Turkish housewives training pastry chefs
Houseviwes who recieved training in pastry making provided by the quartet learn how to make cakes and decorate them with sugar paste.


Four housewives living in Gaziantep province put their experiences to use for training pastry chefs. Türkan Özturan, Fatoş Gül, Pınar Demirsoy and Melisa Yıldırım, who started to voluntarily train after taking pastry courses, have become a hope for housewives for the last two years.

Organizing training for women whom they get in touch with via social media, the volunteer instructors also prepared the book titled, "Four Chefs in Kitchen," with the support of the governorship and municipalities.

One of the instructors, Türkan Özturan, 28, told Anadolu Agency (AA) that she has nine years of training in pastry for and has been passing on her knowledge to housewives for two years now. Saying that she started the course as a form of therapy, Özturan stated that this enthusiasm turned into a passion for her. She continued, "I started with baking cookies and continued to improve myself. Then, I wanted to put this training to use. We started to train housewives. We met 80 women in the two-year period. Some of the women we trained received orders and started to work. They dream of opening their own shops. Housewives have no economic freedom. We want them to earn their own living. We teach the system and those who have determination sustain it. I love baking cakes. We train voluntarily. Besides, we wrote a pastry book that will guide housewives. I applied to the Prime Ministry Communications Center (BİMER) for it. They directed me to the governorship and the Şahinbey and Şehitkamil municipalities. The book will be published on March 30 with their support."

'We try to reveal their inner pastry talent'

Another instructor, Fatoş Gül, 34, implied that she wanted to put her training to good use and be a hope to people. Noting that pastry is an art, Gül said the happiness of the trainees makes her satisfied.

She added, "We try to reveal the pastry talent in housewives. They should know that they can do it. They shouldn't be jobless and should earn their own money. It is the best feeling in the world. I want to improve myself in this field by learning a lot more."

'We aim to lead them, preparing a book'

Melisa Yıldırım, 22, the youngest chef among the quartet, stressed that they want to lead housewives. Stating that women should not feel incapable or desperate, Yıldırım said, "If I can do it, anyone can. I have been trying to do everything for my 14-month-old baby and husband. We teach how to make cakes and decorate them with sugar paste. We prepared a book. It will serve as a guide to those who don't know where and how to begin."