My Routine

photo: Amber

It's clear that I haven't been able to establish a rhythm for my writing habit. We can debate whether I'm putting in enough effort, but after a certain age, when you change countries, many old and new habits take different durations to settle into a routine than you might expect. Especially, like me, if you come to a country with your spouse’s assignment without finding a job, and if you don't know the language at all, then your situation becomes even more challenging. It's essential to find activities that will become part of your new life and keep you disciplined. It could be something as simple as taking your child to and from school. This is very important to me; chatting with my daughter while going to and from school, witnessing her growth, is one of the most enjoyable ways. As she grows older, our walking time has decreased, but that's okay; every age has its pleasures. Next year, she'll be in sixth grade and will prefer going to school without her father. This means that I'll need to develop a new habit for mornings next year. It might be exaggerated, but wouldn't it be great if I started doing sports, right?!?!

My second routine in Paris became "going to the market." Except for school holidays, you can see me every Wednesday at Avenue President Wilson market. Located between Iéna Square and Alma Square on Avenue President Wilson, the market is held on Wednesdays and Saturdays, opening early in the morning and closing at 2:30 PM. Frankly, the variety of products on Saturdays is much better than Wednesdays; if you have the chance, I recommend going on Saturdays. I'm not saying this because I go there regularly, but among the markets I've seen while walking the streets of Paris, this is one of the best. One of the characteristics that make up the city's spirit is each neighborhood's own shopping streets and local markets. The Parisians' commitment to this culture is one of the most important factors for me to love this city. Watching an elderly Parisian with a grumpy look and a seller who you wouldn't believe enjoys his job sharing recipes with each other in a butcher's shop is a wonderful moment for me. So when the "home delivery in 15 minutes" initiative came to Paris, I told my friends it wouldn't work, and I was right. Especially in food shopping, reducing or cutting off the contact between seller and customer, like trying to change the culture of Parisians, is also not possible.

In the 20 arrondissements of Paris, 72 markets are set up. You can check where and on which days they are set up on the city's official website. To rent a space at the market, you need to obtain permission from the local municipalities. The process typically begins with the applicant applying to the relevant administrative authority, which evaluates the suitability of the vendor and the products they plan to sell. Among the key requirements are providing fresh and locally sourced products, offering a variety of items, keeping the stall clean and organized, and clearly displaying prices. Additionally, local authorities expect vendors to create a friendly and professional atmosphere by communicating with customers in a warm manner. Generally, the places where the products come from and the production methods (such as organic-bio) are indicated on the labels.

Seeing dried grapes, dried apricots, dried figs, and quinces coming from Turkey through the labels makes me very happy, indeed. Here, at one of these stalls, there's Azdine. I can say that I made my first attempts at speaking French with him at the market. He's so polite that he has been putting up with me for years. In addition to dried fruits from Turkey, his stall also offers many varieties of nuts, mezes, and the types of olives that I buy most frequently. In France, olive and olive oil consumption is significantly lower compared to Italy, Spain, and Greece. So finding olives that suit my taste is not easy either. Thanks to Azdine, he allows me to taste 2-3 varieties before deciding which olives to buy. He has been doing this job for 30 years. Azdine's attitude reminds me of the vendors in Yeşilköy market from my childhood. Always cheerful, always talkative, and always loud. The flower stall across from him is his favorite because the scents wafting from there especially in spring make him very happy. He says that chatting with customers is the most enjoyable part of his job, and indeed, in the small question-answer interviews I conducted, all the vendors mentioned that chatting with customers is their favorite part of their jobs.

Azdine was the last to reply to my e-mail so he deserves my “sympathy” (photo: Amber)

One of the most enjoyable conversations you can have is with Carine, right next to the Azdine’s stall. She has been at the helm of her own company, BaraPatates, since 2007. In my opinion, she's the queen of the market. The quality of the products on her stall is always top-notch, and she has a variety of mushrooms that you won't see at any other stall. Because she also loves cooking at home, she pays great attention to ensuring that the products on her stall are as high-quality as those she brings home. She doesn't put any product on the stall that she doesn't like. This attention to detail and pursuit of good ingredients is a tradition passed down in her family because Carine's family has both a catering company and butchers. Now she's passing this tradition on to her children. One of my favorite moments at the market is when Carine shares recipes with a very chic Parisian woman. I know, this might get me into trouble in the future because when I improve my French to that point, Carine won't want to see me around her stall anymore because I'll be trying to ask for a new recipe every time. One of the things market vendors dislike doing the most is carrying crates, and Carine thinks the same way, rightfully so, she even had to undergo shoulder surgery because of it.

