Shop, Cook, Feast: A Hands-On Culinary Adventure

Behind every great Turkish cook is a bustling artisans' food community. Nowhere in Istanbul is this culture more alive than in Kurtuluş. Before we start to cook, while visiting the simit stand where the locals lines up for a morning snack, the liver butcher favoured by chefs all over the city, a cheese shop, greengrocer, a traditional bakery and a cured meat and maze shop that this neighbourhood is known for,  a vision emerges of a local life that revolves around food.
Back at the kitchen, we’ll teach you how to cook six of our favorite Turkish recipes from all over Turkey in our Istanbul cooking class – dishes like Circassian chicken, stuffed eggplant from southeastern Turkey, Aegean-style mincemeat pastries and more. Once lunch is ready, we’ll open a bottle of raki, the traditional liquor of Turkey, and celebrate the food that we’ve prepared. For a sweet finale, we’ll enjoy a pumpkin dessert laced with tahini and walnuts and some revitalizing Turkish coffee.