The master of Michelin’s Green Star

EBRU ERKE

Buğra Özdemir is a key chef in our country who emphasizes sustainability, drawing on his education and research in Denmark. Remarkably, he is just 29 years old. At The Barn in Silivri, he applies his culinary knowledge in a way that inspires many.

The Green Star, awarded for the past four years, is just as appealing as the red one. It not only emphasizes flavor and service but also addresses important contemporary issues like seasonality, waste reduction, and carbon footprint. Buğra Özdemir, the chef at The Barn, is the first in Türkiye and one of the few worldwide to write a master’s thesis on Michelin’s Green Star. He completed his thesis on green-starred restaurants in Denmark while attending a scholarship program from Noma’s Mad Feed Academy.

Michelin has been presenting the Green Star since 2020, aiming to promote sustainable practices in the global restaurant industry. I believe it has largely succeeded in this mission. Now, chefs not only strive for culinary excellence but also those who honor and connect with nature are eager to receive Michelin recognition. In the initial two years of these awards, most were given to Nordic countries, which is why Buğra went to Denmark to write his thesis. His acceptance into the Mad Feed scholarship program opened significant opportunities for him.

What is Mad Feed? It’s an initiative of MAD (which means ‘food’ in Danish), a non-profit organization established by René Redzepi, the chef of Noma, one of the world’s most renowned restaurants. Mad Feed acts as a platform for exchanging ideas, discussions, and innovations related to food, sustainability, and its future. One of MAD’s primary goals is to unite chefs, food enthusiasts, and activists globally to drive positive change in the food industry. Through Mad Feed, the organization shares knowledge and experiences to tackle both the pleasures and challenges of feeding the world. During his training, Buğra learned that sustainability should be viewed from multiple dimensions, with a particular focus on fermentation techniques in the kitchen.

I asked Chef Buğra about something I was really curious about. When it comes to sustainability in the kitchen, the first thing that comes to mind is the idea of “waste-free,” which I believe has been misinterpreted. How much of the waste-free approach is truly sustainable? His response, “Only 20 percent,” is likely to surprise many, just as it did me. According to Buğra, sustainability has three dimensions: social, economic, and environmental. He emphasized that the social and economic aspects of sustainability are the most critical to discuss. Factors like employee working hours, having two days off instead of one, their social well-being, motivation, and low staff turnover depending on all this — all contribute to a positive social environment within the team.

At the economic level, self-sufficiency is paramount. For instance, one of the first Green Star restaurants in Denmark switched to a bank that funds sustainable projects, serving as a great example. Another restaurant partnered with a taxi company because they only work with electric vehicles. A third one offered its employees private health insurance and gym memberships as perks. This shows that Nordic countries are addressing sustainability in much broader terms than just recycling in the kitchen. However, it’s important to recognize that their overall prosperity differs significantly from ours.

Let’s discuss how Chef Buğra has turned these teachings into his own reality. He is quite fortunate in this respect, as he leads Grandma’s Wonderland in Silivri and The Barn Restaurant within it. This gives him an advantage over those situated in the heart of the city. With a boss like Özgün Akbayır, who shares his idealistic vision, Buğra begins with a significant head start compared to his peers.

The Barn’s kitchen exclusively uses ingredients from the Thracian region, and they grow most of their own fruits and vegetables, particularly their honey, on the farm. The drink menu, crafted by Ayça Budak, features only wines from the local area. Fermentation techniques are employed on nearly every ingredient in The Barn’s kitchen, enhancing flavors and creating complex layers that contribute a unique umami to the dishes.

Chef Buğra’s new mushroom dish on the menu encapsulates his culinary vision in every detail. He begins by boiling and straining the mushrooms to create a consommé from the mushroom juice. He then purées the boiled mushrooms, spreads it on a thin tray to dry, and forms a mushroom dough. This dough is filled with a mushroom mixture and served alongside the consommé. The entire process takes four days. Each of Buğra’s dishes presents a fresh perspective. For those interested in learning more, I recommend visiting the restaurant to hear directly from this 29-year-old chef.