My Routine

photo: Amber

It's clear that I haven't been able to establish a rhythm for my writing habit. We can debate whether I'm putting in enough effort, but after a certain age, when you change countries, many old and new habits take different durations to settle into a routine than you might expect. Especially, like me, if you come to a country with your spouse’s assignment without finding a job, and if you don't know the language at all, then your situation becomes even more challenging. It's essential to find activities that will become part of your new life and keep you disciplined. It could be something as simple as taking your child to and from school. This is very important to me; chatting with my daughter while going to and from school, witnessing her growth, is one of the most enjoyable ways. As she grows older, our walking time has decreased, but that's okay; every age has its pleasures. Next year, she'll be in sixth grade and will prefer going to school without her father. This means that I'll need to develop a new habit for mornings next year. It might be exaggerated, but wouldn't it be great if I started doing sports, right?!?!

My second routine in Paris became "going to the market." Except for school holidays, you can see me every Wednesday at Avenue President Wilson market. Located between Iéna Square and Alma Square on Avenue President Wilson, the market is held on Wednesdays and Saturdays, opening early in the morning and closing at 2:30 PM. Frankly, the variety of products on Saturdays is much better than Wednesdays; if you have the chance, I recommend going on Saturdays. I'm not saying this because I go there regularly, but among the markets I've seen while walking the streets of Paris, this is one of the best. One of the characteristics that make up the city's spirit is each neighborhood's own shopping streets and local markets. The Parisians' commitment to this culture is one of the most important factors for me to love this city. Watching an elderly Parisian with a grumpy look and a seller who you wouldn't believe enjoys his job sharing recipes with each other in a butcher's shop is a wonderful moment for me. So when the "home delivery in 15 minutes" initiative came to Paris, I told my friends it wouldn't work, and I was right. Especially in food shopping, reducing or cutting off the contact between seller and customer, like trying to change the culture of Parisians, is also not possible.

In the 20 arrondissements of Paris, 72 markets are set up. You can check where and on which days they are set up on the city's official website. To rent a space at the market, you need to obtain permission from the local municipalities. The process typically begins with the applicant applying to the relevant administrative authority, which evaluates the suitability of the vendor and the products they plan to sell. Among the key requirements are providing fresh and locally sourced products, offering a variety of items, keeping the stall clean and organized, and clearly displaying prices. Additionally, local authorities expect vendors to create a friendly and professional atmosphere by communicating with customers in a warm manner. Generally, the places where the products come from and the production methods (such as organic-bio) are indicated on the labels.

Seeing dried grapes, dried apricots, dried figs, and quinces coming from Turkey through the labels makes me very happy, indeed. Here, at one of these stalls, there's Azdine. I can say that I made my first attempts at speaking French with him at the market. He's so polite that he has been putting up with me for years. In addition to dried fruits from Turkey, his stall also offers many varieties of nuts, mezes, and the types of olives that I buy most frequently. In France, olive and olive oil consumption is significantly lower compared to Italy, Spain, and Greece. So finding olives that suit my taste is not easy either. Thanks to Azdine, he allows me to taste 2-3 varieties before deciding which olives to buy. He has been doing this job for 30 years. Azdine's attitude reminds me of the vendors in Yeşilköy market from my childhood. Always cheerful, always talkative, and always loud. The flower stall across from him is his favorite because the scents wafting from there especially in spring make him very happy. He says that chatting with customers is the most enjoyable part of his job, and indeed, in the small question-answer interviews I conducted, all the vendors mentioned that chatting with customers is their favorite part of their jobs.

Azdine was the last to reply to my e-mail so he deserves my “sympathy” (photo: Amber)

One of the most enjoyable conversations you can have is with Carine, right next to the Azdine’s stall. She has been at the helm of her own company, BaraPatates, since 2007. In my opinion, she's the queen of the market. The quality of the products on her stall is always top-notch, and she has a variety of mushrooms that you won't see at any other stall. Because she also loves cooking at home, she pays great attention to ensuring that the products on her stall are as high-quality as those she brings home. She doesn't put any product on the stall that she doesn't like. This attention to detail and pursuit of good ingredients is a tradition passed down in her family because Carine's family has both a catering company and butchers. Now she's passing this tradition on to her children. One of my favorite moments at the market is when Carine shares recipes with a very chic Parisian woman. I know, this might get me into trouble in the future because when I improve my French to that point, Carine won't want to see me around her stall anymore because I'll be trying to ask for a new recipe every time. One of the things market vendors dislike doing the most is carrying crates, and Carine thinks the same way, rightfully so, she even had to undergo shoulder surgery because of it.

Kneel before the queen of mushrooms ! (Photo: Amber)

Another market vendor who doesn't particularly enjoy the setup stage is Herminia 'Mimi' Pereira at the Saint Vrain cheese stall opposite Bar a Patates. Setting up Mimi's stall is more challenging. The care needed to transport cheese and other dairy products is different from that needed for potatoes and onions, of course, so preparing the stall requires a serious level of concentration and patience. Once that's taken care of, the job becomes easier. Mimi's favorite moments in her job are when customers are told to her how satisfied with the products they purchase. I recommend visiting the Saint Vrain stall especially on Saturday mornings; the variety of cheeses there can be overwhelming. Lastly, let me tell you why Mimi and I get along so well: Both Mimi and I love comté cheese the most among all the cheeses. Actually, this isn't all that rare because it's really hard not to love comté. It's made from unpasteurized cow's milk in the France-Comté region near the Swiss border in eastern France. It's one of the most produced cheeses in France, and its production process undergoes strict controls, including calculating how many cows can be on how many square meters of land. These standards are referred to as French Appellation d'origine Contrôlée (AOC). By the way, Comté pairs beautifully with the white wines of the Arbois appellation in the Jura region. You should try it when you come to Paris.

note for the smart-a.. ; we are aware that the cheese is not comté but we like this photo the most.

(photo: Amber)

Talking about white wine immediately brings fish to mind. I confess, I never used to buy fish from the market in Turkey, so I didn't buy it here in the early days either. Then I put an end to this nonsense and started buying it. After making a few changes to the stalls over the years, I've been benefiting from Jean Pierre's 40 years of experience for the last 2 years, and I started buying fresh fish and seafood from his stall. His advice on how to cook them has improved the quality of our fish dinners at home. Jean's advice is very accurate because he cooks at home. Of course, Jean's least favorite thing about the market is the cold weather. The reason he complains more than other vendors is actually quite clear: in winter, having to clean fish with hands exposed to water! He's not entirely wrong, don't you think?

gratter & vider ; the first 2 French words i learned for fish shopping. (photo: Amber)

When Jean wants to buy something from the market, of course, he prefers vendors who bring organic products from their own gardens. One of these stalls is ValdemarBerreira's. They grow their products on lands 40 minutes outside Paris. You should see the variety of herbs in spring; they are incredibly colorful and fragrant, and towards the end of summer, they have various types of tomatoes. Valdemar took over this business from Joël Thiébault, who was famous as a supplier for starred restaurants, in 2016. His wife, Zilda, also joined the team. Like her colleagues, Zilda doesn't like the cold of winter or the "canicule" (heatwave) of summer. Since such good products pass through her hands, she uses them all in her own kitchen, and she can't resist sharing them with her customers if the new recipes she tries turn out successful. As a customer, what more could you ask for? Good ingredients and recipes; it's hard not to love this stall!

Zilda & greens (photo: Amber)

We've got the vegetables, fish, cheeses, and nuts; but where will we get the fruits? I'll answer right away; fresh fruits await you at Mourad's stall. Especially if you love berry varieties, they're always very fresh here. I can say that my daughter's obsession with Fuji red apples started because of this stall. I always have the opportunity to taste whatever fruit I want, just like I'm used to from Turkey. I'm always offered the fruit I want according to the season; this warmth and sincerity are the behavior I value most. Mourad might be the youngest person at all the stalls I shop at, both in terms of age and work experience: It's only been 10 years. I was there at 7 of it Mourad! He can't cook at home, but learning to cook is among his future plans because the products he sells put pressure on him. He says it doesn't seem possible to stay away from the kitchen when such good products pass through his hands, well, go ahead Mourad !

She knows why that apple is there. (photo: Amber)

Finally, let me tell you about the stall that makes me the happiest when I see it at the market. It's the stall of İbrahim and his family, meticulously making “gözleme” in their pristine white outfits. The only downside here is that they can't come on Saturdays because they set up their stall at the Versailles market on Fridays and Sundays. İbrahim also cooks at home because it's part of his family's traditions. They have different varieties of “gözleme” at their stall. My favorite is the one with baby spinach and feta cheese. They make sure all the ingredients they choose are additive-free. Therefore, the taste is equally excellent. We can't enjoy many good Turkish meals outside our home in Paris, but İbrahim and his family's varieties of "gözleme" delight us.

İbrahim’s flour toss. (Of course, he doesn’t do anything like this, it was just my absurd idea.) photo: Amber

Among the regular customers of this market, there are also famous chefs. During my Wednesday routine, I sometimes come across Matthias Marc and Takuya Watanabe. Of course, even though I feel excited to be buying ingredients from the same place as them, the lack of any similarity of the final dishes between what we cook at home and what they cook brings me back to reality. 😃

LEM était en Turquie

One party entered my life with piyaz with fennel, the other with razor clams. I want to share with you how I combined these two choices that seem very far from each other and how two pop up evenings that turned out to be more beautiful than I’ve ever imagined. I want to start with the host; Mustafa Otar, the person who has the biggest share in making this organization full of flavours.

The first three pieces of information I want to share about him are that he loves the soil, he is in love with the sea, and he is fond of his freedom. Since the day I met him, he has been talking about the fruit trees in his homeland and the vineyard he dreams of. He goes and touches the soil at every opportunity and easily becomes a part of that life. I would also like to mention that he recently realized his dream of a vineyard. I am eagerly waiting for the wines that will come from that vineyard when he believes that it is 100% ready. I first heard about Mustafa in Istanbul  from another chef friend of mine whom I admire. She was doing a consultancy for a restaurant and after working together for a while; she described him as creative, quick, takes initiative and knowledgeable. Some time later, in another restaurant in Bomonti, I heard about the lamb shank he prepared in the wood oven that became famous by word of mouth and was ordered in advance during the reservations. However the day that was etched in my mind was in a much more cosy environment. It was sincere but challenging. We were 14-15 people who had been working in the food and beverage business for a long time including some chefs. This group could easily be arrogant and on top of that he cooked in an unfamiliar home kitchen. Very few of us helped with the preparations and Mustafa fed us all with great patience. I cannot forget the piyaz with fennel on the menu. Despite preparing everything in front of us all evening, none of us could understand how he cooked that piyaz so deliciously. Later, we strengthened our friendship at the raki tables. Mustafa has a strong character, is knowledgeable and never hesitates to share his knowledge, mature enough to know that those around him must be very good when a collective work has to be done. The young and dynamic staff in the restaurant we saw when we came for this organization was like a proof that Mustafa left nothing to chance. The team's motivation being at the highest level eased the work of the Les Enfants du Marché (Lem) team. They did a wonderful job with great discipline. I also want to thank the team from here. Thanks to you, the kitchen organization went seamlessly. You are all wonderful.

Mustafa's first meeting with the Les Enfants du Marché (Lem) team took place when he came to Paris in November 2022. Of course, I took Mustafa to Lem, just like I took all my friends who are in search of good food. The satisfaction in all the dishes we ordered was reflected so quickly on his face that I was relieved. So, how did I meet Lem? Let me explain it right away. As you know, I walked all the public streets of Paris. I did these walks with a plan which is, arrondissement by arrondissement. (Paris consists of 20 arrondissements and is in the shape of a snail) While walking the 3rd arrondissement, I came across a covered market and threw myself into the Marché des Enfants Rouges. This is Paris's oldest fruit and vegetable market, established in 1628. Over the years, some politicians have set their eyes on it, but those living in Marais have never surrendered and have protected their market. In 1982, it was added to the "historical monument" list and gained a complete protection . My first visit was in 2019. After touring the inside, a stall that distinguished itself from other food stands with its energy and spirit caught my attention and I sat down.