Kneel before the queen of mushrooms ! (Photo: Amber)

Another market vendor who doesn't particularly enjoy the setup stage is Herminia 'Mimi' Pereira at the Saint Vrain cheese stall opposite Bar a Patates. Setting up Mimi's stall is more challenging. The care needed to transport cheese and other dairy products is different from that needed for potatoes and onions, of course, so preparing the stall requires a serious level of concentration and patience. Once that's taken care of, the job becomes easier. Mimi's favorite moments in her job are when customers are told to her how satisfied with the products they purchase. I recommend visiting the Saint Vrain stall especially on Saturday mornings; the variety of cheeses there can be overwhelming. Lastly, let me tell you why Mimi and I get along so well: Both Mimi and I love comté cheese the most among all the cheeses. Actually, this isn't all that rare because it's really hard not to love comté. It's made from unpasteurized cow's milk in the France-Comté region near the Swiss border in eastern France. It's one of the most produced cheeses in France, and its production process undergoes strict controls, including calculating how many cows can be on how many square meters of land. These standards are referred to as French Appellation d'origine Contrôlée (AOC). By the way, Comté pairs beautifully with the white wines of the Arbois appellation in the Jura region. You should try it when you come to Paris.

note for the smart-a.. ; we are aware that the cheese is not comté but we like this photo the most.

(photo: Amber)

Talking about white wine immediately brings fish to mind. I confess, I never used to buy fish from the market in Turkey, so I didn't buy it here in the early days either. Then I put an end to this nonsense and started buying it. After making a few changes to the stalls over the years, I've been benefiting from Jean Pierre's 40 years of experience for the last 2 years, and I started buying fresh fish and seafood from his stall. His advice on how to cook them has improved the quality of our fish dinners at home. Jean's advice is very accurate because he cooks at home. Of course, Jean's least favorite thing about the market is the cold weather. The reason he complains more than other vendors is actually quite clear: in winter, having to clean fish with hands exposed to water! He's not entirely wrong, don't you think?

gratter & vider ; the first 2 French words i learned for fish shopping. (photo: Amber)

When Jean wants to buy something from the market, of course, he prefers vendors who bring organic products from their own gardens. One of these stalls is ValdemarBerreira's. They grow their products on lands 40 minutes outside Paris. You should see the variety of herbs in spring; they are incredibly colorful and fragrant, and towards the end of summer, they have various types of tomatoes. Valdemar took over this business from Joël Thiébault, who was famous as a supplier for starred restaurants, in 2016. His wife, Zilda, also joined the team. Like her colleagues, Zilda doesn't like the cold of winter or the "canicule" (heatwave) of summer. Since such good products pass through her hands, she uses them all in her own kitchen, and she can't resist sharing them with her customers if the new recipes she tries turn out successful. As a customer, what more could you ask for? Good ingredients and recipes; it's hard not to love this stall!

Zilda & greens (photo: Amber)

We've got the vegetables, fish, cheeses, and nuts; but where will we get the fruits? I'll answer right away; fresh fruits await you at Mourad's stall. Especially if you love berry varieties, they're always very fresh here. I can say that my daughter's obsession with Fuji red apples started because of this stall. I always have the opportunity to taste whatever fruit I want, just like I'm used to from Turkey. I'm always offered the fruit I want according to the season; this warmth and sincerity are the behavior I value most. Mourad might be the youngest person at all the stalls I shop at, both in terms of age and work experience: It's only been 10 years. I was there at 7 of it Mourad! He can't cook at home, but learning to cook is among his future plans because the products he sells put pressure on him. He says it doesn't seem possible to stay away from the kitchen when such good products pass through his hands, well, go ahead Mourad !

She knows why that apple is there. (photo: Amber)

Finally, let me tell you about the stall that makes me the happiest when I see it at the market. It's the stall of İbrahim and his family, meticulously making “gözleme” in their pristine white outfits. The only downside here is that they can't come on Saturdays because they set up their stall at the Versailles market on Fridays and Sundays. İbrahim also cooks at home because it's part of his family's traditions. They have different varieties of “gözleme” at their stall. My favorite is the one with baby spinach and feta cheese. They make sure all the ingredients they choose are additive-free. Therefore, the taste is equally excellent. We can't enjoy many good Turkish meals outside our home in Paris, but İbrahim and his family's varieties of "gözleme" delight us.

