Istanbul Culinary Institute

Karen Bornarth

Karen Bornarth works as an instructor and the instructional coordinator for the bread program at The French Culinary Institute in New York City.  Prior to joining the FCI, she worked as a mixer/supervisor on the night shift at Amy’s Bread in New York City and taught occasionally at the Artisan Baking Center at the Consortium for Worker Education in Queens, New York.  Karen joined the staff at Amy’s after finishing the Baking and Pastry Certificate Program at the Culinary Institute of America at Greystone.  She’s been actively involved with the Bread Bakers Guild of America and writes a regular column called “Life on the Bench’  for the Guild newsletter.  Karen also writes regularly about food and other subjects for Martha Stewart magazines.  She lives in Brooklyn, New York.

Hande Bozdogan

Born in Ankara, Turkey, Hande Bozdogan holds a degree in Economics from the Bosphorus University in Istanbul. Driven by her passion for the culinary arts, she attended certificate courses in cooking and baking at the Bath School of Cookery in UK and the Culinary Institute of America in Poughkeepsie, NY. She also holds a grand diploma from the French Culinary Institute in New York. Hande lived for several years in New York and London and traveled extensively from the Caribbean to Africa, from South America to Southeast Asia, exploring different culinary cultures across the globe. From running her own café in Istanbul to heading the Dunkin Donuts chain in Turkey, Hande has been involved in the food industry since 1994. Her book, “Flavours of the Street, Turkey” , focusing on the seasonality and the street food in Turkey, has won the Gourmand Award in 2005.

Banu Ozden

Banu Ozden started working in the restaurant upon graduation from Clark University with a degree in Business Administration. She worked at Bertucci’s Oven Ristorante in Boston as a kitchen manager for over five years. At Bertucci’s, she was responsible from the operations of the kitchen, assisted the executive chef in menu developments and thought classes on sanitation to the employees. She holds a Basic Kitchen Training certificate from Culinary Institute of America and a Serve Safe Certificate from National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation.
Banu also holds a Certificate on Gastronomy and Wine from Tourist Guide Association and guides our walking tours.

Fehmi Samancı

Fehmi holds a degree in economics from the Marmara University. He also studied NOVACC Hospitality Management & Culinary Arts in VA, USA. He has integrated his business experience with his passion for cooking. He holds a Serve Safe Certificate from the Virginia State department of health.
After working on world cuisine for many years in the States, his real fascination for Ottoman and Turkish cuisine became his main interest. Upon returning to Turkey, he continued to improve his experience in Kanyon Konyalı Restaurant and Istanbul Marriott Hotel Asia. Fehmi has been working at IstCI since May, 2008.

 

Allen Smith

Allen Smith is a lead instructor at The Institute of Culinary Education (ICE) in New York City.  In 2008, he has been consulting chef/food stylist for NBC’s Today Show. Smith began as a part-time instructor at ICE in 1986 and continued in that role thru 1998.  During that period, he was also the Executive Chef and Food Service Director at J+W Seligman & Co. in New York. From 1998 to 2004, Chef Smith lived in Santa Fe, New Mexico, working as an instructor at The Santa Fe School of Cooking, and Santa Fe Community College.
A native Texan, Chef Smith holds a degree in Restaurant Management from Dallas Community College. He continued his culinary education in Paris, France where he received a Grand Diplome from La Varenne Ecole de Cuisine. He worked in Europe, notably as Chef de Cuisine for the Nigerian Embassy in Paris and private chef at Rossenarra House in Kilkenny, Ireland.
Smith is a past chairman of the certification committee of the International Association of Culinary Professionals (IACP), and he is a Certified Culinary Professional. Among his favorite words of advice to students are that “they keep an open mind to everything they taste, and that they remember they are all in the hospitality industry.��?

Bülent Metin

Was born in 1978 Bolu, Mengen and 3rd generation chef in his family. Bülent Metin has worked on Turkish and world cuisine for many years such Ülker Chocolate Factory in Istanbul, İÜ Cerrahpasa Medical Faculty, Hyatt Regency Istanbul, Lacivert Restaurant, Galatasaray Island, Kırıntı Restaurant/Nişantaşı and the latest Harvey Nichols Gilt Bar & Brasserie..Working at IstCI Since its establishment and started as a sous-chef and now he is the chef of the Enstitü Restaurant and teaches Turkish Cuisine workshops..

Feyza Bayrakçıoğlu

After graduating of computer engineering in 2003, worked in Honeywell Company as a project engineer.With a sudden decision in the summer of 2005 decided to have her second degree in culinary arts at Miami Johnson and Wales.
After completing internship at Istanbul Ritz Carlton Hotel, continued working at Four Seasons Miami, Fratelli Lyon Lyon Lyon Catering and fine dining places, such as work experience increased she focused on desserts..
Since 2008 working at Enstitü Restaurant and teaches the Introduction to Pastry and Some Like it Sweet workshops.

 

GUEST LECTURERS

Ayca Çiğdem Budak

Ayca Budak holds a degree in economics from the Istanbul University. She also studied language and culture in England and France. She began her career in the wine industry as a sales representative at ATU Duty Free Vintage Wine Store. During this period she obtained the Doluca Gold Corkscrew Certificate. Afterwards she was a public relations and wine training specialist at Kavaklıdere Wines for two years. Since 2005, Ayca Budak has been in charge of marketing and training at Kayra Wines. She is a recipient of the International Wine & Spirits Education Trust’s Advanced Certificate.