And yes, as I mentioned in my first sentence, my first order was razor clams. It was a classic; with garlic, parsley, and white wine sauce. I couldn't help but wonder how this dish, which I sometimes come across in Paris, could be so tasty. Just like Mustafa's piyaz.

I started to go there frequently over the years. I took every friend who was after good food in a casual environment here. As I went often, I saw how good a boss Michael Grosman is. His most important feature is his love and respect for his job. He is always at work, smiling, full of energy, a disciplined boss who communicates very well with his team and his customers. He is modest enough to say that they are not doing rocket science and adds “we are just after making good food with good ingredients.” Mika's food knowledge and management experience is a legacy passed on to him from his family and developed by himself. Mika, who is from Southern France, learned everything in the businesses owned by his family and frequented by very famous people (Mick Jagger, Elton John, Madonna...). Later, he became one of the founders of the Japanese bistro Soma, which I love very much in Paris. In 2017, an opportunity came up and he took the place at Marché des Enfants Rouges. Menus are created with whatever ingredients found at the market seasonally. Natural wines accompany it. The wine list is of course mostly French producers but there are also wonderful Greek, Austrian and Italian natural wines. Wine is also the area of expertise of Lem's chef Shunta. He became interested in wines in Japan and did his study. In fact, after coming to France, he worked for a wine producer in the Rhone region for 6 months and improved himself about wine production. After his experiences in Japan, he participated in pop-ups in Thailand, Singapore, Germany and Iceland. In Paris, he worked at the one-star Restaurant Sola and with chef Sota Atsumi (at Maison Sota), whose food I have loved since Clown Bar. After Shunta took over at Lem, where he started as a sous chef, an extra elegance appeared on the plates. The harmony of the ingredients he uses is really striking. Spending a week with Shunta, his black notebook which he never lets go of, taking notes about the new ingredients he learned and writing down new ideas that came to his mind was a great experience for me. Even while chatting about daily topics, thinking about the ingredients and the dishes he will make in the background was a sign why he is different.

Now that I have introduced both sides, I can now tell you about our week-long adventure.

First of all i need to say that Mustafa seemed to have prepared everything in his head before the Lem team arrived. He was just impatient to learn Lem's menu. Therefore, the first two days were hard for Mustafa. Lem team was not in a hurry either because they first wanted to get to know Mustafa, then the city and Yazz, and feel the energy. They observed a lot and learned a very important piece of information: You don't joke with raki!

On the first evening, Mustafa took us to Girida Port, the best fish restaurant in the region. There, the night was full with both seafood and hospitality. From the moment dear Shunta learned that raki was our traditional drink, it was a pleasure for me to watch him start thinking about how he could find a place on his own menu and try it with other flavors on the table, and to listen to him exchange ideas with Mika and Mustafa. Of course, we didn't need to drink so much Raki to let Shunta understand it totally. We struggled a bit the next day. But even for this situation, Mustafa already had a solution, he immediately took us to a great döner shop. Once we calmed our stomachs, it was the time for the team to enter the kitchen. Under Mustafa's guidance, Shunta and Mika's requests began to be prepared quickly. Both were stunned to find such a good team. They immediately got in tune with the team and the preparations began at full speed. The hardest part of the second day was expected to be the wine tasting, but it immediately became easier at the first try. The Turkish pet nat and natural wines that Mustafa wanted the chefs to taste received positive notes from these two experienced Parisians. Especially dear Seyit Karagozoglu's pét-nat turned into a pleasure drink in the evening even though we started as a tasting. We spent our second evening tasting Mustafa's dishes at the hotel. Thus, the Lem team fully learned about Mustafa's style and understood the quality of the food served at the hotel. We were just about to go home when there was another surprise from Mustafa. On Saturday evening, we were the first to try Mustafa Otar's botarga, which will be presented to the guests coming to the chef's table. Honestly, botarga is not one of my favorite ingredients cause it takes over everything it gets into and creates very difficult situations for someone like me who always seeks balance in meals; however, I learned a lesson. Dear readers, there are no bad or tasteless or strong ingredients, there are very good chefs who know how to use ingredients! Mustafa's Botarga is now a reality in my life and botarga is a beautiful thing."

Wednesday and Thursday passed with the preparations of the main ingredients and sauces in the kitchen. These two days showed us the differences between the working cultures and how important it is for some people to take time for himself/herself. Mika and Shunta showed that they set aside 1-1.5 hours for themselves every day, no matter how intense they work, and they invest in areas outside of their works by doing sports/yoga to clear their minds. (Mika participated and completed the Paris Triathlon a week later) Moreover the two great developments of Thursday were the arrival of Mika's family and Alca (Mustafa’s partner) Now all the motivation factors had been provided for the two meals at the weekend.

Friday morning started early because we went to the farmers’ market that Mustafa talked about before we arrived. It was a wonderful market. Producers coming from surrounding villages and towns were showing how valuable lands Türkiye has. The Lem team was very pleased to be at this market. But there was a significant risk of visiting such a good market. Chef Shunta might want to change his menu... and he did! But we saved the printed menus by guaranteeing that he could do whatever he wanted with the side dishes, provided that we could not touch the main ingredients.

After the market, we moved to the hotel and the final preparations for the evening began. Lem, Mustafa, and the team prepared the final dishes in perfect harmony and the evening meal started to be served to all hotel guests around 7.

The menu created by the Lem team and Mustafa was a flavor storm. The festive, which started with two different pieces from the back and belly part of the tuna presented with different spices by the Lem team, followed by smoked bonito with licha and a touch of Bouillabaisse, a traditional dish of the Marseillais. As a main course the Japanese touch to the Turkish lamb, namely panko frying, satisfied our stomachs. The dessert was greatly influenced by the first night of Fethiye: Raki. That is two slices of different structures were presented by infusing raki into a watermelon that had been cooked on a wood fire for a long time. On the other hand, Mustafa added the most loved ones from his own menu, considering the more traditional guests of the hotel. As the starters, tzatziki and hummus were served. Because of the incredible tastes, now a few friends can't eat tzatziki without almonds and fennel. Also the slices of dried and smoked lamb thigh served in cold starters still enter my dreams with its slight spiciness. You can eat the tempura corn with anchovy mayonnaise served in the hot starters three meals a day without getting bored. Mustafa's main course option was grilled grouper. He served it with smoked carrot puree and tiger de leche he prepared. If I hadn't met the team, I could have thought that there was a very good Peruvian chef next to Isa, the lahmacun master from Kilis. (I can write a separate article for lahmacun because I ate lahmacun every lunch for 4 days, thank you master Isa) As the end of the night approached, our joy increased because the reactions from the guests were very positive. Especially at the end of the dinner, the dialogues Mika established with the guests increased everyone's joy one more time. After we all switched to party mode, Mika and Shunta disappeared at one point (we thought one of the yacht owners kidnapped them 😁) and excited us. But when i saw them spending time with the team in the resting area of the kitchen, it was a proof of why this duo were the rising stars of Paris. They know that success is a team job, that both difficulties and fun will increase the team spirit when shared together, and they enjoyed being part of the fun of the team that has been working hard for a week. Of course, Friday was not the only night and none of us should have been drunk (!!!) with victory.

On Saturday evening, a chef's table was organized, and the most important feature of this evening was that the new kitchen set up for Mustafa was filled with equipments that operated entirely on wood and charcoal fire, and it was the first time they were being used. Doing this with the Lem team was truly a great start. From here, I wish Mustafa many more wonderful meals in that amazing kitchen. The biggest difference that set this evening apart from the others was the presence of guests who were very knowledgeable and experienced in the food&beverage industry in their respective fields, which meant there could be critiques. However, I believe that the knowledge, experience, love, and respect for their work from Mustafa, Mika, and Shunta reached such a high level that they all chose to simply enjoy the dishes that were served. The superstars of the second evening were Mustafa's botarga, the dried, smoked, and grilled mackerel with peas, and Lem's tuna fish with Bouillabaisse sauce.

In conclusion, both of our evenings were filled with a storm of flavors. As the orchestrator of the meeting between Mustafa and the Lem team, I can't help but give myself an extra point for being a part of this culinary journey. It was a perfect match, a week filled with inspiration. Throughout the week, I witnessed the incredible talent and passion of Mustafa Otar and his young team. I am delighted to have the opportunity to touch the team’s professional lives. I hope they realize the international caliber of Mustafa's knowledge, talent, and vision, and how fortunate they are to work alongside him. The time spent with Mika and Shunta from different cultures was a treasure trove of techniques, perspectives, and new ideas that will shape their future.

Lastly, I would like to thank Yazz Collective for fully supporting Mustafa Otar's knowledge, talent, and hard work, and for opening their doors to us and ensuring that the organization was carried out smoothly.

Serenity in Paris

When I started this blog, I thought that I would be writing regularly, but I have not been able to do that. Unfortunately, it has been a while since I’ve written something new. When I first started the parisbywalking account on instagram, my aim was to walk all of the streets of Paris and post pictures of buildings, statues, museums, graffiti, restaurants and views that I liked. I wanted to share these along with their stories and facts which I found amusing. The blog came later as a tool to share all this in more detail without the restraint of the limited space Instagram allows. Well, but what was next when all of the above was done? That part I hadn’t yet contemplated.
In the end, I walked and I walked and at last the city ended and there was nothing left to see. I thought, “So what now?” Yes there are still around 200 restaurants that I want to go to but I decided that I don’t want the next step to be to turn my account into a restaurant rec account. There are already a lot of accounts that do that, and they do it with a lot more technical background info added.
But then what could I do? I kept thinking and decided to focus on a question that I have been receiving from a lot of people around me lately: “We always go to the same places. You have been around the whole city, why don’t you take us to different places?”
It was around this time that on a wednesday at the Marché President Wilson one of my followers approached me and told me that she loved my photo and was always curious about the places that I posted about and asked me if I would recommend her a route to wander through. This suddenly helped me put it all together and come to a final decision.  
I had to organize walking tours in non-touristic parts of the city!

When I write it like this, it seems really easy right? Well for me, it was not so.

All my life, making decisions about business has given me nightmares and it has always taken me a long time to decide. Although in the end, my decisions never fail me, still this knowledge doesn’t make it any easier to take that final leap.  Well it is also because since I was 18, all my work dreams and plans have been taken away from me by outside factors in the end. Therefore you might understand me when I say that whenever I get a new idea, the second thought that comes to my mind is “Why bother, it won’t probably work out in the end” Maybe this is something that I should discuss with my own therapist and not here. 🫣

Well, if there are any psychologists among you, please DM me. 🤓

Ok, maybe it’s better I get back to writing about Paris.
In the end, I took that leap once again as a “micro-entrepreneur” to start my one-man company and finally I’m beginning to organize my walking tours. I have already done a couple of test runs. I have already announced the structure of the tours on Instagram and I will soon be announcing upcoming tour dates. Here I wanted to explain in more detail why I’m starting from 20th Arrondissement. In a documentary I watched recently, they were talking about the benefits of writing since it allows you to come up with and realise things that you hadn’t thought of before. Let’s see what writing about the contents of the tour will bring out about the 20th Arrondissement. Before all else, we should all agree that I’m not a professional tour guide, which means these will not be tours full of historical and technical information about the area. More likely, they will be sightseeing tours where we chat about our own Paris stories. In our last trial tour, two friends who have moved to Paris at the same time as us confessed that they hadn’t seen any of the streets on my route before even though the route was only 30 min away from their home by metro. But like they also commented, it is way easier to have someone guide them through what he has discovered before rather than trying to find these places by themselves. I believe the fact that no one has any time to waste any more helps a lot what I’m doing.

The 20th Arrondissement has been a later addition to the Paris city limits. Charonne village which used to have vineyards is also a part of this arrondissement. A part of my tour takes us through the village’s main road which still exists today. A lot of the streets on the route have an architectural style completely different from the rest of the city. It actually feels like a small town. I think this is the main reason why I decided to start my tours from this area. When we first moved and before I started my Instagram account I remember very clearly thinking that what makes Paris so powerful and famous cannot only be the grandeur of the citycenter, there must be something more and I have to find that out. As I walked through all of the arrondissements I believe I understood it better. I think the power of the city comes from the variety it offers. Both the variety in human profiles and the variety of architectural styles work to form an harmony that adds to the magic of the city.  What sets the 20th apart from other arrondissements is that it also includes a agroecological farm. Although it is stuck between buildings, it still maintains a sustainable farming system that also gives job opportunities to those in need, while also arranging workshops for students and gives the city habitants a chance to connect back with the land. You can also buy fresh vegetables and herbs for your own kitchen. I have read that there are also a couple of restaurants in the area that source their produce from this farm.