İbrahim’s flour toss. (Of course, he doesn’t do anything like this, it was just my absurd idea.) photo: Amber

Among the regular customers of this market, there are also famous chefs. During my Wednesday routine, I sometimes come across Matthias Marc and Takuya Watanabe. Of course, even though I feel excited to be buying ingredients from the same place as them, the lack of any similarity of the final dishes between what we cook at home and what they cook brings me back to reality. 😃








South of France I - Arles and Gordes

This article has been published in Turkish on Gastereamag on 24.08.2019

I’ll describe you a city, let’s see if you can guess which one? There is usually construction on the roads and sidewalks for long periods of time, a structural frame is up at least on one building on every other street, most of the sidewalks are so narrow that two people cannot fit at the same time, and it takes extra skill to push a pram on these. I’m not even mentioning the dog shit for your sake. Traffic and parking is impossible beyond words. It even has its own traffic rules. Honking the minute the light turns green is another pleasure endowed on the pedestrians. When an important politician visits from another country, most of the roads are closed off. The same goes for when it snows. When the weather gets warm, the suffocating metro cars are very disturbing. In the last two years, one patisserie blew up because of gas leakage, almost taking the whole street with it, a woman set fire to her neighbor’s apartment who complained from the noise she was making, burning down almost the whole building, a fire during the renovation works annihilated most of a historic building, heavy rains flooded some parts of the city.

Sounds familiar? Istanbul, right? No! Let me give you another clue. For more than 20 weekends, there hasn’t been metro service to one of the most important avenues in the city because there have been protests! Yes, now you know! I’m talking about Paris. As you see, even with all the picturesque beauty, widespread public transport and the forests on two sides of the city, it’s still not very easy to live here actually. I’ve haven’t even mentioned how expensive it is. Therefore, here too, we use every chance to get out of the city. On one of these escapes this April, we went to the south of France. I’ll write to you about the places we visited and enjoyed. If you get a chance to visit, I hope you’ll enjoy them too.

Paris to Marseille is 3h 20 min by train. Therefore we chose to go by train and rent a car there. Because we were trying to get away from the city, we didn’t spend much time in Marseille, so I don’t have much to say about it. Even though the idea of a city next to the sea is very appealing to someone from Istanbul, still we chose to get out of the city quickly because we were more excited about small towns and the island we were yet to visit. I shouldn’t forget to mention that this trip has been planned according to the needs of a 6 year old who gets bored after maximum 2 hours in the car and has the potential to easily disturb your inner peace as well.

Our first stop is Arles, some parts of which have been under protection as an Unesco Heritage. It had first occured to us while watching Willem Dafoe’s “At Eternity’s Gate” on a cold winter night at home. Dafoe plays Vincent van Gogh and the film takes place during his years in Arles and Auvers-sur-Oise. Even though he lives here for only 15 months, he paints more than 300 pieces here and goes partially crazy meanwhile, this is the period he cuts off his ear. One of the paintings he painted here is called “Le Jardin de la Maison de Santé à Arles” which he painted while hospitalized there. The hospital garden previously green was later planted with the same flowers Van Gogh depicted in his painting.  You can recognize many locations in the city from his paintings, there are also tours taking you through them. The Van Gogh Foundation in the city center is a must-see too. There isn’t a permanent exhibition, however once or twice a year there are exhibitions of other artists inspired by Van Gogh. There was an exhibition by the Georgian artist Niko Pirosmani when we visited. I especially enjoyed compositions he painted using animals such as lions and giraffes that he never actually saw, but just imagined. There was also a rare animal painting by Van Gogh included in the exhibition. It’s called “Stuffed kalong” (flying-fox or fox-bat). It was very impressive, exhibited on another room, by itself.  We found ourselves museum hopping in Arles, as if we hadn’t been visiting any museums in Paris. After Van Gogh Foundation, we visited The Réattu Museum, 3 minutes’ walk away. Truth be told, I liked it better. First because the museum is 150 years old, and second because Réattu was born in Arles and painted all his work here. In 1867 the building and the paintings were sold to the municipality by his daughter in return for a life-long pension and residency. In 1868 the building was converted to a museum. There are also paintings donated by Pablo Picasso in 1971. One of the exhibition rooms is reserved for photo exhibitions. My favorite was a black and white photo of Pablo Picasso and painter François Gilot who is known as the only woman to leave Picasso.

