Chefs inject world street food into Restaurant Week across Turkey

It seems that every week a new festival is announced to Istanbulites. This news is like a second awakening for the city at the start of spring, promising new beginnings represented by fresh, well-cooked food. If this sounds like your cup of tea, Restaurant Week -- featured not only in Istanbul but across the country - is sure to satisfy your taste buds.

Including 150 restaurants in seven cities - Istanbul, Ankara, İzmir, Bursa, Adana, Antalya and Gaziantep - the seventh edition of this gastronomy event starts on Friday. Inspired by the chosen theme, "Sokak Lezzetleri" (Street Tastes), Restaurant Week ends on April 30. Participating restaurants will introduce their creative interpretations of common street food while artistic and musical events will accompany guests to create memorable moments. This year's concept not only centers on Turkish food but also foods made by local street vendors from all over the world which have been integrated into restaurant menus by master chefs. Imagine that you find street-style grilled chicken at Jaime's Italian Restaurant in Zorlu Center or grilled sheep intestines made by a Shangri-La Bosporus chef. The Restaurant Week will satisfy the gourmet foodie during the whole month.

The main program of Restaurant Week includes various categories: "Degustation Menus," designed by 20 prominent chefs from fine-dining restaurants around Istanbul, "Chef's Table," "Street Food and Street Jazz" and "Street Food Party." From April 1 to April 2, complimentary food and drinks will be served in Istanbul's high-end Nişantaşı neighborhood on the European side and along Bağdat Avenue on the Asian side of the city. To fully immerse yourself in the culinary life of Istanbul, exclusive street tours known as, "Istanbul Semt ve Lezzet Turları" (Istanbul Neighborhood and Taste Tours) will be offered by professional guides Saffet Emre Tonguç and Bahar Akıncı. Tonguç will take food buffs to Istanbul's gentrifying Karaköy neighborhood while Akıncı will visit the historic Balat and Hasköy areas with visitors. In a harmonic synthesis of food and art, artists like Sabo Akdağ, Cansu Gürsu, Nazlı Erdemir and Serkan Yolcu will display their "Street Food Installations" at certain venues. Here are some highlights from the main program:

Michelin-star chefs flock to Istanbul



Michelin-star British Chef Josh Eggleton, Thai Chef Vatcharin Bhumichitr and Italy's Michelin star as well as Christina Bowerman, the multi-talented chef with a passion for travel and innovative cooking, will come together for Restaurant Week on April 3 at the Halat Restaurant by Divan inside the Rahmi Koç Museum complex starting at 12:00 p.m. There, Chef Faysal Üren will also participate in the culinary feast. Eggleton, the chef patron of "The Pony & Trap" with a well established reputation for his ethos of sustainability and seasonality, will be preparing his fish finger sandwich with pickled red cabbage.

On April 7, the Brunelle Restaurant in Kadıköy will be ready to host guests with its "Street Food & Street Jazz" concept, while Escale on the first floor of the upscale Kanyon shopping mall in Levent will join Restaurant Week with its degustation menu on April 20. On April 22, another degustation menu will be available at Saklı Köşk in Moda accompanied by

a street party where guests will be able to sample several signature dishes all in one place. Shangri-La Bosporus Istanbul will take guests to Far-East Asian countries with its menu; ranging from street food such as Kuala Lumpur's "curry puff," an ideal afternoon snack stuffed with curried potatoes and succulent chicken chunks, to Bangkok's "pad Thai," a stir-fried rice noodle dish commonly served at take-out restaurants or casual eateries in Thailand.

Street-food night in Ankara



On April 23 James Cook, located in the city's Kavaklıdere neighborhood, will throw a street food party at night. Then, one week later on April 29, La Giogia in Ankara will join Restaurant Week with its degustation menu. The cafe boasts the most traditional and special tastes of Italian and European cuisine, where coziness is blended with Parisian elegance. On the last day of Restaurant Week, Marlinda Ethic Foods, offering ethnic food with a modern twist, will be serving a degustation menu.

Turkey's gastronomy capital welcomes foodies



Taking its place among UNESCO's network of gastronomy cities, Gaziantep's mouth-watering cuisine and street food will be served on April 16 at the historic Bayazhan Restaurant, which was built by stonemasons from Aleppo at the commission of merchant Bayaz Ahmed Agha. The local dishes of Gaziantep are many and they vary; from kebab and stuffed dried eggplant to mumbar (stuffed sheep's intestines) and katmer (fried layered pastries). Here, guests have a chance to taste the traditional street food that is unique to Gaziantep and Turkey's southeastern region in Bayazhan's backyard. For more details and the full schedule, check the event's official website www.restoranhaftasi.com or its social media accounts. Be sure to make your reservations early for all events in the program.