What else is on the tour? In summary; for example, although it doesn’t appear very exciting on the first look, the street where the tour begins from has been around since 1672. Then we walk though a street where obviously the most plant loving neighbours of the city have come together to live and come upon an extraordinary artdeco church. From there we move onto the part where the vineyards used to be, although they have lost their battles to urbanization long ago. However we discover that there are still some dead-end alleys in the area curiously. We come out on a plaza that I love which was chosen in 2020 by The Guardian as the most authentic neighbourhood of Europe and we use this opportunity to take lovely pictures of the place. Next we see one of the biggest and therefore most unexpected statues of the city and ask ourselves “Why?” Right after, we see another building where we once again ask “Why?”, I try to explain you the why, although I’m not sure how convincing the answer is, because personally I, myself, am not convinced. We come to “La Môme” Square where we discuss the statue made in his honour and what the architect was probably thinking when he was creating it. When we reach the square, it means that we are almost done but you have to soldier on for a small climb up two more streets to finally reach the really surprising and awarding end of the tour. We end in a totally unexpected neighbourhood where we cannot help ourselves and start the actually pointless discussion of what it would feel like to actually own one of these homes and wondering who lives here. In the end, if you have enjoyed the tour, I will also be recommending 2 restaurants and a wonderful café to rest your tired feet and enjoy yourselves. The cafe is both a nice way to end the day after lunch or for those who want to skip the lunch part. Especially the serene part at the end of the tour makes one feel as if they have gotten out of Paris, therefore I decided to name this tour “Serenity”. I loved to give this tour such an appropriate name without thinking that now I would have to keep naming all my forthcoming tours. 🤦🏻‍♂️

A Serious Wine Article or not !

A “philosopher” with whom I’m very close says that “The wine you like the most is actually the best wine”

Taking courage from these words, I decided to write an article on wine. However, I must confess up front that I might be way in over my head. I have many friends who know a lot about wine, I even have friends who are professionally involved in wine. While they are all out there, it’s me who’s attempting to write about wine. That’s some courage! Or maybe foolishness, we’ll see.

I will not bore you by starting with the fact that wine is an alcoholic drink produced from fresh grapes or grape juice through the process of fermentation, neither will I explain all technical details such as how during fermentation the yeast produces 1 degree of alcohol for each 17 g of sugar it consumes. Nor will I talk about how sometimes, when vines are planted too close by, they get stressed by the competion and send their roots as far as 20 m underground. However, I would still like to taste a glass of wine one day and turn around to tell my friends that “This wine has never aged in an oak barrel, it was aged in a steel tank into which oak shavings were added. It just doesn’t have the smoothness, that’s how you can tell.” Even imagining the shocked expressions of those around me is enough to give me joy right now.

Just like all other Turkish teenagers in that time, my first introduction to wine was probably by Kavaklıdere Yakut. I don’t actually remember because it has been so long, and as someone who started their drinking life with the awfully insufferable vodka and sourcherry juice, I really don’t want to go into my previous drinking experience. My true introduction to wine has come very late. When I first went into the restaurant business in 2010, I had my first chance to learn about the old and new Turkish wine brands, local grapes and their prices. That’s why it’s really not very realistic to expect a deep range of knowledge from me in such a short time, please don’t stress me with very high expectations!

When we were opening our restaurant in 2010, it was already decided that our menu would be based on fresh and local produce, therefore by selling only Turkish wine, we wanted to do our part to support the business. Another rule we had was not to have any sponsorship agreements with bigger brands so that we could include smaller producers we liked in the menu. You can see that we were very free-spirited. I saw now that we had wines from 16 different producers on the menu in 2015. It’s not bad at all for a small restaurant that seats 50 people. Of course you should never think that we forgot to take care of our customers who claim that Turkish wines ‘give them an headache’. We included 2 white and 2 red French wines for them on the menu as well. Naturally I did not see French wine as I see it now. But still I see that we still managed to choose good French brands, such as the 140 year old winery Joseph Drouhin, whose wines I had a chance to taste here in France later on. They are a 4th generation family-business in production in Burgundy. We had their Pinot Noir and Chablis on the menu. This reminds me of a joke I heard the other day. . “What gives people feeling of power?” Money? Status? Knowing that Chablis is Chardonnay? Correct answer is the last one. 

Since we’ve mentioned French wines, let’s continue in that line. When it was confirmed that we were actually moving to Paris, I decided to learn more about French wines. I started studying the wine menus at each restaurant we went to. After a couple of times, I realized that almost no restaurant has the same two producers on the menu. The menus are sometimes like little novels, pages long but still 95% of the wines are from different producers. That got me discouraged and I just thought there was no way I could accumulate any sort of knowledge. I can hear some of you saying “Don’t be ridiculous.” For those of you, I have prepared just the right analysis. And I believe this huge study deserves its own paragraph.

While we were stuck at home during the pandemic, as a way to keep myself busy, I decided to save to an excel file every single wine we drank between April 2017 and April 2021, collecting all data from my Vivino account and my phone. Yes I really did that, and I already had every wine we drank saved somewhere. The results are pure madness. To start with, in the last 4 years, we have drunk a bottle of wine every 3.5 days. However let me say, we are certainly not alcoholics. For example, I’ve been on antibiotics for 5 days and I drank a half-glass of red wine, only twice. See, I am able to control myself! I also want to give an idea on the price data I’ve collected so that you can see that there is a certain price range. Looking at that, you can understand the vastness of the French wine industry when you include all the more expensive and cheaper wines out there. Apart from a couple of specials occasions, the wines we drank are all between 20€ and 70€. This includes both supermarket and restaurant prices. It’s time to reveal numbers. In the past for years, 95% of the time with Ayca, we drank a total of 299 bottles of wine. Of these 167 are white, 123 are red and only 9 are rose. (There might a few more roses but they probably did not leave a mark strong enough to be recorded) But what is most amazing, is the number of producers these 299 bottles are from. We drank 299 bottles from 259 different producers. This is a mind blowing number for a Turkish person who has had a brief encounter with the restaurant business. I’m still analyzing the list, therefore there might be more articles about that coming your way. For now, I’ll leave it at that by finally mentioning more numbers about the regions of those bottles.

76 bottles from Burgundy, 57 bottles from Loire, 47 bottles from Rhone, 30 bottles from Languedoc-Roussillon, 28 bottles from Provance, 25 bottles from Bordeaux, 13 bottles from Alsace, 8 bottles from South-West, 5 bottles of Beaujolais, 4 bottles from Savoie, 3 bottles from Corsica, 2 bottles from Jura.

Looking at these results, we can see that as a couple we drank mostly Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, followed by Sauvignon Blanc from Loire. Are we a bit boring? Why always the same classci grapes while there were so many options out there?!?!? Ayca, let’s think about this a little, he?? Hahahaa Talking about different grapes, some of the grapes that I heard of for the first time were Poulsard from Jura, Rolle from Provance, Marsanne from Rhone, Clairette and Roussanne, Jacquère and  Gringet from Savoie. I must also say that I tasted 3 of these grapes in Septime, one of my favourite restaurants in Paris. And I remember buying the rest of them from a wine store in our neighborhood. Every year at Christmas I set myself a certain budget to gift myself some new wines. This selection is usually chosen by Didier to take me on a wine adventure. Every year is a new excitement. Didier is extremely knowledged about wine. Every year I show his selection to my philosopher friend mentioned at the beginning of the article, or should I say my friend ‘the talker’? And Didier’s selection passes his evaluation with flying colors very year. Well, if Didier has managed to pair our Turkish style chickpeas with lamb and rice with butter with an amazing bottle of white wine, what more can one say about his skills. It was an amazing pairing. In case you are able to come across it one day, it was Rieffel Winery’s Granite, from the Alsace Region.

What deserves respect in France is the amount of varity available, and the effort all producers put into keeping high-quality standards in a sustainable production approach under the pressures of the threat of enviromental change. I’m impressed by and envy how the whole society works to own and preserve their food culture.

PS: The talking philosopher whose knowledge and friendship I value immensely is Levon Bağış. Nothing should stay hidden!

Fondugues-Pradugues

If someone were to ask me what would be my biggest learning, especially from the start, but also from the rest of the pandemia, it would be that we have to be more in-touch with nature, have to respect it and refrain from a life-style that would be harmful to it. As we were raiding the fresh produce sections of supermarkets on those first days, which one of us did not brood over the question of whether we would be able to continue to feed ourselves in the days to come? Remembering the indispensability of agriculture was a slap in the face. Which one of us did not finally understand the brutality and the barbarity of zoos (expect for foundations that treat and rehabilitate animals) during this period. For two months, we were prisoners in our own homes, the places where we usually feel the most comfortable turned into a psychological prison for most of us.  In a way, we are actually still detained in some form of confinement. We cannot stroll outside without a mask. How terrible that is! We try to breath in oxygen, our most basic need as humans, through a mask when we are outside. Nobody actually knows or explains the long-term effect this might have on our health. We are waiting for our turn to get vaccinated. We are waiting for a vaccine that was developed in a rush so that we can go back to ‘normal’, be able to go outside without a mask and hug loved ones again. One cannot stop himself from asking, how is it possible to develop a vaccine against a virus that we still have so little knowledge about. Anyway, this is not a pessimistic article. On the contrary, it will be an article talking about an amazing place. It is about a place that is in nature, respects nature and therefore takes its energy and strength from nature, the Fondugues-Pradugues winery and the pop-up restaurant right in front of it.

First let me tell you how we came upon it. You might remember from previous articles that choosing restaurants on holidays is my responsibility in the family. And I’m usually successful in my choices, but a failed attempt last summer led to my wife discovering this place. As you see there is a good in everything, a bad choice led to an amazing discovery. We were on our way back from a very average restaurant near Saint Tropez that had attached crowds who were totally happy with anything as long as it was Italian and there was pizza on the menu. While driving, we saw a garden full of light beneath tall trees that you wouldn’t realize was there if you were not looking in that direction. We couldn’t stop then but we marked it on Google maps and continued on our way. Because it was a long holiday, we were trying to go easy on our budget and therefore ate at home most of the time, choosing dinners out very carefully. It made me very upset that I had wasted one of those treats, but the prospect of a good discovery lifted my spirits a little; I can turn into a very unpleasant person when I’m disappointed. After a little research, we decided to try it for lunch one day.

Our first time was lunch on a very hot day. But the tall trees were casting a lovely shadow, and their leaves were fanning a cool breeze against the heat, therefore we were very comfortable at our table. This is one of those places you always imagine coming upon in small towns and villages. The tables are set apart from each other under the shade, the ground beneath you is pebble and earth, you are surrounded by colorful flowers, sitting right at the edge of the vineyard, the vines fully blossomed green because the harvest is very near, the view of a village set among trees on the opposite hill, an open kitchen and a vehicle that acts as an open bar with wine fridges set on its body. It is set very far from the road, and the parking space is in the opposite direction, therefore you are totally secluded from the noise and the dirt of the road and traffic. The only thing you can hear is birdsong and the wind, of course if you have not come with a very talkative company. I must add that, apart from a huge garden, there is also a petanque area so that kids can also enjoy themselves. And we were very lucky because another kid around Yasemin’s age came right after us and we could easily leisure in this amazing place for more than 2 hours. Our second time was for dinner and a friend of my daughter from school and his mom were accompanying us. The petanque area was a huge rescue once again.

