This delicious window into the cultural soul is even more obvious in Turkey. With current and ancient neighbors—from the Hittites to Lydians, and the Greeks to Armenians blending their traditions with ours, as well as ancient Silk Road spice merchants bringing the treasures of the East—each region of Turkey offers a culinary voyage through history and civilizations.

Our unique Turkish Cooking Class starts with a visit to one of the bustling local produce markets to select the perfect ingredients and get a first-hand experience of the traditional open organic markets—the life force of the community.

We continue to the home of one of the local villagers to begin preparing the meal. With the guidance of a local village woman and our translations, you begin the hands-on cooking class. During the class we also discuss the culinary traditions of Anatolia and the region, after the meal is complete, we sit together and enjoy the delicious fruits of our labor. Followed by Turkish coffee or tea.

The usual meal is what the locals would eat during that season. Usually a soup, stuffed or rolled vegetables and grape leaves, and a dessert. We can also arrange baklava and Turkish coffee making classes, Tandir oven bread classes, cheese and yogurt making classes, as well as any other regional dish. Vegetarian and vegan options are also available.

The typical Turkish cooking class takes a half day, but we’re also able to organize a shorter experience with just the cooking class portion…and eating too, of course. In that case we would have the ingredients available in advance.

Our “culinary experts” are not professional chefs in a restaurant. They are moms and matriarchs, and we will be cooking with them in their homes (or outside in the garden, weather permitting). They have learned the traditional ways of cooking passed from generations of rural village women. Most of their recipes are learned by heart, not written down.