Hakan Bey, could you tell us a little bit about yourself?

Hello, I am Hakan Kahyaoğlu, the founder of Bewley's Black Beer & Bistro Cafe. My business life started with Belinay Gıda and Vozzi. These processes gave me very valuable experiences in the food sector. However, the passion inside me wanted to take me one step further. I founded Bewley's Black Beer & Bistro Cafe with a new area and a new concept. Everything I learned during this process inspired us to make our brand more original and offer a different experience.

Can you share with us the story of how Bewley's Black Beer & Bistro Cafe was founded?

Bewley's Black Beer was a project where I took a bold step as a young entrepreneur. After the experiences I gained at Belinay Gıda and Vozzi, I aimed to bring a different breath to the sector. I wanted to create a unique place with both its content and atmosphere by blending a creative beer culture and bistro style. My aim was not just to open a cafe or restaurant, but to offer my guests both delicious beers and a pleasant living space. Creating an experience that appealed to different age groups and cultures was our priority.

What Sets Bewley's Black Beer & Bistro Cafe Apart from Other Venues?

First of all, there is real passion in the business. Instead of classic menus or designs, originality and innovation are the focus of our venue. We designed everything in a fresh, creative and dynamic way. While carefully selecting the drinks on our menu, we also created our bistro area as a living space. We aim to offer our guests not only food, coffee and drinks, but also an unforgettable experience.

What Kind of Challenges Have You Encountered in Your Entrepreneurial Journey?

As an entrepreneur, I have always faced some challenges. It was not easy to create a brand at a young age, but every obstacle pushed me to move forward stronger. In the beginning, we experienced financial difficulties and operational difficulties from time to time, but at the end of these processes, we gained valuable experience. Today, we have taken steps to move Bewleys Black Beer & Bistro Cafe to its solid position in the industry, and every challenge has presented us with an opportunity.

What are your future plans and goals?

My goal is to make our Bewley's Black Beer & Bistro Cafe concept a recognized brand not only in the local market but also internationally. We are planning to gradually enter global markets. We also aim to enable our Bistro Cafe to reach a wider audience by implementing the franchise model. I plan to take even bigger steps in the future and always maintain the innovative spirit in the sector.

Source: HORECA TREND 

We would like to hear the founding story of your company from you. How did your journey into the chocolate industry begin?

Original tastes, new places, different experiences excite us and we love exploring life. Simplicity and naturalness have a distinct place in our lives. All these points brought us together with 'Bean to Bar'. While doing research on what a good coffee should be like in 2019, we came across cocoa beans grown in the same climate. When we saw that chocolate could be produced in boutiques outside of factories, our route changed to 'Bean to Bar' chocolate. We bought and tasted many 'Bean to Bar' chocolates from various parts of the world. We discovered the real, pure taste of chocolate with its high cocoa content, which is not bitter and whose tastes vary depending on the cocoa bean. And we decided to produce 'Bean to Bar' chocolate. This mode of production is a practice in Turkey. know-how Since it was not available, we started production by trial and error. 

Our first experiments started by roasting beans in a mini oven at home. Coinciding with the pandemic period, some processes were prolonged or caused disruptions. But when we look back, it was a process in which we learned the way and grew while learning. After a long research and trial process that started at home, we opened our shop in Ortaköy in 2021 and established the Peraru chocolate brand. Since then, we have been producing chocolates in Peraru with the 'Bean to Bar' philosophy that will make you relive their unique story in every bite.

What are the distinctive features that define the chocolates you produce? Could you tell us about your product range?

As Peraru chocolate, we produce tablet chocolates from cocoa beans with the 'Bean to Bar' philosophy. Original, innovative and new chocolates... We reveal the character traits of the cocoa bean that reflect the terroir and the aromas it contains in chocolate, and offer Peraru-specific chocolates with different taste profiles based on each origin. Our two-ingredient chocolates, made with organic cocoa beans and sugar, are additive-free and have high cocoa content, away from the bitter perception of bitters.