For dinner, I would recommend you to reserve because they say they are fully booked most of the time. Our dinner started off with a reservation confusion. But dear Joshua Clever solved it with a very polite attitude and this way we had a chance to meet the person in charge of the restaurant part of the project. Joshua, after earning a “Natural Chef” certificate, has worked as a chef for 10 years before getting himself out of the kitchen. A restaurant manager with a kitchen background is always a good idea. If you have any questions about the food, you have someone very knowledgeable about the recipes and the ingredients to enlighten you. Joshua met Stephen Roberts in Chicago and they also lived together in Paris. When the project first came up, Stephen invited Joshua to join him here. He told us they had a good year even with the pandemia and he is planning to be here in 2021 as well to help with the new tasting atelier. He says that he loves the south of France especially in summer and plans to spend time here as long as he can.

The Fondugues-Pradugues is 18 hectares in total, 15 of which are vineyards. Laurent Nouvion’s mother Danielle Rey bought her first land in the 60s and and in time proceeded to buy adjoining plots to reach the size it is today. Danielle is a fifth generation wine-maker from the Languedoc region. You could say that as a family they know what they are doing. Hahaaha We met Stephen Roberts at the end of our dinner. Stephen is Laurent’s husband and has been living in France since 1999. He might be the newest addition to the family in the wine business but the greatest change has come through him. Stephen has worked at United Nations before and he has always been actively involved in environmental issues. Especially after their first daughter was born in 2010, he has wanted to take more responsibility about the issue. He started this first in his own land. He converted their holiday home into a working farm where their children could grow up in a cleaner and healthier environment. While studying wine, he also continued work to prepare the land for organic production. They harvested their first produce in 2014. He explains this process as follows:

“We added horses to work the land and sheep that come in winter and eat our ground cover. Biodynamic farming became a logical continuation after organics since the charter is very cohesive and helpful in choosing when to work on the vineyard according to the astrological and lunar calendars. Natural wines is a result of this coherence as well since following all these basic rules in farming and wine-making help make wines that taste like the place or terroir, I believe our wines are a true reflection of the Ramatuelle plain, which has its own special micro-climate. I use temperature control in order to keep our rose wine light in color and fresh, and this year is our first year of using zero sulphate in the winery during harvest, we have finally achieved this and I am very proud.”

Eventualy they became the first vineyard to receive the Demether certificate in the region. (Demether certificate is valid in 50 countries, given out since 1928, verifying that the production is compliant with the biodynamic regulations accepted internationally) They are growing Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, Grenache, Rolle, Cinsaut, Chardonnay, Mourvèdre, and Merlot grapes. They produce about 25.000 bottles every year but are aiming to increase this up to 60.000 with new investments. 80% of the production is bottled as rosé and 20% as red, but he added that they will start working on white production next year. Towards the end of dinner, Joshua had a surprise for us. He gave us a bottle without a label. He said for now we are sharing this with friends and family only. How lucky we were! It is a wine of %100 Mourvèdre that they are planning to label in 2021. Who knows, maybe this summer I can write once again from Fondugues-Pradugues and get a chance to babble on about this wine.

So far we have talked about the magic of the place, the visions of Stephen and hospitality of Joshua, but we haven’t talked about the last person who has made this place perfect in my opinion. Valentine Costuna. Valentine is a 29 year old Australian chef. His passion for cooking is inherited from his family. Both his mother’s delicious cooking and the fact that both his father and grandfather being chefs, have led his to start working at a fine-dining restaurant when he was only 15. Even though he is only 29 years old, he has a lot of experience up his sleeve. He talks about some of his previous experiences before Fondugues as follows:

“I have been very fortunate to cook in quality kitchens all over the world. Some of my favorites and most impactful experiences were at Moxhe - a magnificent, charming seafood restaurant in Sydney. The powerhouse classic québécois bistro Joe Beef in Montreal, Canada. As well as a restaurant that was ranked 32nd in the world whilst I was there, Astrid y Gaston in Lima, Peru! I was also very fortunate to cook on expedition vessels in the Arctic and Antarctic for a couple of years. These experiences were indeed full of highlights.”

When I asked his about his own cooking style, what he feels about sustainability and what he likes cooking best, the responses I got were exactly as I had imagined them to be. They were totally in line with the vision of Stephen about the place.

“ I describe my food style at l'éphémère to be "refined, rustic" cuisine du marché. I deeply believe that cooking seasonally and sustainably is essential; not only in the restaurant business but also for in our homes and in our lives... Not to mention for the planet! I am pleased to see a resurgence of both farm to table and sustainable cooking in the restaurant world. We certainly need it.

I love most to cook with fresh & especially live seafood. I have worked closely with fish and seafood for many years and I love it so much because it is the most incredible expression of freshness. The difference between fresh fish that has been caught, killed & handled properly to another product, is so pronounced. This quality of seafood of course exists in France but I do miss the blend of these products with strong, spicy and herbaceous flavors that is so brilliantly done in Asia.”

One of the other things I was curious about was wine pairing because Fondugues serves only its own wines. Therefore I was curious whether he felt limited by this and what he did to overcome it.

“We have a chalkboard menu that changes in some way each day. This allows me to cook simply, yet freely. We offer both wine flight options with matching tapas as well as a chef’s inspiration menu which can be paired with wine. Actually, consistently pairing the same wines with different foods can teach us how foods pair differently with the same wine given their characteristics. So even though it can be restricting in ways, it's also educational and fun.”

Another object of interest was what kind of an adaptive rhythm he found as he was working on French soil known for its intricate bureaucracy, with a half French half American family. This is personally what I like the most about Paris and the South of France, the variety but I wanted to know what an Australian thought about this.

“We feel that we have magically found a way to find likeminded people, in the oddest of circumstances. Fortunately we have a similar concept on what good service is, as well as appreciating each other's style and taste. I am impressed with how we are able to bounce off of one another and how we continue to find inspiration and execute our ideas together”

I found out that I took a while for Valentine, Stephen and Joshua to find each other on skype. A lot of people were involved from the old owners of Yard to Septime to people in Quebec but eventually it has ended up in a perfect collaboration. And I’m so glad that it did. There are two chefs that Valentine follows all the time, Francis Mallmann and Alain Passard. He finds both their stories and kitchens magical and he romances dreams where he finds himself chatting with the two around an open fire in the garden. I definitely think that he should at some point work in Paris. Well, this might be a little selfish on my side, but he has actually had pop-ups in Paris before, only never stayed permanently.

By the way Valentine if you are reading this, I have some good news for you too. Stephen wants to give you your own garden if he can find a good gardener. Wouldn’t it be just great, you would collect your produce in the morning, cook it during the day and we’ll come and eat it at dinner?

(Last minute information: Valentine won’t be in Fondugues-Pradugues 2021 summer because of the Covid situation in Europe.)

Let's Go !

I know it is a little strange to do the opposite of what everyone’s been doing lately.

I’m no internet and social media expert, but you don’t need to be one to know that most business are moving their activities onto instagram, facebook and other similar social media applications. Well then, why have I decided to move in the other direction and became obsessed with opening this web site? This is my first article on the site, beginning the page with me trying to explain why I have chosen this route. And here is the first reason: Feeling very limited with the caption space in instagram. Sometimes, when I want to combine my impressions about a restaurant or a place I like with my personal stories, captions and comments are never enough to express myself, and I need to cut down on what I want to say. I don’t like this limitation. I’ve thought that since there have been so many limitations on all the other activities in our lives for the past couple of months, I might at least enjoy the freedom to write about Paris as much as I want.

Good for you Okan, do that! Right?

So far, I’ve been both very lucky and unlucky in my business life. I spent my childhood and teenage years playing basketball, I was actually quite good. I always thought my future was in basketball. Right before that fated last practice, I had even learned that I was to be recruited to the national team in my age group for the upcoming Mediterranean games. I was very motivated and at the top of my game. However at our last practice before a tournament the next day, the person guarding me stepped on my foot right as I was jumping and I injured my knee. Since we were going away on a tournament the next day I didn’t have a chance to see a doctor about the injury and our coach Murat didn’t want me to risk myself by putting me on the court in any of the serious games. Therefore I missed my chance in the national team selections that summer and after that could never reach my previous form nor motivation.  It is very hard for a young player to get back to previous form when he cannot find any real support during or after his injury. Well, at least I personally was not at that level of maturity.

While I was studying at the university, I was also working with my father at our family business. A workaholic father who had been working since 13 years old, sometimes even at holidays and me by his side. I was very lucky because he always valued my opinions and encouraged me. He approved all my efforts to establish a more corporate structure within the company, increase production quality and he was very proud of me because we had started exporting too. However through all these changes, I couldn’t change his mindset of figuring things out along the way, and unfortunately because of a little too much ego and pride, him getting sick and my inexperience all came together and made things go downhill, crushing my dreams about the future of the family business.

Then Lokanta MAYA came along, during one of the hardest periods of my life. I can never be grateful enough to Didem for showing the courage to introduce me, who couldn’t tell the difference between lamb shanks and chicken thighs, into the food and beverage industry as her partner. I can say that I moved from the hardest period of my life into the most enjoyable. Especially in the first few years, I worked like crazy and learned so much. Some of the wonderful people I met during this period became an indispensable part of my life. However in 2016, along with the economic and political decline on our country, unfortunately this business also slipped from my hands due to forces beyond my control.

2017 brought us to Paris, a city I had visited for only a couple of days before and loved, and the city we were now to live in. Therefore I first had to learn the language and then develop some business ideas. At the beginning I was very motivated to learn French, but all the irregularities of the language and my total disability in pronunciation really discouraged me. With the boldness my relatively older age brought on, I persevered to speak, and was unbelievably understood most of the time... However when it came to the other person replying back to me... That’s where I was totally lost. It was basically impossible for me to understand what people said on the street. This is where the advantage of being a couple who completes each other comes into play, my wife could understand French better, and I could speak without any control on the grammar, totally reckless. But if she wasn’t there with me, god help me!!! My fight with French still continues today. I keep enrolling in courses. No way, I’m not giving up!

Because of my previous experiences in business, I’m looking at things more cautiously, or in other words, I’m on pause at the moment. A while ago I had a stirring, an idea to have a nice café. A café centered around Turkish coffee, with a small bakery menu put together by recipes of my chef friends, a small commercial space dedicated to arts and design objects by Turkish artists. I even convinced my friend Bahar to design the wall and shelf space for the store. I finalized the feasibility study, shook hands with Osman, an architect friend living in Paris at the end of a very drunk lunch. However a few days later one of the biggest and most violent demonstrations in French history since 1968, the yellow vest riots in Paris began. Restaurants and cafés in most of Paris had to guard their spaces from ruin for many Saturdays to come. Saturdays became days of voluntary isolation, almost as if we were unconsciously preparing ourselves for what was to come soon. Just as the yellow vest demonstrations were losing their strength, this time the biggest public transport strike in French history began. Naturally, this all made me think maybe this is not the right time to invest in a café and I put the project on hold.

At the same time, relying on the memories of success from Lokanta Maya and the fact that some of my best friends are chefs, the dream of having a restaurant in Paris is a dream I entertain all the time.  On a period when the idea was particularly vibrant on my mind, we started discussing with Mustafa where we could start from to achieve the dream, and guess what happened.  I’m sure you can guess the answer. Covid began. Mustafa had bought a ticket to visit me in Paris. We were going to talk and share ideas but it never came to be. I guess this is a sign from the universe big enough to tell me not to enter the gastronomic scene of Paris. Hahahaha

And this was the second reason why I wanted to create this web site; to pour my heart to you!  ahahahha

Ok, ok, now I’m straying from the subject. Let me get back to what I was saying. What was I saying? Aha! The website. I love to share and it will make me very happy to continue what I’ve started on instagram and share this amazing city with you. We can also go into more personal territories from time to time, such as being a stay home dad and husband in Paris or whatever else I have on my mind at the moment. Being in Paris during a global epidemic is a whole subject on its own for example. Who would have thought I would be in Paris during the times of corona. We could also be talking about anything and everything that impress me the most in Paris, naturally focusing on themes around food such as product quality and variety. We could also talk about things that I hate the most about Paris, such as dog shit left on pavements. I’m going to say “let’s first start and we’ll see where it goes from here”. The old me would have already thought 50 steps ahead, found a million reasons why not and quit. But this is me, on the path to change.  “Let me begin...…” There will also be a second groups of articles on the page, the “Guest posts”. I will ask friend who have lived or are currently in Paris to write about their own Paris, their own ideas and subjects they are more knowledgeable in. Maybe I could even get ‘rival’ instagrammers who share posts about Paris involved too, why not? I hope my posts filled with likes and loves about the city will help you have a good time too.