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After a one hour drive and two museum visits, we were naturally hungry and found ourselves in a French restaurant called “Le Criquet”. It was the type of place we always imagine; max 30-40 seats, not very touristic, seasonal and local food and good local wine. The peak point of the lunch was lamb chops. Finishing off her plate, my daughter ate some of mine even though there was more thyme than she is used to, well let’s say she helped me eat a balanced diet. The balance of little food and more wine. The lamb chops were amazing, they had cooked four chops together without drying out, without drowning in extra sauce, it was very simple and very delicious.

On with walking back in time after lunch, we aimed to go really back in history. We wanted to see the Roman amphitheater built in BC90. This is the amphitheater in one of Vincent Van Gogh’s famous paintings. It is still used as a cultural center in the city. During July and August gladiator fights are reenacted and it is also used as a concert venue during the summer. There is also another activity here that is totally inappropriate for such beauty; even though it is forbidden in most parts of France, there are still bull fights here. This is seen as sustaining an old tradition and has partially given back the city its popularity. Another characteristic of the city is, it is part of the pilgrimage route of Camino de Santiago. Practiced since the middle ages, the pilgrimage has regained popularity in the 90s. In 2017 more than 300.000 people have walked the route. Walking or cycling the route is a great experience, both physically and religiously. There are different routes but all finish at the grave of Saint James at Santiago de Compostela in Spain. The routes in France are the most popular. However walking the tidy streets of Arles full of pretty flowers was peaceful enough for us therefore we can leave off the pilgrimage for now. For us, the next step is setting off to our accommodation.

Auberge La Feniére is farm house, an hour’s drive from Arles. It is located between two villages called Lourmarin and Cadenet. It is a beautiful, isolated hotel in nature, growing its own vegetables and it wins our hearts immediately. Seasonally they grow their own tomatoes, eggplants, zucchinis, peas and artichokes. They’ve divided the garden in three parts; aromatic, vegetable and healing. They are careful of using a sustainable farming style. They attribute the success of the garden to the harmony between human, plant and soil. They believe that the three should be able to interact with each other. Apart from the vegetable garden, they also have an olive grove from which they collect around 450 litres of olive oil every year. The lead in all of this is Reine Sammut. While studying pharmaceutics in Montpellier, she meet her husband Guy Sammut and learns the Mediterranean kitchen from her mother-in-law. In 1975 they open their first restaurant and in 1995 earn a Michelin star. Meanwhile their daughter Nadia is born in 1980. She is hospitalized when 29 years old because her immune system crashes and she faces serious health problems, later she is diagnosed with Celiac disease. A chemist herself, she enters the kitchen with her mother and specializes in gluten-free nutrition. They are very careful with what they buy from the outside. For example they buy pesticide free rice from Camargue rice farm, pork from a farm north of Luberon where the pigs are chickpea fed. There are two restaurants in the hotel. One serves a fixed tasting menu and the other is a more bistrot-like a la carte restaurant. We had both dinner and sunday brunch at the bistrot one. Everything we ate was very delicious but I want to stress something else. Listen carefully, this is important!! THE BREAD! We have been in Paris since April 2017, and as a bread lover I always either buy or eat bread in every restaurant or boulangerie I go to. And I’m telling you, I have never eaten such good bread. And please keep in mind that it was gluten-free. Nadia is a bread lover like me and because she needs to eat gluten-free bread because of her disease, she has researched all the way back to the Egyptians and found out that bread was baked in clay pots on stone and that gluten content was actually very low. She then started trying similar methods, and they did so well. Because we were early to brunch, the set up was not ready and there was no bread on the buffet. You should have seen my disappointment. I thought there was no bread at brunch, I could have cried. Thankfully it came out eventually and I lost control eating it. When I saw my wife actually grimacing while I was sipping wine and eating bread, I finally stopped. Of course this was too much. After chasing good food for so long, I shouldn’t have been doing this. Reine and Nadia Sammut use rice, chick pea, chestnut and other grain flours for the bread. I have not mentioned Guy Sammut so far but Reine actually tries all new dishes on him and he might be one of the luckiest men on earth. In short, Auberge La Feniére won our hearts as a very special hotel we would love to stay at again if we come back to Southern France.