Sharon Croxford

After ten years of practising as a dietitian in both Australia and England, she trained as a chef at Leith’s School of Food and Wine in London during 2000. Since then she has worked as both a chef and dietitian. In the past five years Sharon has combined both skills to teach cooking, food science, nutrition and dietetics at King’s College in London for part of each year while realising the foundations of the workshop in Istanbul.

Omer Faruk Dak

A graduate of the University of Milan, Faruk Dak founded the Metropolitan Coffee Company in 1997. His education in coffee started at a very young age growing up in a house where everyone drank Turkish coffee. Importing coffee beans from various continents and subsequently spending time in the plantations further solidified his stature in the industry. Today Metropolitan Coffee is a leading coffee importer in Turkey. Mr. Dak teaches the proper techniques on how to prepare coffee at various establishments and he continues to share his love and knowledge with other coffee enthusiasts.

Nevin Halıcı

Dr.Nevin Halıcı, internationally acclaimed food writer and researcher of culinary cultures, uncovers the hidden treasures of Anatolian Turkish cuisine through extensive field work and interviews with local women, compiling her findings with remarkable devotion and meticulous attention to detail. As one of the few people who can speak authoritatively on Turkish culinary culture, she is a distinguished cultural envoy for Turkey and for her native Konya. Her Türk Yemekleri Kitabı (Turkish Cookbook) has been published in Europe in English and German editions. Most notable among her other publications are Türk Mutfagı (Turkish Cuisine), Siniden Tepsiye (“from baking pan to serving tray”) and above all, Mevlevi Mutfağı (Sufi Cuisine), the product of 20 years of research, which was published in English.

S. Aysun Sökmen

Istanbul University Faculty of  Economy, Economics Department graduate in 1994.After working in textiles industry for 12 years ;decided to invest on a dairyfarm and developed her carier in cattle husbandry.Since 2000 she manages 200 milking cow capacity farm with her partner/husband and offers top quality heifers and raw milk.Her herd is the very first herd in Istanbul that received “Free of Disease Certificate” from the Ministry of Agriculture in 2005 and keeps its healthy status by then.Aysun Sökmen is the founder president of Tüsedad(Turkish Milk,Beef and Breeding Cattle Association)She also played an important role on building Istanbul Cattle Breeder’s Union.She has received scholarships and attended at Cattle Breeding related programs in Pennstate (USA) and Harper Adams (UK).

Michelangelo De Lauretis

Michelangelo De Lauretis was born in Rome and has been living in Istanbul since 2001. He teaches Italian language at Sabancı University and at the Italian Consulate in Istanbul. He studied Liberal Arts at the University of Rome and finished a master degree in Cultural Antropology at the same university. Michelangelo has shown interest in cuisines of the world and kitchen cultures. He has attanded many professional and amateur cooking courses. He followed his chef mother’s footsteps, worked in a restaurant in Venice. He has been teaching Italian cooking for many years.

Pierre Jean Levy

He has been working in professional kitchens since 1975. He started his career as a trainee for 3 years in Ozoir-la-Ferriere, France near Paris.
After working in France for 11 years, he worked in Switzerland, Sweden, China, and Turkey, exposing himself to different cultures and cuisines.  He likes to incorporate his own knowledge of French cuisine with the cuisines of the countires he worked at to create dishes that focuses on naturally and locally grown products.Since 2004 he has been living in Turkey and worked for the Ulus 29 Concepts.
An avid traveller, he is constantly searching for new tastes and food experiences.

Dr. Ozge Samanci

Upon completing her graduate studies in History at Bogazici University in Istanbul, she has continued her PhD studies in Food History at EHESS, a well-known academic institute of France. She is a well-regarded food historian, specializing in Turkish-Ottoman cuisine. Her articles have been published in academic journals and popular magazines. Since 2003 she has been teaching food and culinary history at a private university in Istanbul. Ozge is passionate about creating authentic recipes that respect historical evidence and sharing these through discussions, lectures and demonstrations.

Ümit Yüksel

Mr.Ümit Yuksel received his professional training in Tekirdağ Anadolu Vocational High School of Hospitality and Tourism and graduated in 1992 with a first place in the cooking contest among all vocational schools. He completed his training in Eskişehir Graduate School of Hospitality and Tourism, earned the top prize in the nation-wide culinary contest of 1997 and joined Turkey’s national team of chefs. Having participated in numerous international events and competitions in Germany, England, Malta and Russia among other places, Mr.Yüksel’s career is adorned with many prestigous awards and certificates.

Cemal Turkan

Born in 1953 in Bolu, he started working at Istanbul Hilton and Buyuk Tarabya Oteli as an apprentice. He is a graduate of CNEC in Paris and holds degrees from J.Drouan school of hospitality management and Paris Chambre des Metier CAP on international cuisine. Chef Turkan is in charge of the culinary division in Mengen’s Izzet Baysal University. He is the author of many text books and culinary books.