I think this is what we’ve needed and missed the most this past year, to be happy, cheerful and to hug loved ones. And on this emotional note, it’s time to end this very first article of this website.

My First Gourmet Tour

This article has been written on 22.04.2020

If this has been posted and you are reading it, then it means we are both healthy and well. I hope you are too. I know now, how lucky we have been. Looking back, I see that we have been a little too courageous, but we had our reasons then. One, I already lived here, and had to come back to Paris to my family. Two, we had been waiting for Inanc to visit us for so long. Three, we had organized the perfect eating spree. Put yourself in my shoes, one of the most loved friends of the whole family is coming to visit, and she is one of the best chefs of Turkey. How can you give up the perfect plan?

(As this was happening, the situation was not as serious as it is now.)

We have celebrated our third year in Paris in April. I have been obsessively trying out diffent restaurants, cafes, bakeries, chocolate houses and patisseries since we moved here. I mark my favorites on my mobile map and there are 100. I have been to all of them at least twice, and I can recommend all of them without a doubt. When friends come to visit, I recommend them places to go to that are always in the area they are staying at. Since they also do their own research, usually my responsibility is not that heavy. But now the case is totally different. The whole itenary has been left in my hands. It is very exciting because I have to take Inanc Celengil, who you know as the chef of Aman da Bravo Istanbul, but who for me is one of my best friends, to as many local, various and delicious places as I can in 5 days, digging into my 3 years of Paris experience. The pressure I was putting on myself was huge. I believe you will understand the weight if I tell you that I was creating excel sheets to plan the program.

It was a very lucky coincidence that our first day was my daughter’s birthday. Of course the birthday girl should decide where she wants to go, but I might have manipulated her a little. Thankfully, Yasemin also likes our neighbourhood restaurant a lot. La Table J’M became a part of our lives in 2019. Chef Julien Joalland his partner Isabelle Mesnil bought an old restaurant in an unpopular street of 16th Arrondissement. They changed the decor and the kitchen and reopened. This was one of my dreams when we were moving to Paris. An intimate neighbourhood restaurant that is close to home, has good food and is reasonably priced. We anticipated its opening excitedly. And our dreams have come true; we have already celebrated 2 special occasions here, we have had special deserts prepared for us, champagne has been popped, and we come back from holidays with local produce we find interesting for Julien, who uses it in his menu if he sees fit. Yes, you can guess by now. The menu has whatever is available in the market seasonally. They serve updated modern versions of classic French dishes, daily. Tonight’s dinner deserves Inanc’s comments rather than mine, so I’ll let her speak.

İNANÇ ÇELENGİL

Well, what I remember from the first dinner was how I couldn’t take my eyes off the hamburger made especially for Yasemin, and how the cheese and mushroom ravioli that Okan ordered against all our protestations was actually the best dish. Of course a steak tartare was ordered right away, compared with ours at the restaurant and any short comings were evaluated. I can still picture as clearly as today and taste the chocolate ganache and layered chocolate crepe suzette birthday cake made for Yaso. And what was most impressive was the warm attitude the owners had to welcoming their guests, I hope they can get through this period in one piece.

Following the success of the first night, we started our second day early. We dropped Yasemin off to school with İnanç and went to the market. But there were obstacles on the way such as s branch of La Pâtisserie, opened in 2011 by one of Paris’s most mediatic chefs Cyril Lignac, and Benoît Couvrand.  Cyril Lignac moved to Paris in 2000, and had a very strong start to his career in Alain Passard’s Arpège, then moved onto another very famous establishment as chef, to Pierre Hermé. He has written 40 cook books, along with all the restaurant, tv and workshop business he accomplished. As much as he is a hard working person, I also believe that he has a very strong team too. Unfortunately they didn’t have the small sesame bread that resembles a ‘kumpir’ when we went, but they had the olive bun. We only made it to the market after we had a coffee and a croissant at the bistro next door. The market in the 16th Arrondissement is known as the most expensive in Paris, but at least the product quality is equally high. I love wandering around markets, the colors, the smells and the chit chat, and to have a chef to stroll along with is priceless. I hadn’t done this for a long while. My first market visit with a chef was with my old partner Didem Şenol Tiryakioğlu. We used to go for our restaurant. She would suddenly get an idea by something she would find in the market and put it on the menu right away. I would be impressed by her knowledge and creativity. Doing this again with Inanc took me back those days and happy memories. Things I did not even see when I was by myself gained a new perspective when Inanc drew my attention to them. I will definitely buy more stuff from herb stands in the future. For example, Inanc showed me something called garlic herb. We added it to a lot of dishes after Inanc left. We might have gone a little crazy at the mushroom stand because morels were in season; I’m sorry for anyone who had to wait their turn behind us. So our menu for dinner at home on Thursday was decided. We had a lot of herbs and mushrooms. What else were we having with those? We can put this question aside for now because our lunch and dinner is already set for tonight. So Inanc, did you enjoy the market?

İNANÇ ÇELENGİL

Of course I enjoyed it a lot, there were so many different varieties of vegetables, herbs, meat, fish and cheese which we didn’t have in our markets. And I have a confession to make. I find gozleme very meaningless, it is a dry phyllo filled with a tasteless filling, usually very, very dry, I never understand why it is so popular. But we had a gozleme in the market made by a Turkish couple. They rolled out their phyllo there, used fresh herbs from the market and it really was the best gozleme I ever had. We also bought puntarella which I would be cooking for the first time, it was very exciting. There was arugula flower with rich yellow petals that exploded on your taste buds when you ate it. We have only recently started seeing the flowers of herbs and vegetables in small producers. It hurts a little that you can find them so easily in a city market in Europe and have no access to in Turkey. It makes one think that maybe we should be visiting farms rather than markets in Turkey.

In France, on Wednesdays the schools are either off or half-day. Our school is one of the half-day ones. So after picking up Yasemin at noon, we head off to have burgers like we usually do. Baāgaā is a very special burger place. They buy their bread from one of Paris’s most important bakers Jean-Luc Poujauran. Their meat is from French animals raised and fed natural grains in the Japanese tradition. Every morning, the meat is minced for that day. Their recipes were created by Thomas Boutin, chef and owner of de Le Vieux Crapaud. (Of course I tried his restaurant too, and it was very good) Because we go very frequently, they don’t even ask what Yasemin is having, anymore. Meat and bread! Sometimes I choose a cheeseburger and sometimes the hot burger. This lunch, the unexpected choice comes from Inanc. Bikini Burger! (I had never had it before) Without reading the ingredients, she ordered it straight away, thinking it would be the same as the legendary bikini sandwich of Tapas24 in Barcelona, and I couldn’t stop her. Unfortunately their only common denominator was mozzarella. There was no truffle, nor jamon Iberico. Baāgaā’s bikini turned out to be vegetable burger with mozzarella and piquillo pepper sauce. And judging by the size of it, it did not seem very appropriate for anyone looking to wear a bikini in the summer either, right Inanc?

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The Bikini was 3 sizes too large for my slim figure. I was very sad to see that this was not the bikini in Barcelona, however there were still things for me to learn from. It had a very strong grill taste that made it feel like a real burger, I remember the meaty oyster mushroom, good mozzarella, tomato sauce and pesto. And the thinly sliced raw green beans gave a delicious crunch to the burger.

On Wednesday night we had reservations for one of the restaurants on the top of my “to go list” and the only place Inanc herself had requested to go. Chef Stéphane Jégo’s restaurant Chez L'Ami Jean!  It is the oldest Basque restaurant in the city and it has been run by Brittany born chef since 2002. He’s a chef who sees his team as family, uses freshest seasonal produce, is constantly in touch with his suppliers, is happy to attract the attention of his guests during the service but can suddenly disappear without notifying anyone at the end of the service. When the pandemic started in France and all the restaurants closed down, he wrote a petition to President Macron and his ministers, asking that this health disaster is accepted as a natural disaster by the government. It turned into a campaign on Change.org. It was signed more than 20.000 times in the first 48 hours. He was requesting by this petition that establishments, especially smaller ones could claim damage from insurance companies if the situation was considered as a natural disaster. The ministry of finance responded by saying that they would not be announcing it as a natural disaster, but they were preparing a support package for the industry and they were in discussion with the insurance companies to get them involved. It is very assuring as a small establishment that the government is responding to your situation right away. Ok, after the additional information, we can go back to our dinner. I’ll leave the word to Inanc to talk about it. Chez L'Ami Jean and Baāgaā and a common characteristic, they both buy their bread from Jean-Luc Poujauran.

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I found out about this place from one of Aman da Bravo’s regulars who had told me that I would love it, it was so me. And I have been following it ever since, keeping alive my dream to eat one day one of the dishes the chef smokes by torching dried herbs over the food. We started off with grilled asparagus, bonito flakes and cream cheese, followed by caramalized octopus with a very aromatic salsa verde. Even though Aycavan does not like duck, we ordered it anyway, and she liked it with all the hazelnuts and so on. Scallops with spinach root and leek was compliments of the chef and made me regret not having such scallops in Turkey. Our smoked meat was leg of veal and came with an amazing broth, we spooned it off. We weren’t still full, grilled skate was served with bacon fried to the consistency of a potato chip. At this point we met the chef and between his very little English and my nonexistent French managed to understand that he had actually come to Istanbul for Parabere Forum and had lunch in my restaurant on a day that I was not there. We kissed each other’s hands to congratulate each other, and it was a very proud moment. There was no room left for dessert, but he sent us his famous rice pudding anyway. They serve it with salted caramel and granola. You spoon off from a large bowl onto your plate and garnish it as you like. We packed the left overs for take away and ate it for 2 more days. What should we have done, thrown away that precious rice pudding?

It was an amazing dinner, a fabulous ambience. You had to pull out the table to be able to squeeze into your seat, that’s how close everyone is to each other. Is it a problem? Never. It is actually a pleasure to share the same space with people who are also there for the food.

We had chosen Champs-Élysées for our morning walk on Thursday. The avenue will undergo huge changes by 2025 and there will no more be an 8 lane traffic. The sidewalks will be expanded, the rooftops will be planted and there will be small electric buses, more bicycle lanes and even a tram line. Last year, world’s most famous department store Galeries Lafayette opened a branch here with a very different concept to its existing store. It is a very modern 4-storied store filled with the latest designs. For me the most attractive floor is the food market on the lowest floor, it is filled with everything you should see and taste, food wise. I believe that not only gourmet lovers, but anyone interested in design and packaging should also go and see it. Many of Paris’s signatures names and delicacies, from its oldest patisserie Stohrer, to its most important chocolatier Pierre Marcolini, to legendary chef Alain Ducasse’s“Le Chocolate” are here.

After about an hour, we exit the store to go to lunch. Our destination is a restaurant in the 5th Arrondissement. It is called “Invitez Vous Chez Nous”, meaning ‘’we invite you over to ours”. Chef Julie and her husbad Aurélien do serve you in a home environment. It is one of my favourite places in Paris for lunch. They serve a daily menu of seasonal food in a warm and cozy atmosphere. The food is accompanied by a small wine list and beer from small producers. The food price parity might be another reason to come back here. They are open on weekdays for lunch between 12:00 and 17:00. They are closed for dinner and over the weekends. As an old restauranteur, I keep thinking that this is the dream job. What do you think Inanc?

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There are only 2 people working. One is serving and the other one is in the kitchen. Which makes you think right away, ‘what? So is the cook washing the dishes too?’ Well yes. This being the case, you wait as long as it’s necessary, and nobody is complaining. The menu is planned very cleverly. It is a limited menu as would be expected, for example the rice and sauce on my shrimp curry was also served on the vegetarian plate. There are a couple of slow cooked dishes that require no preparation ahead and can be reheated and served. It was super sympathic and everything we ate was very delicious.