In Peraru, we are currently working with cocoa beans of 5 different origins. Each chocolate has different flavors. For example, while Tanzania has a dried fruit, red fruit and prune taste profile with 74% cocoa beans and 26% sugar, Madagascar has a fresh fruit and citrus flavor profile. Belize is a softer bean and this gave us the opportunity to produce chocolates with a higher cocoa percentage. Belize has 74%, 85% and 100% rates. 'Dark Milk', our brand new milk chocolate variety, also has minimal ingredients; It is prepared with 4 ingredients: cocoa beans, sugar, organic milk powder and cocoa butter. Dark milk is a new flavor with a higher cocoa content than milk chocolate, where you can experience both the taste of cocoa and the softness of milk chocolate. We also have chocolates in which our tablet chocolates are flavored and paired with nuts and dried fruits. It went well with Tanzania pistachios, raw Datça almonds and raisins, and Madagascar paired with cocoa nibs and figs. 'Bean to Bar' is a new trend, a new approach for Türkiye. It offers a rich experience not only in its pure form, but also with the general acceptance of coffee and whiskey accompaniments, as well as cheese, wine and even beer pairings.

What steps do you follow in your chocolate production process and what are the important points of these steps?

Starting from the selection of cocoa beans, it is a process in which we control every stage, we are directly involved in making decisions, and our manual labor is involved. Cocoa beans are harvested in the regions where they grow and are shipped in sacks after the fermentation and drying processes. Among the cocoa beans coming to Peraru in sacks Those that are not suitable for chocolate making are removed. Afterwards, roasting, one of the most important stages of the process, enables the unique flavor and aroma profiles of cocoa beans to be revealed. At Peraru chocolate, the roasting profile is decided after a long R&D process. Roasted cocoa beans are crushed into pieces by passing through the crushing machine and the shells of the cocoa beans are separated. The shells are crushed into cocoa using a machine powered by air flow. from their nibs It is separated and the cocoa nibs become ready for chocolate making. After the preparation process, first the cocoa nibs and then the sugar. to the melange is thrown away. Melanger is actually a stone mill, and the stones of the melanger are crushed by crushing cocoa particles and sugar; makes it smooth, shiny and intense. These two ingredients turn into chocolate after 2-3 days in the melange. Once we decide that the taste and texture are settled, we end the process and transfer the chocolate from the melange to the couverture moulds. Chocolate kafter becoming horse Then the blocks are removed from the coverture molds and packaged in an airtight manner. The chocolate matures in blocks on the shelves of our production workshop between 2 and 4 weeks and is ready for tempering. Tempering results in a shiny Peraru chocolate tablet, which you hear the sound of 'KIT' when you break it, and whose aromas are enriched. Each Peraru chocolate tablet is packaged in a lockable packaging. Chocolates that are always fresh and have strong aromas are now ready for you to taste and experience.

What are the reasons for Peraru Chocolate to adopt the 'Bean to Bar' philosophy and how does your chocolate production process work in line with this philosophy?

'Bean to Bar' chocolate production is the way it should be. Ethics is an approach that raises awareness and respects soil, people and food at every stage. Cocoa beans are collected and fermented with scientific experience, reaching their ideal taste, and producers and employees are rewarded for their efforts. We produce chocolate in its simplest form, as it should be, and offer maximum taste to the consumer. Peraru Chocolate's reasons for adopting the 'Bean to Bar' philosophy are based on a number of factors related to quality, authenticity and sustainability. In line with this philosophy, our chocolate production process includes elements such as using carefully selected organic cocoa beans and beet sugar, carefully mastering the production stages and complying with fair trade principles. With the Bean to Bar approach, we focus on delivering the purest and most original flavors to our customers by controlling every step of the chocolate production process.

What do you pay attention to when choosing the raw materials you use in chocolate production?

The main raw material of chocolate is cocoa beans. When selecting and supplying cocoa beans, we choose producers and suppliers who have adopted fair trade principles and provide fair pricing. We support environmental sustainability by using organic cocoa beans. In order to create a different taste profile in each of our chocolate products, we make sure that the cocoa beans are original and high-quality cocoa beans. It is important for us to understand the taste differences between cocoa varieties and sources and to create special flavor profiles using this diversity. We aim for the highest quality by using natural and pure ingredients.

What process do you follow to develop new chocolate flavors or products?