Our next stop is Gordes. It took us 43 minutes by car. It is the most famous mountain village in the region. You are already impressed while approaching it by car. It is a very neat, clean and calm village like other examples we have seen in the past 2 years. Two reasons why I love these little villages are the ever immaculate gardens and colorful wooden shutter and doors. Just like Arles, Gordes has Roman ruins as well. Throughout history Gordes acted as the resistance force and its latest ordeal was in WWII. While being rebuilt after the war, it attracted artists such as Victor Vasarely and has been to many artists since. If you visit in season, The Senanque Monastery is a wonder, surrounded by lavender gardens. Unfortunately we didn’t go at the right time, but if anyone reads this and manages to do so, I promise not to be ugly-jealous. We had lunch at Gordes at “L’outsider”. It is a very small restaurant located in a cistern, run by a couple. Chef Patrice de Rosa who is cooking hearty meals with local produce and his wife who was then pregnant with their second child, hosted in a very warm and intimate manner, as if we were guests in their own home. After working abroad for a long time, they’ve decided to move back to a quieter and more peaceful life. When their elder child was friends with our daughter, our enjoyment of the restaurant was of course doubled. As a starter I had foie gras and my wife had smoked salmon with leeks, and both were very delicious. As the main course, I was still craving meat, therefore chose a steak from the famous Charolais of Burgundy. I must admit that it wasn’t very interesting, but still delicious. I’m not sorry that I ordered it. My wife initially claimed that she wouldn’t have a main course, but couldn’t resist ordering one for herself when she tasted our daughter’s chops. Chef De Rosa always recommends it if you like meat. And finally, we had a taste bomb! Warm ganache chocolate cake on vanilla custard! Actually I thought it might have been a bit too heavy because there was cream both in the custard and the ganache, however when you consider both how obsessed the French are about good cream, and the balance in all the other dishes of the chef, there was no chance that the dessert wouldn’t be good. In the end, it was again an amazing lunch. After lunch we kept getting lost in the streets of Gordes and enjoying ourselves. We bought lavender honey and olive oil, which we still haven’t got to opening yet, from Le Miel Peyron, and had ice cream from Le Petit Comptoir. Apart from being homemade there is nothing special about it, however it is the perfect spot for families with kids. Do something for your kids as well, you cannot chase wine and good food all the time, right?

Gordes

Gordes

Frenchie - FTG

This article has been published in Turkish on Gastereamag on 22.03.2019

It’s really hard for me to describe how excited I was when it was confirmed that we were moving to Paris. As someone who had been a restaranteur for a short while, I constantly caught myself smiling. I envisioned myself at French bistrots, having foie gras, steak tartare, onion soup and french fries. And I knew there would be so much more waiting to be discovered.

 We relocated in April 2017, and straight away I started creating restaurant lists for myself from international and local websites. And naturally, these lists have been rewritten so many times. Slowly we started trying out these places and eventually discovering restaurants became my biggest thrill and pleasure in Paris. There are really very few places that I would call myself a regular at. It was exactly the opposite when I lived in Istanbul. I don’t know for how long I’ve been going to beloved Cavit in Asmalı, nor can I count how many times I’ve been to Adana Ocakbasi, Kiyi or Aman da Bravo. Sometimes I think “why the difference?” but it is a totally different subject that I can speculate on forever. Maybe one day I’ll do that in a different article for you to enjoy. I believe right now, it’s better for me to introduce you to the hero of this piece;

Gregory Marchand ! 

 While strolling through the 2nd arrondissement in Paris, if you enter Rue du Nil, you’ve come to the right place for food. Because it also means that you have surrendered yourself to Marchand. On this street you will find Frenchie to Go where he serves gourmet street food, Frenchie Bar à Vins for dishes to share, his wine cellar Frenchie Caviste where he sells really good wines, and of course his first child Frenchie where he offers a menu inspired by food in New York, London and Paris. On the same street, there is also a fishmonger, butcher and a third generation coffee shop. All these little shops supply Frenchie with the best produce. These collaborations are very important for the perfection that is Frenchie.

Dear Marchand is someone who had an unlucky start at life. At 12, his widowed mother dies and he finds himself at an orphanage. After some tough years, he starts his culinary education at 16. One year later, he leaves the orphanage to find himself a job at a pizza parlor at the west of France. In an interview he says he initially chose cooking as an easy way out, but soon it turned into a great passion. He spends his early 20’s in England. He works at The Savoy Grill, Mandarin Oriental and Jamie Oliver’s Fifteen. Jamie Oliver nicknames him “Frenchie” and the name of his first restaurant is born. Gregory then moves to New York where his cooking style takes its final form. Entering 30, when his wife and partner Marie becomes pregnant, they decide to move back to Paris. In 2009 he opens his first restaurant Frenchie in the 2nd arrondissement which is known as the center of textile wholesalers. The restaurant is decorated by Émilie Bonaventure. He starts his first service in the 24 seat restaurant with only one waiter. Everything else, from buying to cooking, to washing and dishes and taking reservations, he does himself. Very quickly his dishes earn a reputation by WOM and Frenchie becomes, even today, one of the hardest places in Paris to make a reservation at.