After lunch we have our coffee at DOSE, founded by Grégoire and his cousin Jean-Baptiste. It is a brand well known among coffee aficionados in Paris. They import coffee from different regions of the world. The also serve healthy, mostly plant-based lunches, homemade granola, sweet and savory pastries and fresh juices. They also have an online website where they sell coffee equipment along with good beans. This store in 5th is a little smaller than the one at Batignolles, however it has a prime location because it is the only third generation coffee shop in this area and it is located in the best local shopping street, Rue Mouffetard. This was one of the streets I wanted to take Inanc to. I can check another item off my excel sheet. The history of this pedestrian street goes back to antiquity. İt is a street filled with butchers, cheese shops, bakeries, and wine shops. If you are a Meryl Streep fan like me and have enjoyed Julie & Julia, here is another reason for you to like this street. The shopping scene was filmed here.

I must confess that we didn’t buy anything here. But there is a reason. Because we are headed to another shopping street. It is as nice as this one; Rue Poncelet. We go from the 5th to the 17th Arrondissement. This one’s history also goes back to 1400. This was a holy route that goes up to the old Montmartre Monastry, for me today it is a holy route for food shopping. It is open everyday except Monday and Sunday afternoons, and filled with everything from butchers, to bakers, to charcuterie, fish and cheese. For me, it is one of those street that make you really feel that you are in Paris. I know of a Saturday when we spent more than 3 hours here. After the initial discovery tour, we decide to buy a little charcuterie and cheese to accompany the wine tonight. You must not forget that we already bought the herbs and morels yesterday. Who knows, maybe a new recipe will be born from this article.

Our primary target is good cheese, and the store is one of the best on the street: Alléosse. They specialize in aged cheeses and their selection is based on the accountability of their suppliers and the quality and the taste of their products. Comté in French, however the rest is not so easy. Fortunately, the genteman on the other side of the counter doesn’t let me suffer anymore and switches to English. Therefore my precious guest also gets involved in the process and I leave it to her choose from about 100 varietes in front of us. 10 minutes later we are able to exit the store with Selles-sur-Cher goat cheese and a Ossau-iraty we chose in order to have a more ‘smelly’ option. Good cheese should be accompanied by good bread. Right across Alléosse, we enter Liberté, an artisanal bakery. Production and sale is from the same location. They have 3 shops in Paris, and 2 in Tokyo. We bought cheese and bread, we have one more stop to make before heading home. For charcuterie, we go to Delitaly. The Spanish and Italian charcuterie are my favorite. Therefore Delitaly is one of the right addresses in Paris. The cold counter on your right is filled with fresh pasta, olives, cold tapas and salads. If I were alone here, I would be spending a fortune, but fortunately Inanc is with me and she is target oriented, the cold cut counter at the back of the store. I cannot take my eyes off all the tomato sauces, balzamics and olive oils on the other side as we exit, but maybe another time, we should really get out of here now. Tonight we will be enjoying ourselves at home. Inanc is here on vacation and so we don’t want her in the kitchen, but cannot stop her once she sees all the new ingredients we found. At least let me turn on the oven for you!

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We blended the morels, puntarella, garlic herbs, asparagus, fresh thyme, rosemary, garlic and olive oil, added some delicious French butter on top and put it in the oven. On the side we had water cress and cherry tomato salad with a vinagrette rich in lemon juice. The cheese was more in my mind and I was actually less curious about what was going on in the oven. But as a whole, it was a very nice dinner.

Dear readers, the big day has finally come. For Friday lunch we will be going to Septime, one of the most talked about but hardest to make a reservation at places in Paris which at the same time has the most complicated reservation system. And today Seda and Alp have arrived from Istanbul. Looking back, they might have made history as our most courageous friends during this period. It has even become a running joke among us that they came to Paris for a single lunch at Septime. You will soon understand why. I had been chasing this reservation for months. We had only been able to come here twice in 3 years, one of which was by pure coincidence. Both times the dinner was amazing. The quality of the service, choice of wine etc were all very explanatory as to why the restaurant was always full. After a while I had given up on trying to make a reservation. But this time I decided that I was willing to do whatever it takes for my friends. I was stubborn, I was ambitious, I even e-mailed a blogger whom I didn’t know, naturally to no avail, but then one day they answered my call and in 2 seconds I had a lunch reservation for a party of 5. At Septime, the 37 year old young chef Bertrand Grébaud changes his menu frequently according to the availability of seasonal produce, like at most of the other places we have been to. He advocates for sustainable farming and uses as little animal produce as he can. Before Septime, he has earned his first Michelin star at a restaurant in the 17th Arrondissement, when he was only 26 years old. After opening Septime, he made the 50 best list in 2013 and also earned his star here. (It is still so in 2019.) His latest project is to create a farm at the old air base in Brétigny-sur-Orge (Essonne) which is run by Fermes d'Avenir Association where part of the farming will be based on permaculture. Apart from Septime, Chef Bertrand has a walk-in sister restaurant called Clamato that serves sea food, a wine cellar also called Septime and a small boutique hotel in beautiful nature called D'un Ile, 2 hours outside of Paris. I ate in all of them and they were all really top quality. I saw once again the importance of having qualified people work for you and the strength of a good team. Seda and Alp came straight from the airport and we met them there. However we don't hug, we keep our distance but we've missed each other so much. Since we have no allergies, we are ready to eat anything they serve us; Alp chooses the wine, cornering our waiter. Well, it’s his right, at the end he came all the way for “just one lunch” Time for a confession; I think our first two dinners were better. But maybe Inanc will comment better on it.

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I believe that tasting menus put a lot of pressure on chefs. I’m sure that when it comes to creativity, a menu you are pressured to change constantly causes some problems. After a while, rather than showcasing what you do best, you probably start serving some plates that are not memorable, even a little mediocre for the sake of creating something new. I, myself, am not a chef who can push herself in the area of creativity. If I have a new idea, I put it on my menu, but I don’t serve something new just because it is different from what I had before. If there is no inspiration, I choose to serve what I cook best. But it seems the world disagrees, because tasting menus are still the hype, but anyway.

This is why I think we were not able to taste the plates that earned Septime its name. Our first course was a porcini soup with porcini and chestnut. It was followed by raw scallops, raw almonds, berries served with a berry sauce. I remember wishing it was more sour. We continued with grilled asparagus, served with asparagus sauce and water cress. For me, it wasn’t impressive. But I must also remind you that we had set our expectations very high. Then there was a stew of black truffle, bone marrow, pancetta and jerusalem artichoke. The main course was steamed seabass served with rhubarb sauce and caramalized endives. Dessert was a sorbet but I don’t remember the flavour. The experience as a whole was of course pleasant, but it wasn’t the best of this trip

However the main adventure was what happened after lunch. We recieved news from Turkey that they were closing the borders to France. İnanç, Seda and Alp were of course confused and panicked. Their families, kids, their whole life is in Turkey. They want to fly out that night but there are no available flights. The announcement by Turkey is very vague, there are no details. Is this restriction valid for citizens or not? Will there be rescue flights? Will they be quarantined on return? And many more questions come to mind. Normally, you would expect the embassy to have all the answers in such a case, but it seems they are equally clueless. We head out to the airport but cannot find any solutions or answers, we all head back home or to our hotels, empty handed. It seems we have no one to talk to. Later on the deadline to lockdown changes, only to be changed once again later on. The certainty and the consistency behind these decisions leave us nonplussed. Seda and Alp return on Saturday, and Inanc on Sunday.

Saturday morning we make plans in a mood totally different from our previous days. We decide a walk will clear our heads. Towards lunchtime we feel like a snack and to to Gregory Marchand’s FTG about which I’ve written in Gastereamag.  Anyone who comes to visit us eats once at FTG became true for Inanc too. As usual the kitchen staff is working away seriously in the kitchen.

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We have found THE Lobster Roll, it cannot be called just eating and we basically drowned ourselves in it. It is the best and the most expensive fast food I’ve ever had. If you make the mistake of converting euros into liras, you feel the dread. The fries are amazing. It justifies twice over why fries are call French fries. It is served with ginger aioli and it is so delicious.

And the last dinner!

As we leave the house for our Saturday dinner, France also starts announcing its own security measures, closing all restaurants and cafes starting tonight midnight. Restaurants and cafes who have not closed even during both world wars or the terrorist attacks of 2015 are closed. Without realizing it, we are also on our last dinner out along with Inanc. Our last dinner is at Restaurant Eels. This is my wife Ayca’s discovery. We ate here a couple of times thanks to her and have always enjoyed it. It is a very modern, modest, comfortable but chic place. It has a Scandinavian feel to it. Its owner chef Adrien Ferrand has been awared best young talent in 2015 Gault & Milau Awards. The whole team is young, like himself. They have opened Eels with sommelier Félix Le Louarn in 2017. They had been working together at another famous Paris establishment, Ze Kitchen Galerie. The menu consists of 4 starters, 4 main courses and 4 desserts. You can either order a la carte, or a fixed menu. In 2019, they were chosen as a new and notable discovery in the 50 Best list.  I believe this young chef and his team will be every successful in the future as well. The ambience, service, wine and the food are all worthy of our last night. I think this will be one of the first places I want to come back to when life returns to normal. Normally I had narrowed our options for tonight down to two and I let Inanc decide.

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I’m not sorry that we chose Eels in the end, it made us very happy. We orders lamb loin that was served with a fantastic red curry and beurre blancla. Its fat was crispy, and the black beans under the meat were a very nice accompaniment. Raw mackerel, aioli and a thin garlic breadcrust. Raw oysters, black and red caviar, and an aromatic herb butter. We ordered duck once again and were not disappointed. We finished off with a cream cheese dessert covered with chocolate. The wine pairing was very good too but with all the excitement around the food and the travel nerves, I forgot to take pictures. It was a very adequate finish in the end.

Our last meal was fried eggs with mushroom and a traditional baguette by Ayca. Then we said our goodbyes. I’m very lucky to have been able to make it back home directly, and not getting infected along the way was the cherry on top. I even had all three seats to myself on the plane. But my fortune in life is that I have best friends who live in Paris and know about food, which is also my biggest misfortune because they are also so far away. Point of view is relative.

I have nothing to add to Inanc’s last words, but I want to remind her something: Don’t forget who made the sandwich you had on the plane!!!

South of France II - Grimaud

This article has been written on 31.08.2020

After moving to Paris, one of the major changes in my lifestyle was to spend most of my time walking the streets. I used to not like walking very much, and after 6.5 years working long hours in the restaurant and the office, I had actually become very lazy physically. Luckily we moved here and I could finally put an end to my physical expansion. Since I was already walking back and forth from all the French lessons, school runs with my daughter and house chores, I decided to walk all of the arrondissements of Paris in my free time, both as something to do for myself and to keep walking. That was how the idea for my instagram account parisbywalking was born. As soon as I printed separate maps for each arrondissement, created an appropriate Spotify playlist and had my orange marker, I was invincible. Noone; the yellow vests, strikes, rains, even the snow of 2018, nothing could stop me. I walked with every chance I got. I loved being on the street. Until now, I have finished 14 arrondissements and have 6 more to go. I had aimed to finish walking these after schools started, however it will not be as easy as I had hoped because as of August 28, wearing masks have become obligatory in the street as well. And taking long walks while wearing a mask is not very appealing to me. It seems it will take longer than I anticipated to reach my goal.

As someone who had been constantly outside for the past 3 years, staying at home for 2 months after March 16 was not very enjoyable. Of course I was very grateful to get through this period physically and mentally healthy, with my family, however the longing to be on the street, on a garden, even a balcony became unbearable both for me and my wife. Eventually, when domestic travel was allowed, we started looking for a house to rent with a garden that would also accept our cat. We thought it would be enough to at least be out on a garden, however small, keeping away from the crowds. Our 15 day search had a happy ending, though now we know all of the airbnb listings there are from the west to the east, from the north to the south of the country.  Eventually we found dear Éric’s house in Grimaud, which had a garden where tomatoes, zucchinis and herbs grew, the terrace had an electric barbeque, and most importantly, our 5 year-old cat who had not set foot outside before was accepted. We had not heard of Grimaud before. Most of our friends hadn’t either. The modern and tasteful decoration, the garden and the location, only 5-25 minutes from public and private beaches were what affected our speedy decision. Our only mistake was the day we decided to set off. The 8.5 hour drive took 12.5 hours. And it wasn’t because there were accidents on the road or anything, there was nothing of the sort. Only the whole country decided to drive south that day and we didn’t know that. Plus, as someone who had very recently shown an amateur interest in biking, I decided to take our three bikes by car, but had no idea how to attach the car kit which caused a 2 hour delay on our departure, making everything worse. I would like to use this chance to apologize to my wife, my daughter and my cat once again.

