One party entered my life with piyaz with fennel, the other with razor clams. I want to share with you how I combined these two choices that seem very far from each other and how two pop up evenings that turned out to be more beautiful than I’ve ever imagined. I want to start with the host; Mustafa Otar, the person who has the biggest share in making this organization full of flavours.
The first three pieces of information I want to share about him are that he loves the soil, he is in love with the sea, and he is fond of his freedom. Since the day I met him, he has been talking about the fruit trees in his homeland and the vineyard he dreams of. He goes and touches the soil at every opportunity and easily becomes a part of that life. I would also like to mention that he recently realized his dream of a vineyard. I am eagerly waiting for the wines that will come from that vineyard when he believes that it is 100% ready. I first heard about Mustafa in Istanbul from another chef friend of mine whom I admire. She was doing a consultancy for a restaurant and after working together for a while; she described him as creative, quick, takes initiative and knowledgeable. Some time later, in another restaurant in Bomonti, I heard about the lamb shank he prepared in the wood oven that became famous by word of mouth and was ordered in advance during the reservations. However the day that was etched in my mind was in a much more cosy environment. It was sincere but challenging. We were 14-15 people who had been working in the food and beverage business for a long time including some chefs. This group could easily be arrogant and on top of that he cooked in an unfamiliar home kitchen. Very few of us helped with the preparations and Mustafa fed us all with great patience. I cannot forget the piyaz with fennel on the menu. Despite preparing everything in front of us all evening, none of us could understand how he cooked that piyaz so deliciously. Later, we strengthened our friendship at the raki tables. Mustafa has a strong character, is knowledgeable and never hesitates to share his knowledge, mature enough to know that those around him must be very good when a collective work has to be done. The young and dynamic staff in the restaurant we saw when we came for this organization was like a proof that Mustafa left nothing to chance. The team's motivation being at the highest level eased the work of the Les Enfants du Marché (Lem) team. They did a wonderful job with great discipline. I also want to thank the team from here. Thanks to you, the kitchen organization went seamlessly. You are all wonderful.
Mustafa's first meeting with the Les Enfants du Marché (Lem) team took place when he came to Paris in November 2022. Of course, I took Mustafa to Lem, just like I took all my friends who are in search of good food. The satisfaction in all the dishes we ordered was reflected so quickly on his face that I was relieved. So, how did I meet Lem? Let me explain it right away. As you know, I walked all the public streets of Paris. I did these walks with a plan which is, arrondissement by arrondissement. (Paris consists of 20 arrondissements and is in the shape of a snail) While walking the 3rd arrondissement, I came across a covered market and threw myself into the Marché des Enfants Rouges. This is Paris's oldest fruit and vegetable market, established in 1628. Over the years, some politicians have set their eyes on it, but those living in Marais have never surrendered and have protected their market. In 1982, it was added to the "historical monument" list and gained a complete protection . My first visit was in 2019. After touring the inside, a stall that distinguished itself from other food stands with its energy and spirit caught my attention and I sat down.
And yes, as I mentioned in my first sentence, my first order was razor clams. It was a classic; with garlic, parsley, and white wine sauce. I couldn't help but wonder how this dish, which I sometimes come across in Paris, could be so tasty. Just like Mustafa's piyaz.