I was introduced to Gregory’s restaurants through the owners of Izmir’s most delicious Patiesserie Arpege, Metin and Beliz Saruhanli. I cannot thank them enough. Metin discovered Frenchie to Go when he first moved to Paris to follow his own dreams, and it is the first place he recommended us when we moved to Paris. In the end it was actually them who took us first to Frenchie to Go. The first time I went, somehow I chose the Reuben sandwich. I believe it was my yearning for pastirma that drove me to the pastrami sandwich. Although they have similar names, they are made from different cuts and pastrami has less spices which naturally did not satisfy my pastirma craving, but still there is nothing to complain about. The balance of cheddar cheese and beetroot coleslaw was perfect. On further visits I also tried “pulled porc” – slow cooked barbecue pork leg or shoulder – beef hot dog and the fried chicken sandwich that was added to the menu this year. I can recommend you all of them. However I’ve saved the best for last. Lobster roll in brioche. I might have taken every single one of my friends who visited us in Paris to try this, and it is the one single dish I recommend to anyone visiting Paris without fail. The perfect harmony of the celery, lobster and herb butter sauce in warmed brioche can make my mouth water. I guess I will have another one before this article gets a chance to be published. To Gregory, “Frenchie to Go” is a reflection of what he ate in London and New York. And for me it is one of the most delicious quick fixes in Paris.

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Even though we go to FTG so frequently, it might still be counted as successful on our part to have to Frenchie at least once so far. I’m telling you, it’s not easy to make a reservation in some restaurants. There comes a point where you just stop trying. Luckily my wife kept her patience and we managed to get in for our anniversary. The atmosphere of the restaurant is an exact reflection of Gregory’s modest personality. There is nothing exaggerated in the decor, it is a small space, simple but tasteful place. The lighting is neither too bright, nor puts you to sleep, walls are bare with mirrors, gray topped tables and black chairs very simplistic. The staff is dressed in the same hues. In general, you feel very comfortable. The way the staff is treating you helps this feeling as well. They are warm and frank, there is no pretension. At least that’s how we felt. At dinner there is a chef’s menu of 5 courses. And like us, if you are one of those lucky people who can eat anything, you will make both the kitchen and the floor staff very happy. And even if you are not, you will be asked beforehand for your special requirements or needs.  The menu is seasonal and changes according to what is available at the moment. As expected the food is also simple, but very delicious. Normally it’s not heard of me ordering chicken anywhere at dinner, but I will never be able to forget the chicken I had here. I have no words to describe the crispiness of the skin. The juicy and soft meat is a whole different discussion on its own. I have tried a lot of restaurant so far in my two years in Paris, but this was definitely one of the best two and made our anniversary dinner unforgettable. I was enjoying myself so much that this time, against all protestations from my wife, I even shared the wine with Levon this time. (And of course she was not happy) I might just as well share it with you: We had the 2016 Pinot Noir, Givry 1er Cru, Clos du Cellier Aux Moines from Damain Joblot, a family chateau from Bourgogne.

Gregory Marchand knows very well that the restaurant business is so much more than just cooking good food, but it takes a great team to be successful. He constantly puzzles over how to make the work environment better for his team and balance out the intensive work hours. He has about 60 people on his team and their happiness at work is very important to him. But of course he is experienced enough to know that too much ease might kill self-development and progress. Very recently Gregory and his team served the lunch at the World Restaurant Awards given out this year for the first time. I didn’t have a chance to attend the ceremony but Arzu was there and you can read about her impressions in her own article about the awards.

Baieta - A little kiss

This article has been published in Turkish on Gastereamag on 22.11.2018

 

I believe there are two types of people. The first are the people who are discouraged and choose to live a quitter life when face with difficulties in life, and the second are the courageous ones, who choose to learn from these difficulties and take a risk to start over again. Unfortunately I must admit that I’m might belong to the first group because my dreams have somehow always been taken from me by events beyond my control. However I’m also very very lucky that my family, especially my wife and my friends have always been there for me and at the end I always had another chance to become part of something new and better. Lately, chance is on my side once again and I’ve become a part of Gastereamag. I’ve even published my second article. I would like to thank dear Arzu for that, because she is one of those courageous people who had the crazy idea of convincing me to write something.