Mino @ Éric’s house

Grimaud

Grimaud is a beautiful village set on a hillside in the bay of Saint-Tropez, full of stone houses with colorful shutters and doors, adorned with flowers. It is named after its landlord at the end of antiquity era, however its actual history is a lot older. There was a time, with 1.000 residents, it was the biggest village in the region. Even what we know today as Saint Tropez bay was once called Grimaud. This beautify commune doesn’t only consist of the village, but has a Unesco heritage harbor too. Until 1960s this area was a swamp used for agriculture and hunting. In 1964 architect François Spoerry started planning the area as an harbor town. He designed what all seamen dream of, a town where you could deck your boat in front of your house. He built more than 2.400 homes, 1.100 of which are independent villas, and more than 7 km of canals, turning the place into a touristic harbour which today attracts more than 500.000 visitors every year. Though seeing the boats docked at the harbour, it doesn’t look like a lot of fishermen live here anymore. But don’t assume that tourists can roam anywhere in the facility, they are allowed access only to certain areas. However you can rent electric boats to wander through the canals. I must warn you though; because the boats can be rented out by anyone, possibly totally inexperienced, they are extremely slow. Don’t do it if you cannot spare the time, because it’ll be a while to go out and come back. There is a farmer’s market at the harbor every Sunday and Thursday, from 8.00 to 13.00 . Honestly, it wasn’t as good as I’d imagined it to be, however we could find green and black olives that are not easy to come by in Paris, and we were happy.  The tomatoes were very good too, although they couldn’t compete with the tomatoes of Canakkale. However when later we found a nice feta at the market in the village, we were almost able to recreate a traditional Turkish breakfast. I have two more places to mention at the harbour. One is a fish restaurant called La Table du Mareyeur. It was opened in 1989 by Caroline and Ewan Scutcher. The minute you enter, you feel that this is a family restaurant; you are greeted with a warm smile, accompanied to you table on the terrace over the water and the service through the lunch is comfortably rhythmed to make you feel at ease. There is a permanent menu and also daily fresh fish from the fish market. I had a chance to taste the fish both with and without sauce because my daughter prefers it so, both was very well cooked and delicious. You can also order the shellfish platter as a starter but I would recommend you to save yourself for the fish. Are you one of those people who can have ice cream after dessert? If yes, have your dessert at the restaurant, but I would recommend a nice romantic walk and an ice cream place in the harbour: J’aime les Glaces (meaning I love ice cream) My daughter repeatedly tested and approved the artisanal ice creams and sorbets of Madame Dumontier.

View from La Table du Mareyeur at Port Grimaud

The location of our house in Grimaud was so good that we didn’t have to get stuck in traffic at all. It is apparently horrible around St.Tropez.  And because there was no traffic, we could easily do our grocery shopping from nearby small gardens that grow fruits and vegetables. The best of them was Jardin de la Piboule.

They supply to the kitchens of a lot of chefs around Saint-Tropez. The creators of these 8 hectars of nourishing gardens are Yann Ménard and his team; they grow healthy and delicious fruits and vegetables with sustainable methods. It makes him very happy to share healthy produce with his visitors and believes that it is essential to inspire youngsters to continue the habit. Therefore he employs as many young people as he can. I was very impressed to read that he is also working on a law draft to be brought into force in 2022. The law will require school cafeterias to serve 50% local and 20% organic produce. The benefits of good nutrition on health cannot be denied and he especially underlines the effect of healthy nutrition on increased concentration, listening and reasoning levels in children. I’m talking about children and youngsters, but Yann is only 40 years old himself. He advocates for natural farming, permaculture, doesn’t use pesticides, uses natural fertilizer and chipboard, and let’s nature flourish on it own terms. He tries different methods to prompt microbic life-forms and mushroom growth. He says on his website that “the richer soil will encourage productivity, the vegetables will be equally fruitful as the soil is rich” You can see how much he respects the soil from the fact that he actually plows it with his beloved horse Traviata. He claims that Traviata can work as quickly as a tractor. We cooked all our olive oil dishes with his vegetables. I already missed visiting him every 2-3 days to buy fruits and vegetable.

Another location we bought groceries other than fruits and vegetables was La Halle de Grimaud. It is an organic market where most of the produce comes from local producers. I must admit that shopping all our charcuterie, meat, bread and wine at the same place made life really easier. There was a fish stall at the entrance as well but we preferred to go out to a restaurant when we wanted to have fish. If you love fresh goat cheese as much as I do, the many varieties available from local producers will make you very happy. A lot of charcuterie have also accompanied our rosé wine at sunset dinners in the garden. Yes I’ve said that we bought our bread here, but I must also mention the tempting Le Pâtissier du Château in the village. You can buy bread here as well. The bakery was founded in 1973 and today Chef Olivier Etchart and his wife have taken it a step further than his parents’ days without compromising on the quality. Oliver’s grandfather was one of the chefs of the Spanish King and therefore inherently it was impossible for him to have another job. They have modernized many traditional recipes, using local organic produce and have caused me to regain all the weight I had disciplined myself to lose during the quarantine. They have a tart made of regional herbs that resemble our ‘borek’. Ayca, my wife had to take the last two slices from me by force so that she could have lunch too, it was that good. If you know me, you know how much I love sharing normally. Each morning this magical shop entices its customers to line up in front of it to buy sweet or savory tarts, homemade foie gras and terrine, local olive oils, mustards, artisanal marmalades and many other delicacies. I would advise you to go early especially on Sundays because most of the items are sold out by noon. Dear Christel Etchart reminded me of my best friend’s mother during these busy hours. We lived in the same neighbourhood and therefore eating at each other’s homes was a part of our daily routine. Aunt Sevinç look so serious while she was cooking for me as well as her two sons that I would be scared to ask for anything until the food was served. I felt the same reservation when I had to order from Madame Etchart. Hesitance was out of the question when you were ordering. It took me 3 days to manage to buy mustard. On the first day I made the decision, second day I was scared because I might pronounce it wrong, but victory came on the third day, I had the mustard in my bag. J But on our last day I told her I loved her produce, “J’adore vos produits” in exact words, and she looked at me and smiled. I still don’t know whether she smiled at the clumsiness of my French or the fact that a foreigner loved her produce, but she smiled anyhow, I made her smile.

Le Pâtissier du Château

Another place we enjoyed in the village was Restaurant Apopino. Contrary to many restaurants in Paris, in the south you are always welcomed with a smile. Although at first we were surprised, we got used to it really quickly. This was also how dear Victoire welcomed us to Apopino. They have two terraces and we were seated on the terrace at the entrance. This was an ideal table for someone like me who loves to watch how the restaurant is run. The restaurant is located in a square away from the crowds of the village center, known only by locals. Because there are no other restaurants, cafés or bars on the square, it is very quiet. The square is called Pénitents. It was a perfect location for my daughter and her friend who joined us for the last week of our vacation. After having their grilled fish without sauce, they had the whole square to themselves to play as much as they liked, lost in their own world. The restaurant was opened towards the end of 2016 by Jacopo Brunero (an old financier educated at the culinary institute of Paul Bocuse), Dominique Calcerano (chef by occupation) and Victoire Silvant. It serves mainly French and Italian dishes made with local produce. The décor of the restaurant reflect the elegant, understated southern coolness. The real surprise is the window at the back overlooking an infinite green. We were really sad that we were late to discover this restaurant. Well, am I not writing this so that you will not make the same mistakes I did​?

Restaurant Apopino

View from Restaurant Apopino

South of France I - Arles and Gordes

This article has been published in Turkish on Gastereamag on 24.08.2019

I’ll describe you a city, let’s see if you can guess which one? There is usually construction on the roads and sidewalks for long periods of time, a structural frame is up at least on one building on every other street, most of the sidewalks are so narrow that two people cannot fit at the same time, and it takes extra skill to push a pram on these. I’m not even mentioning the dog shit for your sake. Traffic and parking is impossible beyond words. It even has its own traffic rules. Honking the minute the light turns green is another pleasure endowed on the pedestrians. When an important politician visits from another country, most of the roads are closed off. The same goes for when it snows. When the weather gets warm, the suffocating metro cars are very disturbing. In the last two years, one patisserie blew up because of gas leakage, almost taking the whole street with it, a woman set fire to her neighbor’s apartment who complained from the noise she was making, burning down almost the whole building, a fire during the renovation works annihilated most of a historic building, heavy rains flooded some parts of the city.

Sounds familiar? Istanbul, right? No! Let me give you another clue. For more than 20 weekends, there hasn’t been metro service to one of the most important avenues in the city because there have been protests! Yes, now you know! I’m talking about Paris. As you see, even with all the picturesque beauty, widespread public transport and the forests on two sides of the city, it’s still not very easy to live here actually. I’ve haven’t even mentioned how expensive it is. Therefore, here too, we use every chance to get out of the city. On one of these escapes this April, we went to the south of France. I’ll write to you about the places we visited and enjoyed. If you get a chance to visit, I hope you’ll enjoy them too.

Paris to Marseille is 3h 20 min by train. Therefore we chose to go by train and rent a car there. Because we were trying to get away from the city, we didn’t spend much time in Marseille, so I don’t have much to say about it. Even though the idea of a city next to the sea is very appealing to someone from Istanbul, still we chose to get out of the city quickly because we were more excited about small towns and the island we were yet to visit. I shouldn’t forget to mention that this trip has been planned according to the needs of a 6 year old who gets bored after maximum 2 hours in the car and has the potential to easily disturb your inner peace as well.

Our first stop is Arles, some parts of which have been under protection as an Unesco Heritage. It had first occured to us while watching Willem Dafoe’s “At Eternity’s Gate” on a cold winter night at home. Dafoe plays Vincent van Gogh and the film takes place during his years in Arles and Auvers-sur-Oise. Even though he lives here for only 15 months, he paints more than 300 pieces here and goes partially crazy meanwhile, this is the period he cuts off his ear. One of the paintings he painted here is called “Le Jardin de la Maison de Santé à Arles” which he painted while hospitalized there. The hospital garden previously green was later planted with the same flowers Van Gogh depicted in his painting.  You can recognize many locations in the city from his paintings, there are also tours taking you through them. The Van Gogh Foundation in the city center is a must-see too. There isn’t a permanent exhibition, however once or twice a year there are exhibitions of other artists inspired by Van Gogh. There was an exhibition by the Georgian artist Niko Pirosmani when we visited. I especially enjoyed compositions he painted using animals such as lions and giraffes that he never actually saw, but just imagined. There was also a rare animal painting by Van Gogh included in the exhibition. It’s called “Stuffed kalong” (flying-fox or fox-bat). It was very impressive, exhibited on another room, by itself.  We found ourselves museum hopping in Arles, as if we hadn’t been visiting any museums in Paris. After Van Gogh Foundation, we visited The Réattu Museum, 3 minutes’ walk away. Truth be told, I liked it better. First because the museum is 150 years old, and second because Réattu was born in Arles and painted all his work here. In 1867 the building and the paintings were sold to the municipality by his daughter in return for a life-long pension and residency. In 1868 the building was converted to a museum. There are also paintings donated by Pablo Picasso in 1971. One of the exhibition rooms is reserved for photo exhibitions. My favorite was a black and white photo of Pablo Picasso and painter François Gilot who is known as the only woman to leave Picasso.

After a one hour drive and two museum visits, we were naturally hungry and found ourselves in a French restaurant called “Le Criquet”. It was the type of place we always imagine; max 30-40 seats, not very touristic, seasonal and local food and good local wine. The peak point of the lunch was lamb chops. Finishing off her plate, my daughter ate some of mine even though there was more thyme than she is used to, well let’s say she helped me eat a balanced diet. The balance of little food and more wine. The lamb chops were amazing, they had cooked four chops together without drying out, without drowning in extra sauce, it was very simple and very delicious.