I started to go there frequently over the years. I took every friend who was after good food in a casual environment here. As I went often, I saw how good a boss Michael Grosman is. His most important feature is his love and respect for his job. He is always at work, smiling, full of energy, a disciplined boss who communicates very well with his team and his customers. He is modest enough to say that they are not doing rocket science and adds “we are just after making good food with good ingredients.” Mika's food knowledge and management experience is a legacy passed on to him from his family and developed by himself. Mika, who is from Southern France, learned everything in the businesses owned by his family and frequented by very famous people (Mick Jagger, Elton John, Madonna...). Later, he became one of the founders of the Japanese bistro Soma, which I love very much in Paris. In 2017, an opportunity came up and he took the place at Marché des Enfants Rouges. Menus are created with whatever ingredients found at the market seasonally. Natural wines accompany it. The wine list is of course mostly French producers but there are also wonderful Greek, Austrian and Italian natural wines. Wine is also the area of expertise of Lem's chef Shunta. He became interested in wines in Japan and did his study. In fact, after coming to France, he worked for a wine producer in the Rhone region for 6 months and improved himself about wine production. After his experiences in Japan, he participated in pop-ups in Thailand, Singapore, Germany and Iceland. In Paris, he worked at the one-star Restaurant Sola and with chef Sota Atsumi (at Maison Sota), whose food I have loved since Clown Bar. After Shunta took over at Lem, where he started as a sous chef, an extra elegance appeared on the plates. The harmony of the ingredients he uses is really striking. Spending a week with Shunta, his black notebook which he never lets go of, taking notes about the new ingredients he learned and writing down new ideas that came to his mind was a great experience for me. Even while chatting about daily topics, thinking about the ingredients and the dishes he will make in the background was a sign why he is different.
Now that I have introduced both sides, I can now tell you about our week-long adventure.
First of all i need to say that Mustafa seemed to have prepared everything in his head before the Lem team arrived. He was just impatient to learn Lem's menu. Therefore, the first two days were hard for Mustafa. Lem team was not in a hurry either because they first wanted to get to know Mustafa, then the city and Yazz, and feel the energy. They observed a lot and learned a very important piece of information: You don't joke with raki!
On the first evening, Mustafa took us to Girida Port, the best fish restaurant in the region. There, the night was full with both seafood and hospitality. From the moment dear Shunta learned that raki was our traditional drink, it was a pleasure for me to watch him start thinking about how he could find a place on his own menu and try it with other flavors on the table, and to listen to him exchange ideas with Mika and Mustafa. Of course, we didn't need to drink so much Raki to let Shunta understand it totally. We struggled a bit the next day. But even for this situation, Mustafa already had a solution, he immediately took us to a great döner shop. Once we calmed our stomachs, it was the time for the team to enter the kitchen. Under Mustafa's guidance, Shunta and Mika's requests began to be prepared quickly. Both were stunned to find such a good team. They immediately got in tune with the team and the preparations began at full speed. The hardest part of the second day was expected to be the wine tasting, but it immediately became easier at the first try. The Turkish pet nat and natural wines that Mustafa wanted the chefs to taste received positive notes from these two experienced Parisians. Especially dear Seyit Karagozoglu's pét-nat turned into a pleasure drink in the evening even though we started as a tasting. We spent our second evening tasting Mustafa's dishes at the hotel. Thus, the Lem team fully learned about Mustafa's style and understood the quality of the food served at the hotel. We were just about to go home when there was another surprise from Mustafa. On Saturday evening, we were the first to try Mustafa Otar's botarga, which will be presented to the guests coming to the chef's table. Honestly, botarga is not one of my favorite ingredients cause it takes over everything it gets into and creates very difficult situations for someone like me who always seeks balance in meals; however, I learned a lesson. Dear readers, there are no bad or tasteless or strong ingredients, there are very good chefs who know how to use ingredients! Mustafa's Botarga is now a reality in my life and botarga is a beautiful thing."
Wednesday and Thursday passed with the preparations of the main ingredients and sauces in the kitchen. These two days showed us the differences between the working cultures and how important it is for some people to take time for himself/herself. Mika and Shunta showed that they set aside 1-1.5 hours for themselves every day, no matter how intense they work, and they invest in areas outside of their works by doing sports/yoga to clear their minds. (Mika participated and completed the Paris Triathlon a week later) Moreover the two great developments of Thursday were the arrival of Mika's family and Alca (Mustafa’s partner) Now all the motivation factors had been provided for the two meals at the weekend.