Since we have started off by talking about courageous people, I would love to introduce you to Julia Sedefdjian, whose restaurant I visited in June 2018. She is a very young lady, born on the last month of 1994. She has the courage, diligence and determination that only a few people have in the world. At 14, she has stood up to her parents when she decided to become a chef and enrolled herself at  the Lycee Hôtelier of Paul Augier.  While studying, she also started apprenticing at David Faure’s restaurant Aphrodite in Nice. (The restaurant has closed since then.) Working in a serious job has helped her mature and grow. From an early age she has learned the importance of taking responsibility, the amount of hard work necessary to succeed and how making sacrifices becomes a natural part of your life. At 17 she moved to Paris where she didn’t know anyone and found an apprenticeship in “Les Fables de la Fontaine” through the employment agency. Here she continued to work with seafood just like in Nice. Julia says she loves to cook dishes that combine fish and vegetables and this is evident in her menu as well. When I visited her restaurant, there was only one starter and one main dish that did not have seafood in it.

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Julia is very attached to her roots and her restaurant that she opened in January 2018, is called “Baieta” which means little kiss in Nice dialect. It is this “little kiss” that greets you when you enter the restaurant. It is a beautiful black and white painting by Frédéric Agid.  In the painting the two partners - Sébastien Jean-Joseph in the kitchen, and Grégory Anelka in the dining room – are caricatured while kissing Julia. The amuse bouche is a pissaladière, a type of tarte/quiche typical to Nice. The anchovy, black olive and caramelized onion pissaladière is really delicious. The chef says that her favourite ingredients with fish are lemon, garlic, fresh thyme espelette peppers from Basque Country. As a starter I choose octopus that is served with espelette. The velvet crab is served in a white bowl with a juicy and sweet gnocchi. The sweet potato chips served at the top of the plate were wonderful. I have nothing to say against the gnocchi, nor the crab broth and the taste of the octopus. However, if you are used to eating octopus in the Greek Islands, at our late Lokanta Maya or Aman da Bravo, you would not be happy with the texture of this octopus. It was not one of those soft octopuses you would be used to that you could eat in two bites, almost without chewing.

Talking about “softness”, I have to mention how smooth and organized everything ran in the dining room. The well-informed and warm service, the distribution of the tables and the timing of the food were perfect. This is due to the previous experience of Julia and her team at a Michelin starred restaurant. Mentioning Michelin, I just realized that I forgot to mention a very important fact. Uuppss !! Julia Sedefdjian is the youngest chef to earn a Michelin star in France.  Yes, what you just read is true. At the age of just 20, she became head chef at Les Fables de la Fontaine, and next year was awarded by the red book. Naturally, this brings her to the spotlight. At the beginning she felt weird when she started working as head chef and realized that she wouldn’t have anyone to teach or guide her. However she is very open minded, curious, reads a lot and has a very small ego and therefore she is open to keep learning from everyone. She says that having her own restaurant has made her feel more independent, which has improved her creativity a lot. One of her mentors is Christian Constant, from a neighbouring restaurant on the same street. Her role model as a female chef is Anne-Sophie Pic who was the fourth female chef to earn 3 Michelin stars and was awarded best female chef in 2011. Not a bad role model at all.

Lately, as has been the popular move among other young chefs in Paris, it was a very courageous decision, to leave her Michelin starred position to open her own restaurant. The reason behind this move is to serve more reasonably priced by high quality dishes. The chef’s signature dish, ”the Bouillabaieta”, is an upgraded “bouillabaisse”, the renown Marseillais fishermen’s stew. I found myself wiping the plate with my bread no make sure there was nothing left. Of course they make their own bread as well and serve it with a flavoured butter that they change seasonally. I was very glad when the Bouillabaieta came that I hadn’t already finished my bread. I believe I will be curiously following the development of Julia’s dishes and her restaurant for the next couple of years.

Note: I’m sorry but I will refrain again from mentioning the wonderful wine I had with my dinner because my neighbouring writer Levon will keep pestering me until I bring him some.

Fichon - Impossibilities push for creativity

This article has been published in Turkish on Gasterea Mag on 09.08.2018

Although I didn’t realize it at the time, my story with Fichon goes back to 2011. It all began on a very busy work night in Lokanta Maya, our precious restaurant with Didem, when a gentleman, whose occupation I had no idea about, agreed to sit on the most uncomfortable barstool in the world and tasted most of our dishes. About 3 months later, in June, we found out that this gentleman was actually a very renown food writer who writes for Wall Street Journal, the Guardian, Bon Appetit, Food & Wine, Saveur, Travel & Leisure, Conde Nast Traveler, and had published an article in New York Times Magazine solely about Lokanta Maya. His name is Alexander Lobrano and he in turn introduced me to Fichon 6 years later in another one of his articles. Now, wherever I travel to, I always check his blog after my initial research about the destination. For me, his blog is kind of a guarantor of the restaurant choices I make.