On with walking back in time after lunch, we aimed to go really back in history. We wanted to see the Roman amphitheater built in BC90. This is the amphitheater in one of Vincent Van Gogh’s famous paintings. It is still used as a cultural center in the city. During July and August gladiator fights are reenacted and it is also used as a concert venue during the summer. There is also another activity here that is totally inappropriate for such beauty; even though it is forbidden in most parts of France, there are still bull fights here. This is seen as sustaining an old tradition and has partially given back the city its popularity. Another characteristic of the city is, it is part of the pilgrimage route of Camino de Santiago. Practiced since the middle ages, the pilgrimage has regained popularity in the 90s. In 2017 more than 300.000 people have walked the route. Walking or cycling the route is a great experience, both physically and religiously. There are different routes but all finish at the grave of Saint James at Santiago de Compostela in Spain. The routes in France are the most popular. However walking the tidy streets of Arles full of pretty flowers was peaceful enough for us therefore we can leave off the pilgrimage for now. For us, the next step is setting off to our accommodation.

Auberge La Feniére is farm house, an hour’s drive from Arles. It is located between two villages called Lourmarin and Cadenet. It is a beautiful, isolated hotel in nature, growing its own vegetables and it wins our hearts immediately. Seasonally they grow their own tomatoes, eggplants, zucchinis, peas and artichokes. They’ve divided the garden in three parts; aromatic, vegetable and healing. They are careful of using a sustainable farming style. They attribute the success of the garden to the harmony between human, plant and soil. They believe that the three should be able to interact with each other. Apart from the vegetable garden, they also have an olive grove from which they collect around 450 litres of olive oil every year. The lead in all of this is Reine Sammut. While studying pharmaceutics in Montpellier, she meet her husband Guy Sammut and learns the Mediterranean kitchen from her mother-in-law. In 1975 they open their first restaurant and in 1995 earn a Michelin star. Meanwhile their daughter Nadia is born in 1980. She is hospitalized when 29 years old because her immune system crashes and she faces serious health problems, later she is diagnosed with Celiac disease. A chemist herself, she enters the kitchen with her mother and specializes in gluten-free nutrition. They are very careful with what they buy from the outside. For example they buy pesticide free rice from Camargue rice farm, pork from a farm north of Luberon where the pigs are chickpea fed. There are two restaurants in the hotel. One serves a fixed tasting menu and the other is a more bistrot-like a la carte restaurant. We had both dinner and sunday brunch at the bistrot one. Everything we ate was very delicious but I want to stress something else. Listen carefully, this is important!! THE BREAD! We have been in Paris since April 2017, and as a bread lover I always either buy or eat bread in every restaurant or boulangerie I go to. And I’m telling you, I have never eaten such good bread. And please keep in mind that it was gluten-free. Nadia is a bread lover like me and because she needs to eat gluten-free bread because of her disease, she has researched all the way back to the Egyptians and found out that bread was baked in clay pots on stone and that gluten content was actually very low. She then started trying similar methods, and they did so well. Because we were early to brunch, the set up was not ready and there was no bread on the buffet. You should have seen my disappointment. I thought there was no bread at brunch, I could have cried. Thankfully it came out eventually and I lost control eating it. When I saw my wife actually grimacing while I was sipping wine and eating bread, I finally stopped. Of course this was too much. After chasing good food for so long, I shouldn’t have been doing this. Reine and Nadia Sammut use rice, chick pea, chestnut and other grain flours for the bread. I have not mentioned Guy Sammut so far but Reine actually tries all new dishes on him and he might be one of the luckiest men on earth. In short, Auberge La Feniére won our hearts as a very special hotel we would love to stay at again if we come back to Southern France.

Auberge La Feniére

Our next stop is Gordes. It took us 43 minutes by car. It is the most famous mountain village in the region. You are already impressed while approaching it by car. It is a very neat, clean and calm village like other examples we have seen in the past 2 years. Two reasons why I love these little villages are the ever immaculate gardens and colorful wooden shutter and doors. Just like Arles, Gordes has Roman ruins as well. Throughout history Gordes acted as the resistance force and its latest ordeal was in WWII. While being rebuilt after the war, it attracted artists such as Victor Vasarely and has been to many artists since. If you visit in season, The Senanque Monastery is a wonder, surrounded by lavender gardens. Unfortunately we didn’t go at the right time, but if anyone reads this and manages to do so, I promise not to be ugly-jealous. We had lunch at Gordes at “L’outsider”. It is a very small restaurant located in a cistern, run by a couple. Chef Patrice de Rosa who is cooking hearty meals with local produce and his wife who was then pregnant with their second child, hosted in a very warm and intimate manner, as if we were guests in their own home. After working abroad for a long time, they’ve decided to move back to a quieter and more peaceful life. When their elder child was friends with our daughter, our enjoyment of the restaurant was of course doubled. As a starter I had foie gras and my wife had smoked salmon with leeks, and both were very delicious. As the main course, I was still craving meat, therefore chose a steak from the famous Charolais of Burgundy. I must admit that it wasn’t very interesting, but still delicious. I’m not sorry that I ordered it. My wife initially claimed that she wouldn’t have a main course, but couldn’t resist ordering one for herself when she tasted our daughter’s chops. Chef De Rosa always recommends it if you like meat. And finally, we had a taste bomb! Warm ganache chocolate cake on vanilla custard! Actually I thought it might have been a bit too heavy because there was cream both in the custard and the ganache, however when you consider both how obsessed the French are about good cream, and the balance in all the other dishes of the chef, there was no chance that the dessert wouldn’t be good. In the end, it was again an amazing lunch. After lunch we kept getting lost in the streets of Gordes and enjoying ourselves. We bought lavender honey and olive oil, which we still haven’t got to opening yet, from Le Miel Peyron, and had ice cream from Le Petit Comptoir. Apart from being homemade there is nothing special about it, however it is the perfect spot for families with kids. Do something for your kids as well, you cannot chase wine and good food all the time, right?

Gordes

Frenchie - FTG

This article has been published in Turkish on Gastereamag on 22.03.2019

It’s really hard for me to describe how excited I was when it was confirmed that we were moving to Paris. As someone who had been a restaranteur for a short while, I constantly caught myself smiling. I envisioned myself at French bistrots, having foie gras, steak tartare, onion soup and french fries. And I knew there would be so much more waiting to be discovered.

 We relocated in April 2017, and straight away I started creating restaurant lists for myself from international and local websites. And naturally, these lists have been rewritten so many times. Slowly we started trying out these places and eventually discovering restaurants became my biggest thrill and pleasure in Paris. There are really very few places that I would call myself a regular at. It was exactly the opposite when I lived in Istanbul. I don’t know for how long I’ve been going to beloved Cavit in Asmalı, nor can I count how many times I’ve been to Adana Ocakbasi, Kiyi or Aman da Bravo. Sometimes I think “why the difference?” but it is a totally different subject that I can speculate on forever. Maybe one day I’ll do that in a different article for you to enjoy. I believe right now, it’s better for me to introduce you to the hero of this piece;

Gregory Marchand ! 

 While strolling through the 2nd arrondissement in Paris, if you enter Rue du Nil, you’ve come to the right place for food. Because it also means that you have surrendered yourself to Marchand. On this street you will find Frenchie to Go where he serves gourmet street food, Frenchie Bar à Vins for dishes to share, his wine cellar Frenchie Caviste where he sells really good wines, and of course his first child Frenchie where he offers a menu inspired by food in New York, London and Paris. On the same street, there is also a fishmonger, butcher and a third generation coffee shop. All these little shops supply Frenchie with the best produce. These collaborations are very important for the perfection that is Frenchie.

Dear Marchand is someone who had an unlucky start at life. At 12, his widowed mother dies and he finds himself at an orphanage. After some tough years, he starts his culinary education at 16. One year later, he leaves the orphanage to find himself a job at a pizza parlor at the west of France. In an interview he says he initially chose cooking as an easy way out, but soon it turned into a great passion. He spends his early 20’s in England. He works at The Savoy Grill, Mandarin Oriental and Jamie Oliver’s Fifteen. Jamie Oliver nicknames him “Frenchie” and the name of his first restaurant is born. Gregory then moves to New York where his cooking style takes its final form. Entering 30, when his wife and partner Marie becomes pregnant, they decide to move back to Paris. In 2009 he opens his first restaurant Frenchie in the 2nd arrondissement which is known as the center of textile wholesalers. The restaurant is decorated by Émilie Bonaventure. He starts his first service in the 24 seat restaurant with only one waiter. Everything else, from buying to cooking, to washing and dishes and taking reservations, he does himself. Very quickly his dishes earn a reputation by WOM and Frenchie becomes, even today, one of the hardest places in Paris to make a reservation at.

I was introduced to Gregory’s restaurants through the owners of Izmir’s most delicious Patiesserie Arpege, Metin and Beliz Saruhanli. I cannot thank them enough. Metin discovered Frenchie to Go when he first moved to Paris to follow his own dreams, and it is the first place he recommended us when we moved to Paris. In the end it was actually them who took us first to Frenchie to Go. The first time I went, somehow I chose the Reuben sandwich. I believe it was my yearning for pastirma that drove me to the pastrami sandwich. Although they have similar names, they are made from different cuts and pastrami has less spices which naturally did not satisfy my pastirma craving, but still there is nothing to complain about. The balance of cheddar cheese and beetroot coleslaw was perfect. On further visits I also tried “pulled porc” – slow cooked barbecue pork leg or shoulder – beef hot dog and the fried chicken sandwich that was added to the menu this year. I can recommend you all of them. However I’ve saved the best for last. Lobster roll in brioche. I might have taken every single one of my friends who visited us in Paris to try this, and it is the one single dish I recommend to anyone visiting Paris without fail. The perfect harmony of the celery, lobster and herb butter sauce in warmed brioche can make my mouth water. I guess I will have another one before this article gets a chance to be published. To Gregory, “Frenchie to Go” is a reflection of what he ate in London and New York. And for me it is one of the most delicious quick fixes in Paris.

Even though we go to FTG so frequently, it might still be counted as successful on our part to have to Frenchie at least once so far. I’m telling you, it’s not easy to make a reservation in some restaurants. There comes a point where you just stop trying. Luckily my wife kept her patience and we managed to get in for our anniversary. The atmosphere of the restaurant is an exact reflection of Gregory’s modest personality. There is nothing exaggerated in the decor, it is a small space, simple but tasteful place. The lighting is neither too bright, nor puts you to sleep, walls are bare with mirrors, gray topped tables and black chairs very simplistic. The staff is dressed in the same hues. In general, you feel very comfortable. The way the staff is treating you helps this feeling as well. They are warm and frank, there is no pretension. At least that’s how we felt. At dinner there is a chef’s menu of 5 courses. And like us, if you are one of those lucky people who can eat anything, you will make both the kitchen and the floor staff very happy. And even if you are not, you will be asked beforehand for your special requirements or needs.  The menu is seasonal and changes according to what is available at the moment. As expected the food is also simple, but very delicious. Normally it’s not heard of me ordering chicken anywhere at dinner, but I will never be able to forget the chicken I had here. I have no words to describe the crispiness of the skin. The juicy and soft meat is a whole different discussion on its own. I have tried a lot of restaurant so far in my two years in Paris, but this was definitely one of the best two and made our anniversary dinner unforgettable. I was enjoying myself so much that this time, against all protestations from my wife, I even shared the wine with Levon this time. (And of course she was not happy) I might just as well share it with you: We had the 2016 Pinot Noir, Givry 1er Cru, Clos du Cellier Aux Moines from Damain Joblot, a family chateau from Bourgogne.

Gregory Marchand knows very well that the restaurant business is so much more than just cooking good food, but it takes a great team to be successful. He constantly puzzles over how to make the work environment better for his team and balance out the intensive work hours. He has about 60 people on his team and their happiness at work is very important to him. But of course he is experienced enough to know that too much ease might kill self-development and progress. Very recently Gregory and his team served the lunch at the World Restaurant Awards given out this year for the first time. I didn’t have a chance to attend the ceremony but Arzu was there and you can read about her impressions in her own article about the awards.