This article is part of FT Globetrotter’s guide to Istanbul
Istanbul is home. I grew up here — and after years abroad in Asia, returning felt like breathing in again. The city’s energy, its chaos, its speed — and its layers of history and culture — nourish me. It’s where I live, think and dream up the dishes that shape our menu at [my restaurant] TURK. Every street corner carries a memory.
My perfect day starts quietly, with an espresso in bed at my flat in Cihangir, tucked between the bustle of Taksim and the historic streets of Çukurcuma and Galata. This part of the city has long been a magnet for artists, writers, actors — people who live and create. There’s a friendliness to it: I know the grocer, the record store Plakolik, the guy at the coffee shop Etna down the road. And I like that — the sense of being part of something.
Istanbul’s historic Galata district, with its famed medieval watchtower © Cenk Ertekin / Alamy
I’m not one for Turkish coffee. Give me a perfectly extracted espresso, brewed at home, always in bed. I’ll sip slowly and scroll through the day’s schedule, or begin sketching out seasonal ideas for the restaurant.
