Haluk OZYAVUZ

Culture lies hidden in the pattern on a sweater knit by a grandmother for her granddaughter; in the red veil of a bride in Pekin who is on her way to creating a family; in the lines penned by Goethe from a book whose pages are turned with excitement by a young reader in Munich; in the kaleidoscopic confetti that float along the beach throughout the carnival in Rio de Janeiro; in the magical scenes that bicycle tours in France take you through; in the well esteemed personality of a businessman in Japan; in the euphony that young sirtaki dancers in Greece create with their guffaws of laughter; in the happy excitement that an actress feels before her stage debut in Broadway, New York…

You see it, hear it, touch it, and breathe in its fragrance. And every so often, you also savor its taste…

I am one of those people who look for culture at their dining tables, on their plates, in other words, on their palate. That is why I chase flavors everywhere, sometimes despite long hours of trips. Here, I would be pleased to share my stories with the beloved ones out of the belief that “To share is to care”!

My adventure with gastronomy started in the ‘70s when I was a student in Germany. With the money I saved, I would hop into a car with my friends, and explore the chefs around and the Gault-Millau-awarded restaurants in other countries as well such as Austria, Sweden and France. I am happy that today, my adventure still continues even in a more colorful way than ever thanks to my schedule as an industrialist, intense with business trips.

I intend to share with you this culture and more than 40 years of my experience with food on my website “GEVREK&GINGER” and my Instagram account @gevrekandginger. The title is a nod to “GEVREK”, a staple food in my diet that I can’t do without as an Izmirian, and “GINGER”, a gift from the Far Eastern cuisine which I am absolutely in love with.

I am completely averse to the word “gourmet.”

Given this, my ultimate goal is to encourage people to explore different countries and cuisines; to exchange ideas with restaurant owners and chefs; to bring diverse culinary examples to the attention of the young chefs and chefs-to-be with no experience abroad; to elaborate my thoughts on what I see is wrong with culinary industry. More importantly, in contrast to the kind of “gourmandism” that we have recently been overexposed to in social media, namely “Commercialized Gourmets” as I call, I own my own voice in this area of interest, and aim to create an objective and trustable guide for everyone who is in need of one.

What you will find in this guide varies from star-awarded restaurants to street food, and, at times, to random notes about culinary world. What stays the same is a welcoming smile and a cup of Turkish coffee, with extra foam on top.

I hope you enjoy and take advantage of what you will explore with Gevrek and Ginger…

Bon appétit and enjoy the taste of life…

Haluk OZYAVUZ