Anatolia: Adventures in Turkish Cooking (2016)

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I want to offer my thanks to ...

David Dale, for taking a chance on me and on Turkish cuisine. And to Susan Williams and Millie Dale, for allowing me to borrow David for weeks at a time.

Janni Kyritsis, the Greek chef who introduced the Turkish chef to the Italophile author.

My wonderful wife Ash and children Deniz and Derin, for being the reason I do this.

My mother Ülkü, who taught me to fly and my father Güngör who taught me to land. My two sisters, Begüm and Çiğdem, living so far away yet so close to my heart.

Ace photographer Bree Hutchins for endangering her life and her digestive system countless times to get the best possible shots.

The team at Murdoch Books: editing whiz Emma Hutchinson; designers Hugh Ford and Sarah Odgers; stylist Michelle Noerianto; Publisher Diana Hill. And, of course, Sue Hines who had the vision to get this show on the road.

The loyal team at Efendy: my brother-in-crime Fatih Külle and our head chef Bektaş Özcan; go-to guy Utku Görmez; my kitchen assistants during the shoot Burak Yildirim and Owen Wang and all past and current staff contributing to the success of Efendy.

Musa and Zeynep Dağdeviren, who run three Çiya restaurants in Istanbul and produce the magazine Yemek Ve Kültür (Food and Culture). Their website is http://ciya.com.tr/index_en.php.

Greg Malouf, mentor and friend, who paved the way for my generation of chefs to professionalise Middle Eastern, Turkish and Greek cuisines in Australia.

For sharing their scholarship with us: Filiz Hösükoğlu (in Gaziantep); Aylin Öney Tan (Istanbul); Nilhan Aras (Istanbul); Tuba Şatana of istanbulfood.com.

For inspiring us with their specialties: Akife Malkoç (Istanbul); Melek Boz (Bodrum); İvgen Özön (Bodrum); Bercuk Anne (Sydney); Meral Ballı (Istanbul); Fouad Kassab (Sydney); Ayşe Sencer (Istanbul); Arman Uz (Kiama); Ömer Mutlugun (Malatya).

For opening their kitchens to us: Batur Durmay of Asitane; Ezgi Güven of Ayna of Cunda Island, Ayvalik; Mehmet Gürs of Mikla, Istanbul; Şemsa Denizsel of Kantin; Maksut Aşkar of neolokal; Civan Er of Yeni; Pando Şestakof of Pando’s, Istanbul; Ali Haydar, the liver master of Gaziantep; Mehmet Özsimitci, the katmer master of Gaziantep; Mustafa Hasırcı, the beyran master of Metanet; Hatice Kalan of Yörem; Çağlar and Çağrı Bozçağa of Orfoz; the ladies of Sacide, Bodrum; the Bingöl family of Miam, Bodrum; Kanat Kıral of Bodrum Lokum.

For showing us their work: Mehmet Tembel (in Oğuzeli); Aydin Kilitoğlu of Asri Bakery, Gaziantep; Telat, Burhan and Telat Jr Çağdaş of Imam Çağdaş, Gaziantep; Enis Güner of Sevilen wines.

For their hospitality: Timur Schindel of Anatolian Houses, Gaziantep; Lucio Galletto of Lucio's; Armando Percuoco of Buon Ricordo and Nour Atalla of Darling Diner.

These books informed and entertained us:

500 Years of Ottoman Cuisine, by Marianna Yerasimos (Boyut)

The Sultan's Istanbul on Five Kurush A Day, by Charles Fitzroy (Thames & Hudson)

World Food Turkey, Dani Valent (Lonely Planet)

Western Anatolia Wine Culture, by A. Nedim Atilla(Bilgi)

Osmanli Mutfağı, by Tuğrul Şavkay (Şekerbank)

Kaz dağları'ndan bir lezzet öyküsü, by Erhan Şeker (AMK)

Osmanlı Mutfak Sözlügü, by Priscilla Mary Işin (Kitap)

Tatlı-pasta Öğretimi, by Ekrem Muhittin Yeğen (Inkilap)

And above all, to the many peoples of many ethnicities, faiths and philosophies who enriched the food culture of Anatolia.