There are many types of cocoa beans in the world, and we are aware of these beautiful cocoa beans :) We are in contact with manufacturers and suppliers. We read, we research, and we request samples of the cocoa beans that interest us. Afterwards, our testing and R&D process begins. At the end of this process, we continue with the cocoa beans we like. Even though we have made trials with samples, after the sacks enter the shop for production, we may have a second trial period that sometimes lasts a week or a month. After different studies, we decide which prescription to continue with. The entry and trial runs of each cocoa bean into our workshop excites us. We also do a lot of tasting. We are trying new flavors and chocolates from around the world. Sometimes we go after chocolates with interesting flavor profiles that excite us and we find the source of the cocoa bean.

– What is your company's approach to sustainability and environmentally friendly practices?

Bean-to-bar chocolate makers care about the source of cocoa, the production process, and sustainability practices. This approach supports supply chain transparency and ethical practices in the chocolate industry.

As Peraru chocolate, we primarily use sustainable raw materials. We supply the cocoa beans we use in chocolate production from sustainable sources and in accordance with fair trade principles. All of the cocoa beans we supply are grown with natural and organic farming methods, chemical fertilizers and pesticides are not used, and have certifications such as Fair Trade, Organic and USDA. This is very important in terms of protecting soil health and supporting biodiversity.

The bean to bar production model allows you to control the process of turning cocoa beans into chocolate from start to finish. This supports the transparent and honest progress of our production process. We tell our customers the story of our products, their advantages and contributions to sustainability as much as we can. We want every customer who comes to our shop to taste our products and we offer a unique tasting experience. Knowledge and experience encourage a conscious consumption approach and behavior. Bean to bar chocolate production is a sector that can be done in compliance with the principles of sustainability and justice, and Peraru is an example of future sustainable production models.

What are your future goals? Are you thinking of expanding into new markets or expanding your product range? 

We want to introduce and explain 'Bean to Bar' to wider audiences with our own brand and products and to increase the awareness of 'Bean to Bar' in our country. We are a reference brand of Bean to Bar in Turkey and it is among our goals to reinforce this. We are working to provide a more interactive experience to our customers through various sales points, online platforms and special events to strengthen the customer experience.

There are so many cocoa beans discovered and still to be discovered in the world. We plan to offer customers more choices by expanding our chocolate assortment and Bean to Bar product range. We aim to strengthen the creative side of our brand by working on new flavors, special collections and industry-leading chocolate innovations. With sustainability-focused projects, we aim to make our chocolate production processes and supply chain more sustainable, reduce our environmental impact and focus more on fair trade principles. In line with these goals, we aim to grow as Peraru Chocolate and offer our customers a unique, high-quality and sustainable chocolate experience.

Source: HORECA Trend 

Gastronomy in Turkey has become one of our common agenda items with the support of the media. A significant portion of the most watched TV programs focus on gastronomy. So, does this interest really have any depth? How important are food, drink and gastronomy in Turkey?

Many TV programs have references to gastronomy, some have competitions, and some have recipes. This is not only valid for Türkiye, there is also a great interest in gastronomy programs in the world. Most likely, some cooking programs will disappear like soap bubbles, such as those in which people mostly argue, argue and fight with each other within the framework of cooking competitions. But on the other hand, real competition programs and recipe programs will continue. Today, there is great interest in gastronomy schools in Turkey, and young chefs trained here show interest in such competitions, as well as the end consumer, who wants to learn and apply new recipes at home and taste new tastes. It is definitely easier and more enjoyable to follow and apply the recipe by seeing it from a chef's hand rather than applying the recipe from a magazine or book. On the other hand, food in Turkey is truly a central element of our culture. We have always given cultural importance to food in our daily lives and on special occasions such as holidays and weddings.

When gastronomy is mentioned in Turkey, only "food" comes to mind. The "drinking" aspect of gastronomy seems to be generally ignored. However, one of the most important accompaniments to meals in the world is beverages, such as wine. In your opinion, where do we stand on this issue?

You are very right when you say that. Gastronomy includes food, beverages, and even the ambience of the environment in which they are consumed. Alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages are an important complement to the meal. Professionals call this F&B (food & beverage), that is, food and beverage business, and the French define it as oral profession.

Türkiye, and especially Anatolia, is the zero point of wine, so wine most likely originated from this geography and spread to the world. Additionally, Anatolia is one of the rare countries that has its own wine grapes. The way to increase added value in gastronomy and especially in tourism is to offer food and beverage together. Even if the service provider does not consume it himself, I think he should offer alcoholic beverages along with food in his establishment in order for gastronomy tourism to develop healthily. Thus, it both increases the income of the service provider and appeals to a wider consumer base. As you know, today people travel a lot, both domestically and abroad, to taste and discover new tastes. Wouldn't it be good for foreigners to discover local wines?