Friday morning started early because we went to the farmers’ market that Mustafa talked about before we arrived. It was a wonderful market. Producers coming from surrounding villages and towns were showing how valuable lands Türkiye has. The Lem team was very pleased to be at this market. But there was a significant risk of visiting such a good market. Chef Shunta might want to change his menu... and he did! But we saved the printed menus by guaranteeing that he could do whatever he wanted with the side dishes, provided that we could not touch the main ingredients.
After the market, we moved to the hotel and the final preparations for the evening began. Lem, Mustafa, and the team prepared the final dishes in perfect harmony and the evening meal started to be served to all hotel guests around 7.
The menu created by the Lem team and Mustafa was a flavor storm. The festive, which started with two different pieces from the back and belly part of the tuna presented with different spices by the Lem team, followed by smoked bonito with licha and a touch of Bouillabaisse, a traditional dish of the Marseillais. As a main course the Japanese touch to the Turkish lamb, namely panko frying, satisfied our stomachs. The dessert was greatly influenced by the first night of Fethiye: Raki. That is two slices of different structures were presented by infusing raki into a watermelon that had been cooked on a wood fire for a long time. On the other hand, Mustafa added the most loved ones from his own menu, considering the more traditional guests of the hotel. As the starters, tzatziki and hummus were served. Because of the incredible tastes, now a few friends can't eat tzatziki without almonds and fennel. Also the slices of dried and smoked lamb thigh served in cold starters still enter my dreams with its slight spiciness. You can eat the tempura corn with anchovy mayonnaise served in the hot starters three meals a day without getting bored. Mustafa's main course option was grilled grouper. He served it with smoked carrot puree and tiger de leche he prepared. If I hadn't met the team, I could have thought that there was a very good Peruvian chef next to Isa, the lahmacun master from Kilis. (I can write a separate article for lahmacun because I ate lahmacun every lunch for 4 days, thank you master Isa) As the end of the night approached, our joy increased because the reactions from the guests were very positive. Especially at the end of the dinner, the dialogues Mika established with the guests increased everyone's joy one more time. After we all switched to party mode, Mika and Shunta disappeared at one point (we thought one of the yacht owners kidnapped them 😁) and excited us. But when i saw them spending time with the team in the resting area of the kitchen, it was a proof of why this duo were the rising stars of Paris. They know that success is a team job, that both difficulties and fun will increase the team spirit when shared together, and they enjoyed being part of the fun of the team that has been working hard for a week. Of course, Friday was not the only night and none of us should have been drunk (!!!) with victory.
On Saturday evening, a chef's table was organized, and the most important feature of this evening was that the new kitchen set up for Mustafa was filled with equipments that operated entirely on wood and charcoal fire, and it was the first time they were being used. Doing this with the Lem team was truly a great start. From here, I wish Mustafa many more wonderful meals in that amazing kitchen. The biggest difference that set this evening apart from the others was the presence of guests who were very knowledgeable and experienced in the food&beverage industry in their respective fields, which meant there could be critiques. However, I believe that the knowledge, experience, love, and respect for their work from Mustafa, Mika, and Shunta reached such a high level that they all chose to simply enjoy the dishes that were served. The superstars of the second evening were Mustafa's botarga, the dried, smoked, and grilled mackerel with peas, and Lem's tuna fish with Bouillabaisse sauce.
In conclusion, both of our evenings were filled with a storm of flavors. As the orchestrator of the meeting between Mustafa and the Lem team, I can't help but give myself an extra point for being a part of this culinary journey. It was a perfect match, a week filled with inspiration. Throughout the week, I witnessed the incredible talent and passion of Mustafa Otar and his young team. I am delighted to have the opportunity to touch the team’s professional lives. I hope they realize the international caliber of Mustafa's knowledge, talent, and vision, and how fortunate they are to work alongside him. The time spent with Mika and Shunta from different cultures was a treasure trove of techniques, perspectives, and new ideas that will shape their future.
Lastly, I would like to thank Yazz Collective for fully supporting Mustafa Otar's knowledge, talent, and hard work, and for opening their doors to us and ensuring that the organization was carried out smoothly.
