Hi, I’m Hatice (my friends call me Hati), I’m a multinational home cook currently residing in Turkey. I was born in the UK to a British mother and a Turkish father. And for the last fifteen years I have a third nationality… Obviously that’s not an official one as you can’t have more than two nationalities at once, but in my heart I’m also Italian since I’ve met my husband in 2000, who is from Milan. I love everything about Italy; first of the food, the history, art, natural beauty, people etc.etc. I feel Italy and Italians are very close to my Turkish roots. I also love everything about England; no wait, not the rain :):) London is my favourite city in the whole world. And Turkey is where I spent most of my life. In my heart they are all “home”.
I always liked being in the kitchen from an early age; whether it was for washing the dishes on top of a chair, licking the cake batter from the bowl or taking over from my “mummy” when she was baking cakes and cookies.
I grew up with parents who travelled the world for business purposes and were both great cooks. As a lover of the sea my dad was very good at sea food dishes and would eat anything that came from the sea and as a result of his travelling he was very into strange, exotic fruits too. So the meals that were cooked in our kitchen were by no means ordinary. Saying that, growing up I was a very picky eater… never liked the exotic fruits or the sea creatures with antennas and tentacles :):) Imagine a father making the most amazing crab dish or sea urchins and so on and I wouldn’t even taste them, I accept that I was a strange child :):) So my real passion for good food started when I met my husband. The first time he cooked for me the protein was, wait for it, “crocodile”, and he gave me this information after I ate the whole thing and enjoyed it too. He is funny like that… He taught me how to cook and appreciate sea food and to eat meat at the right temperature. I wouldn’t touch red meat if it wasn’t cooked well passed it’s “well done” stage and now I enjoy my meat “rare to mid-rare”. But I think the most important thing he gave me is “the courage” to be more adventurous to try different cuisines and use unusual ingredients in my cooking. Also living in and travelling to different parts of the world helped me on that too.
I love good food that’s made with fresh, seasonal ingredients and I don’t eat to live but vice versa. I love travelling with ‘food’ in mind and this passion of mine, more than often, determines our travel destination. I love fish and sea food, consume very little red meat, love fresh fruit and veg. I get very excited when I see a beautiful tomato and tend to over shop every week at the market, I’m working on it :):) I love picking my own strawberries and any fruit for that matter and I have regular dreams about strawberries :):) I couldn’t live without chocolate, strawberries, pistachio and lemon. Oh and sea food, and good home baked bread, and macarons, and I’m forgetting something…….. My husband :), I love you to the moon and back honey.
I worked for about seven years in restaurant business in England where my husband owned an Italian restaurant,but never had a position in the kitchen.
As much as I love cooking in general, my real passion is “baking” . I believe every meal should end with a great dessert, but try not to practice it on a daily basis :):) I love baking for friends and family and have a habit of bringing a homemade dessert with me whenever I’m visiting someone. I love giving homemade gifts and believe it to be very caring and special.
I love my hair curly, food spicy, chocolate bitter, days long and sunny; I love summer, my favourite month is September (where I live September is considered a summer month); I love the smell of the sea, the colour blue; I love Christmas period even though I suffer from the cold; I love spending hours around the table with loved ones and a good bottle of wine or two. I’m a perfectionist and my own critic, I’m not very outspoken as I worry to hurt people’s feelings. I can spend days without leaving my home and constantly baking.
I’m looking forward to sharing with you my kitchen adventures, favourite recipes, experiences and travels. I’m very excited, wish me luck!
Hatice