AYLİN ÖNEY TAN

Serve the soup AYLİN ÖNEY TAN

Serve the soup!

Recently, News Hour programs in Turkey have been swept with the news of a soup list.

January 23 2022
The Flying Dutchman AYLİN ÖNEY TAN

The Flying Dutchman

What is space travel like? This is what most of us think when we look up in the sky on a starry night. Going to space is a question that has haunted mankind since time immemorial while looking at the stars. Back in the ‘60s, every child had dreams of becoming an astronaut one day. I did. It was the space exploration years, the fierce rivalry between U.S. astronauts and Soviet cosmonauts was on our agenda. I remember gazing deep into the starry night on an Aegean beach, as if I would be able to see a thing, when Neil Armstrong took mankind’s first step in the moon. As kids, we were star-struck, or better to say space struck. We had extraterrestrial dreams.

January 17 2022
Gastroartology and science AYLİN ÖNEY TAN

Gastroartology and science

One may wonder the correlation between the fine arts and gastronomy departments, but the answer is quite simple...

January 02 2022
Cake architect AYLİN ÖNEY TAN

Cake architect

Can an architect stop thinking like an architect even if they do not do architecture? I guess not. Once the virus of design begins to circulate in the blood, there is never a cure. Whatever you do, that virus comes into play at some point; it affects your work, the design process will not let you go. Being originally an architect, I feel this quite often, even in my writings, I have to have a structure in mind before starting to type or just start drafting thoughts on paper. I sometimes think some chefs were meant to be architects, but with a twist of fate, they ended up in the kitchen. Seldom, they are really architects. Ukranian pastry chef Dinara Kasko is. A rare example. Maybe that is why she had first hit the architecture circles as the breaking news, but not the gastronomy world.

December 26 2021
Sugar plums and figgy puddings AYLİN ÖNEY TAN

Sugar plums and figgy puddings

Turkey is a country bountiful with fruits. From stone fruits such as apricots, cherries, peaches and plums to apples and pears, the varieties are enormous. And of course, there are grapes of all kinds and figs. In fall and winter months pomegranates, quinces, bananas and the citrus fruits adorn the tables. Still, the other fruits do not disappear, they continue to exist, mostly in dried form, or turned into healthy snacks, often with nuts.

December 19 2021
Turkish coffee: Past forward AYLİN ÖNEY TAN

Turkish coffee: Past forward!

Last week, Dec. 5 was declared as World Turkish Coffee Day. Earlier, in 2013, “Turkish Coffee Culture and Tradition” was the first beverage to be included in the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage list. Turkish coffee has a history of roughly 500 years. Actually, coffee was first introduced to the Western world by the Ottomans. So, what exactly is Turkish coffee?

December 12 2021
List of the lists AYLİN ÖNEY TAN

List of the lists

Forty-eight hours in Paris? Sometimes, we need a bit of extravaganza. So, last week I did a quick 48-hour visit to Paris. After two years of living in sedentary condition working constantly from home, I think I needed to do something crazy. But do not expect a list of brilliantly packed ideas for where to splurge on champagne and wine or fine dining. Instead, my exploration was about to find out where to go for finesse and perfection, to find out about the best of the best in the world, perhaps for a later splurging trip. This is my only explanation to go to Paris just for one reception, but an important one, the one of La Liste Awards.

December 05 2021
Cuisine à la Turque AYLİN ÖNEY TAN

Cuisine à la Turque

Almost a decade ago we were attending an exclusive small symposium at the François Rabelais University in Tours, France. The theme was on cooking techniques up to contemporary times since the primeval fire. My presentation was on a particular example from inland Turkey, namely Iskilip Dolması or Iskilip Kebab, a dish which I named as a full feast in a single pot, involving an ingenious cooking method that could be compared with the cooking way of contemporary slow-cooker, pressure cooker and vaporizers, all in one. The result was the soup and the meat and the rice pilaf cooked separately in the same cauldron. But that is another story. At the same session, my friend Dr. Özge Samancı had a talk on the 19th century Westernization of Ottoman cookery. Her talk was a short summary of her doctoral research titled “La Cuisine d’Istanbul au 19e siècle.” It was thought provoking as it demonstrated how a great culinary heritage could not stay exempt from the influence of French cuisine that swept kitchens around the globe. In some way, it was also hilarious with certain examples Samancı gave. I remember breaking into giggles when she mentioned dishes like “Kebab du Savoy,” a total hybrid in all senses.

November 28 2021
Cooking is science AYLİN ÖNEY TAN

Cooking is science

Our food world is complex. From simple everyday food at homes to sophisticated gastronomic experiences at high-end restaurants, there are various techniques that are involved in cooking. How we cook is almost an innate habit we have. Our food culture and cooking methods have evolved with the accumulation of years of experience. The tastes we like or dislike, how we enjoy our food is the legacy of past generations. Our geography rules what we eat, what we favor, what we consume. In most cases our beliefs and traditions are shaped around what our environment gives us as food. The story of our food is not only confined to the kitchen. Feeding the world population is the major concern of humankind. From sowing to harvesting, from foraging to hunting, the human mind is constantly occupied with how to get food on the table. Since the very first act of cutting the meat or grinding the grain, mankind is constantly developing ways of preparing food. In the modern times, with the enormous development in industrial food systems, our food world is in an ever-expanding stage. Starting with the primeval fire, to the modern kitchen gadgets we use a variety of cooking techniques. What we actually do is simply apply science. Science is key to all aspects of food, even if the science behind the food is not always visible.

November 21 2021