“Heat gently until brown”

No, this isn’t beach tanning tips – instead, it’s instructions you may hear when you attend a one-day cooking class and demo with Aslı, chef and owner of Erenler Sofrası restaurant in Ortakent.  As well as running the restaurant, she also offers cooking classes and demos at the same location.

Something Special

Next year is a milestone birthday for me, so I’ve been searching for events and activities I can do on the Bodrum Peninsula which are a little bit out of the ordinary.  Two of my favourite Turkish activities, are visiting the local markets, and savouring a leisurely meal while enjoying spectacular views.  It looks like I can hit both of these favourites, during a one-day cooking class at Erenler Sofrası.

Aslı took some time away from the kitchen recently for a BPTG interview, and it was a great opportunity to discover more about her culinary passions.

My Interview with Chef Aslı:

RJ:  Running a resataurant is a lot of work, what made you decide to offer classes as well?

Aslı:  It is a lot of work, but even before the Restaurant I wanted to offer classes that would give an idea of the real Turkish food.  The food that you can rarely find in restaurants.

Internationally when you say Turkish Food most people think that it is kebabs.  I love kebabs but it is only a small entrance to Turkish Food, we have a vast variety of ways of cooking, and every region has its own different recipes.  I’ve spent a lot of time researching and traveling within Turkey, as well as abroad.

What we cook and teach here in Erenler Sofrasi is Turkish home cooking, with style and focus on South Aegean recipes mostly with fresh vegetables and olive oil.

RJ:  Are you originally from this area of Turkey?

Aslı:  No, I am from Istanbul and moved to Bodrum 4 years ago, and am very happy with the relocation.

RJ:  What made you choose Ortakent?

Aslı:  It was a dream come true, I fell in love with this place Yarbasan Stone Houses in Ortakent, Bodrum, from the very start of the project and I wished to be a part of it.  It’s a very special place that brings history and culture back to life.

So here I am running the Restaurant at the center of the Village, managing the Holiday Homes and Cooking Classes 🙂

RJ:  Are classes available all year – or just during the season?

Aslı:  Yes, the classes are year around on Wednesdays, Thursdays, Fridays and Sundays.

We are also working on Culinary Adventure Weeks where people can come and stay with us and cook, and we are launching a new website for our cooking programs (www.cookingclassesbodrum.com).

In February every year, I travel and do Turkish cooking classes in different parts of the world, other than that we are here in Bodrum and offering cooking classes all year.

RJ:  What are your favourite ingredients?

Aslı:  I am so in love with the Bodrum Farmers Market, everything is so fresh and there are so many varieties every season, I cannot tell what is my favourite. Every Market day it is possible to find something that is new and fresh for that season. It is great.

I guess olive oil, garlic and lemon are my essentials when cooking.

RJ:  Which markets do buy your ingredients from for your classes?

Aslı:  We do a different market and a different menu on every market day.

• Wednesdays it’s Ortakent Market
• Thursdays it’s Yalıkavak Market
• Fridays it’s Bodrum Market, and on
• Sundays it’s the Gumbet Market

RJ:  What dishes do you make most frequently?

Aslı:  We do a lot of Böreks with filo pastry and a lot of aubergine (egg plant) dishes.

We usually decide with the group (maximum 8 people per day) what to cook for that day at the market. Depending on what they like to eat.  We did a lot of vegetarian dishes this summer.

RJ:  What’s a Cooking Class schedule look like?

Aslı:  We pick people up from their hotels or from a meeting point, and go to the market of the day to shop for the ingredients. Then we head back to Yarbasan to our restaurant Erenler Sofrası and do a minimum 5 course cooking classes, and then serve a late lunch including a glass of fine Turkish Wine.

The total price for this one day class is 75 Euros per person.  We also offer weekly cooking classes including accommodation, as well as private cooking classes if requested.

RJ:  Do you have a cookbook, or plan on writing one?

Aslı:  That’s another dream for me – I hope it will become true one day.  I am writing down my recipes and hope to make them into a book one day.  I email my recipes to my cooking class attendees after the class though.

RJ:  Thanks for chatting with me today Aslı

Aslı:  Thank you for your time, and please come and taste our food whenever you are in Bodrum

Additional Links and Information:

Related Articles in the Hürriyet Daily News:

• Read an Hürriyet Daily News Article about Enrenler Sofrası
• Read an: Hürriyet Daily News Article about Yarbasan Stone Houses
• Read an: Hürriyet Daily News Article about Guest Chef Nights at Yarbasan

Map, Directions and Photo Gallery:

• Click here to view the Photo Gallery for the Cooking Classes

 

Recent Changes for Bodrum Cookery Classes:

Previously located within the Yarbasan Evleri complex, Chef Asli now hosts her cookery classes in a new location on the main road to Turgutreis, on the left just before Pala Nursery.

These classes are offered to small groups of locals and holidaymakers. The one-day class includes a trip to a local farmers market to buy the ingredients, and ends with everyone around the table to taste the day’s creations.

Also available are four-day courses, one week culinary retreats, private cookery lessons and culinary team building events.

Asli, the founder is a former travel executive. She comes from a family of tutors her great grandfather was a physics teacher and her grandfather was a Professor in Economics, her father still teaches at the naval accademy and she herself was a part time teacher at a University in Istanbul, she says “teaching is in my genes.” She spent some time in U.S.A and Belgium when she was groving up owing to her fathers diplomatic career. After a long career in Istanbul, running a travel company and a hotel she changed her life to become a chef in Bodrum. She has collected many recipes and stories while travelling all over Turkey and abroad and inherited many from her family members and now she is running a well know restaurant in Bodrum and is willing to share what she has saved all her life and is trying to promote Turkish Cuisine to the world as much as she can. She is the co-founder of SlowFood Bodrum convivium and is trying to save ancient recipes in the area with her fellow members.

• Tel: +90 (532) 248 2479
• cooking@cookingclassesbodrum.com

• www.cookingclassesbodrum.com

 

 

 

   

 

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© Lemon and Garlic Photo

© All other photo’s from Erenler Sofrası/Yarbasan Stone Houses