul is in India with his signature delicacies. He tells Divya Kaushik about his growing up in Bolo, the region famous as ‘the land of chefs’, and what’s making the world a fan of Turkish cuisine
I was born in Bolu, Turkey,” he says with a broad smile. This is no less than any achievement to Chef Gazi Ciftci, Chef De Partie at Shangri-la Bosphorus, Istanbul. Bolu is located in the Western Black Sea region, in the vicinity of Istanbul and is famous as ‘the land of chefs.’ It is said that in Turkey any good restaurant will have a chef from Bolu, Gazi tells us. “Well-known since the Ottoman era for its talented cooks, the province has made major contributions to the Turkish and Ottoman cuisine and has become the cradle of the world’s most successful chefs,” says the chef, who is in Delhi for the Turkish food promotion at Shangri-la’s Eros Hotel.
“It is said that the emperor of the Ottoman empire stayed in Bolo and was fond of food cooked by men in the region. These men travelled across Turkey and they trained their children to carry forward the legacy after them. So this way, every home in the region has one good chef who trains his children to take forward his food traditions. It is said that children in this region are born with brilliant culinary skills,” says the chef, who at a young age decided to go to Culinary Vocational School. “It was one of the best in Turkey and among top 10 culinary schools in the world. I spent seven years gaining education there. I was given lessons in Turkish and other international cuisines. After three years, they give us a chance to train at five star hotels in Turkey for four months and for next four months we are given theory lessons.
After intense training I worked as a sous chef in some restaurants to gain some experience but as per the rule, when I was 20, I joined the army. I thought it will give me a break from cooking. But when the chief general of the army got to know that I am trained at a culinary school he sent me to the capital of Turkey, Ankara, and I worked for army kitchen, cooked food for the generals, presidents, prime ministers and other dignitaries who visited Turkey. It helped me learn a lot about different kinds of cuisines. The other experience that helped me grow exponentially was in london. My friend asked me if I would like to accompany him to london. I agreed instantly. Due to some reason he could not go and I went instead. It was my dream to travel across the world as I had learnt that all renowned chefs travel across the globe to gain experience. I worked in three different Turkish restaurants in one year and then I worked in French and European cuisines. That helped me to learn the art of fusion cuisine,” informs the chef, who was willing to come to India to introduce traditional Turkish delicacies.
“Turkish food is healthy, nutritious and maintains a proper balance between spices. We use a lot of meat and lentils. Most of our dishes are seasonal vegetables cooked with meat. There are lot of interesting lentil and dry bean preparations in our cuisine. Not everyone can afford meat, so they have options to cook vegetables and beans with it,” says Gazi.
The chef has brought to India his best selection of signature dishes like kisir — cracked wheat salad, barbunya pilaki — kidney bean mezze, enginar — artichoke in olive oil, circassian chicken, haydari yoghurt with mint and garlic, imam bayildi — stuffed eggplant, antep ezme — spicy tomato marmalade, coban salatas — sheppard salad, zeytinyagli kereviz — celery in olive oil, zeytinyagli pirasa — leek in olive oil,zeytinyagli mantar — mushrooms in olive oil, Swiss chard with almonds and Oriental rice.
“People think that Turkish food is about mezze and kebabs. It is a discovery for those who are passionate about their food,” he says. The best thing about his preparations is that he hasn’t tampered or tweaked the dishes. “But I could not find Turkish rice here,” says Gazi in a disappointed tone. list of desserts include semolina halwa, baklawa, Turkish rice pudding and pumpkin sweet.