Özlem Warren, a well-known chef, food writer and cookery teacher, talks about İstanbul’s food culture at the London Yunus Emre Institute, sharing the stories behind traditional dishes, street food and Istanbul’s multicultural culinary heritage.
Following her talk (part of the Arts and Culture Lecture Series at this venue), she will be signing copies of her new book Istanbul: Delicious Recipes from the Heart of the City. Özlem Warren, a native of Antakya who is an expert on the Mediterranean diet and traditional Turkish ingredients, gives cookery workshops in the USA and Turkey as well as Britain.
With fuss-free and flavourful recipes for dishes from the fırın (bakery) to the kahvaltı evi (breakfast house), ocakbaşı (fireside), esnaf lokantası (tradesmen’s restaurant), sokak (street) and more, Istanbul: Delicious Recipes from the Heart of the City is a collection of more than 80 recipes that takes readers on a journey through İstanbul. They include well-known Turkish dishes such as menemen, chicken shish kebabs, böreks and ‘cheat’ versions of lahmacun and mantı, every dish prioritising flavour and ease of execution as well as showcasing the multicultural influences that have made İstanbul’s food scene what it is today.
Özlem Warren is also the author of Özlem’s Turkish Table: Recipes from My Homeland and Sebze: Vegetarian Recipes from My Turkish Kitchen.
