The Soul of Turkey, Plated.

I grew up in Gaziantep, where the scent of freshly ground red pepper and slow-braised lamb filled every corner of our neighbourhood. My mother cooked from memory — no measurements, no timers — just an instinct shaped by generations before her. That kitchen is where my love for Anatolian food began, and it has never left me.

Over the past two decades, I have travelled from the highlands of Erzurum to the olive groves of the Aegean coast, collecting recipes, sitting with home cooks, and documenting the living culinary traditions that rarely make it into restaurant menus or glossy cookbooks. These are the flavours of everyday Anatolia — humble, honest, and extraordinary.

My mission with abdulaziz-turkoglu is straightforward: to bring these recipes to your kitchen with the full context they deserve — their regional roots, seasonal wisdom, and the stories of the people who have guarded them for centuries. Nothing is invented here. Everything is inherited.