Last year, when Ayca accepted a job offer, we came to Paris for house hunting. We had only 2 nights, and naturally we wouldn’t choose a restaurant without first consulting Master Alexander. When I logged in, the first article that caught my eye was about Fichon, and luckily fish and sea food was exactly what we were craving. We made a reservation right away to guarantee our table and took an Uber from our hotel to the restaurant. We really loved Fichon that night and daydreamed about how we could keep coming back when we moved to Paris.

The restaurant is located at the corner of two streets, in a triangular space. The tables are not crammed together like most of the other French restaurants. Yes, you do get tired of no elbow space after a while. Anyway, when you enter, the decor and the lighting makes you feel right away that this is a cosy and intimate place. Wooden tables are matched with silver painted chairs. The drinks bar designed after a fisherman’s stall is a cute decor trick. Charles du Pouget, who has designed the restaurant, was inspired by the journey the fish makes from the sea to our plates.  The sea blue back wall, backs of chairs designed after fishnets, chandeliers, herringbone patterned marble fish bar, the fish man’s stall inspired bar and sand colored raw columns are all a part of this journey. During the day, an amazing daylight fills the space from huge windows on both sides of the triangular space.

Before Lokanta Maya I had no clue about cooking or restaurant management (Sadly but truly, I’m still clueless about cooking) Therefore when we were setting up the managerial side of Maya with Didem and Okan, I decided to strengthen my previous business management experience by taking a restaurant management course in MSA. Unfortunately, both because it was a very busy time at work, and because I’ve never been a particularly good student, I didn’t utilize the course as much as I should have. However one thing dear Osman Serim has told us from day one has stuck with me. He told us that, when opening a restaurant, one should always concentrate on the type of food one likes to eat the most. He said that, this is why small scale places always reflect the character of their owners. And this is what I have always observed afterwards in restaurants that I find successful. And Fichon is the perfect example of this theory.

Matthieu Dewilde runs the restaurant. We went there at least 6 or 7 times and he was always there, on top of his game. He attended to all his customers with care, he was always a part of the service. I think he is a bit of a workaholic. His careful attention to customers almost makes you think he might not be French after all. Matthieu is actually a sommelier and has been in business for more than 10 years. His restaurant has been open since 2016. He has a master’s degree from INSEEC Bordeaux Wine Marketing and of course, his restaurant has an amazing wine list. He buys directly from producers. 90% of his wines are biodynamic (Please refer to Levon Bagis if you have any questions about biodynamic wines :) )  Two thirds of his wines are white. And if you are already asking ‘Do I have to drink wine?’ Matthieu has cocktails and amazing beer options as well. In short, you will not have a problem with drinks. I would mention my favorites white wine here, but I’m afraid Levon will make me carry bottles of it my luggage to Turkey, so I’ll refrain.

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And on a more serious note, I always believe that impossibilities push for creativity. This is exactly what happened here as well. Because of the structure of the building, it is impossible to put in a sufficiently strong and large ventilation system, it is impossible to fry anything in the kitchen. Therefore everything is served grilled, steamed, raw or smoked. Which means you actually eat a quite healthy meal. The whole menu is about fish and shellfish where freshness is a must and when you order an oyster or a shrimp it comes still smelling of the sea. I have never seen them compromise on this. When the food arrives, you realize a certain elegance in the presentation which is owed to the Japanese chef Katsuhiko Sato. The menu changes with the seasons so there is always something new every time you go. The grilled octopus has been my favorites for the past 2 years, however I still have my eye on the smoked salmon that Ayca orders (maybe the time has come for another visit to Fichon).

Paris is filled with so many good restaurants that the idea of becoming a regular of a place seemed almost impossible. Hundreds of food writers and publications keep servicing reviews on new places, on top of which new places you discover and want to try while roaming the streets. There are infinite choices available. You cannot imagine how many lists I’ve created and recreated already.  Fichon has actually succeeded in making loyals out of us within this huge pool of choices. It is the first place we think of when we want to eat incredibly delicious seafood, paired with a very good wine, careful service and calm atmosphere.