How Turkish Flavours Began: A Journey of Taste and Friendship
It all began, quite simply, around a table.
Years ago, I invited a few friends to my home for dinner — just an ordinary evening filled with laughter, conversation, and the comforting aromas of Turkish home cooking. I prepared the dishes I grew up with. My friends tasted, smiled, and kept asking the same question:
“Can you teach us how to cook like this?”
That question changed everything.
A week later, they returned — not as dinner guests, but as eager students gathered in my kitchen. I showed them how to roll vine leaves gently so they wouldn’t tear, how to cook Karnıyarık (stuffed split belly eggplant), and how to balance spices the way my grandmother had taught me — with instinct, not measuring spoons.
What started as one friendly cooking class soon became a passion: to share the real flavours of Turkey with travelers who wanted more than sightseeing.
Travelers to Istanbul wanted to join, not just to cook, but to understand Turkish food culture. They wanted to smell the spices, hear the stories, and enjoy the warmth of a shared table in a Turkish home.
That’s how Turkish Flavours was born.
Over time, our experiences grew — from home-style cooking classes to food tours through the Spice Bazaar, and a street market on the Asian side, and multi-day culinary journeys across the Aegean, Cappadocia, and the Black Sea. Yet, the heart of it all never changed. It’s still about gathering around a table, cooking together, tasting together, and discovering Turkey through its people and their traditions.
Each dish we cook has a story — the fisherman in Karaköy who wakes before dawn, the lady in Cappadocia who still bakes bread in a stone oven, the olive oil producers who talk about their harvest as if it were poetry. These are the moments we bring to our guests, and these are the stories that keep Turkish Flavours alive.
Looking back, I often think how beautifully it all unfolded — from one dinner among friends to a community built on taste, culture, and connection.
If you ever find yourself in Istanbul, come cook with us, walk with us through the markets, and share a table where every dish tells a story. That’s the spirit of Turkish Flavours — where food is not just eaten but experienced, and where friendship is always the main ingredient.
Wherever we go, the idea remains the same: food connects people, and every dish tells a story.
Ready to experience the real taste of Turkey?
Join one of our Turkish Flavours Cooking Classes or Food Tours in Istanbul and discover the country through its cuisine.
