Today I had a late lunch (that's 2pm in Washington) with some friends at Kazan Restaurant in Mclean. I've had the pleasure of dining at Kazan many times with my friend Sheilah Kaufman who befriended the owner Zeynel Uzun, while she was writing her first Turkish cookbook.
I was running late and we arrived at Kazan's at 2:30 only to find out that the kitchen was already closed! The three of us had been looking forward to eating there for a month, so the idea of driving back to Maryland with empty stomachs, or thinking of going to another restaurant was not very appetizing. Luckily, Zeynel and our friend Cemal, came out of the kitchen, seated us, and treaded us to an array of mezze worthy of sultans.
When he was free, Zeynel joined us for lunch and told us about his days working in Topkapi Palace with Turkey's legendary chef - Necip Erturk. Then, like magic, Chef Necip appeared! Turns out he is Zeynel's house guest and will be in Washington for the next two weeks!
With dozens of gold and silver medals for cuisine under his belt, the eighty year old shared his secrets and memories with us. "I do not care about the names of dishes, " he said. "I care about what's on the plate." While that might not seem like a revolutionary statement for a contemporary chef, for a Turkish chef - trained in a palace it's almost unheard of.
The Ottomans were especially fond of elaboratley (and seductively) named dishes such as Nightingale's Nests, Veiled Rice, and Sweet Lips. Chef Necip, on the other hand, prefers more of the contemporary style of naming dishes where the ingredients are listed instead individually. Regardless of what they are called, each of the recipes prepared at Kazan is steeped in history, good taste, and tradition. For those of you in the Washington area, don't miss this Sunday's Culinary Historians of Washington meeting - I've invited Chef Necip -and hope to introduce him as our guest of honor.
(Chef Nacip, left, Sheilah Kaufman, Dr. Phyllis Kaplan, right, me, Zeynel Uzun)
I was running late and we arrived at Kazan's at 2:30 only to find out that the kitchen was already closed! The three of us had been looking forward to eating there for a month, so the idea of driving back to Maryland with empty stomachs, or thinking of going to another restaurant was not very appetizing. Luckily, Zeynel and our friend Cemal, came out of the kitchen, seated us, and treaded us to an array of mezze worthy of sultans.
When he was free, Zeynel joined us for lunch and told us about his days working in Topkapi Palace with Turkey's legendary chef - Necip Erturk. Then, like magic, Chef Necip appeared! Turns out he is Zeynel's house guest and will be in Washington for the next two weeks!
Chef Necip in the early days of his career along with one of his cookbooks (below).
With dozens of gold and silver medals for cuisine under his belt, the eighty year old shared his secrets and memories with us. "I do not care about the names of dishes, " he said. "I care about what's on the plate." While that might not seem like a revolutionary statement for a contemporary chef, for a Turkish chef - trained in a palace it's almost unheard of.
The Ottomans were especially fond of elaboratley (and seductively) named dishes such as Nightingale's Nests, Veiled Rice, and Sweet Lips. Chef Necip, on the other hand, prefers more of the contemporary style of naming dishes where the ingredients are listed instead individually. Regardless of what they are called, each of the recipes prepared at Kazan is steeped in history, good taste, and tradition. For those of you in the Washington area, don't miss this Sunday's Culinary Historians of Washington meeting - I've invited Chef Necip -and hope to introduce him as our guest of honor.
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