Food-drink pairings are mostly wine and maybe beer, as they are relatively low in alcohol. What kind of accompaniment do you think Raki is? We usually pair it with fish, but I'm curious about your sincere thoughts on this subject. Should you eat with raki or continue with the appetizers?

Of course, around the world, lower alcohol drinks such as wine or beer are preferred with meals. But high-grade alcoholic beverages It is also frequently criticized for its food. For example, like raki in our culture. But 40 degrees of alcohol is very strong in the mouth. High alcoholic beverages are generally diluted with water and paired with the meal, as they are present before the meal. For this reason, we culturally add water to raki during meals. I think the alcohol level is related to food
When paired it should be around 20% in the drink. For this reason, I drink raki by simply adding water. In this way, I can enjoy the taste of the raki and it does not obscure the taste of the food I eat with it.

We see the dominance of French, Japanese and Italian cuisine in the world. There are other noteworthy countries such as Spain and Mexico. Where do you see the place of Turkish cuisine in this competition? What are our advantages and disadvantages?

Anatolian cuisine must have a very important place among world cuisines. But we cannot market this business as well as the French, Japanese or Italians. As we just talked about, we cannot see and explain the food and beverage business holistically. We have just started to get to know the dishes of different regions of Turkey. Gastrofest and fairs are very useful in this regard. 

In order to promote Anatolian cuisine, we must learn to export and promote our cuisine and culture both at home and abroad, representing our cuisine accurately and adapting it to the cultural codes of the country to which we export our cuisine (such as hygiene and taste preference). As a result, unfortunately, Anatolian cuisine is not in the position it deserves among world cuisines. 

After Istanbul, Izmir and Bodrum were also included in the Michelin Guide. Afterwards, Gault & Millau again attracted attention with its Türkiye selection. What do you think about the contributions of these guides to gastronomy in Turkey?

So far, we have played and played ourselves while evaluating restaurants. This issue was under the monopoly of a few people. Of course this is not healthy. The professional evaluation systems you mentioned started to evaluate our external kitchen service as a third eye. There are definitely some omissions or mistakes. But at the end of the day, this created a new motivation and competition on the supply side, as well as a new measurement criterion on the demand side. It will be of great benefit, especially to people coming to Turkey from abroad. I believe that these evaluations will make a great contribution to our gastronomy and us over time.

Michelin's choices were a matter of debate in Turkey. Many names, such as Vedat Milor, criticized Michelin on this issue. What do you think about this? Were there any restaurants that surprised you whether they received Michelin or not?

As I just said, evaluating restaurants is not the monopoly of individuals. It takes time for evaluation systems to adapt to a country. There may be some places that are overlooked and forgotten, as well as some categories that are not evaluated at all. For example, kebab shops. Inspectors coming from abroad, who are professionals, will make more accurate evaluations as they get to know the country over time.

As HORECA TREND, we organize the "Tadım Ankara" event, one of the biggest tasting events in the region, in Ankara every year. You are also a very hardworking and active person in this regard. How important are such events and trainings open to general participation for the development of gastronomy in Turkey?

Every event where amateurs meet with professionals in gastronomy, or where amateurs meet among themselves or professionals meet among themselves, will be beneficial for the sector. Both on the amateur side and on the professional side... Additionally, workshops, tastings and interviews are very important in terms of interaction.

Reference points are very important when it comes to gastronomy and food. What kind of a route would you draw for someone who wants to experience world cuisine and create good reference points? Which countries would you recommend young people and young chefs to visit first?

First of all, I start with countries where gastronomy has great benefits for tourism. As you just gave an example, France, Italy, Spain and Japan are very good examples. Of course, this is a job with a high budget. Apart from this, South American countries such as Peru and Argentina are the right routes to explore the gastronomy of Middle Eastern countries. I think Australia, which combines different cuisines and creates new ones, is a good example.

HORECA Trend is delivered free of charge to 5.000 hotels, restaurants, cafes and catering establishments in Turkey by mail. Most of our readers are business owners and industry professionals who work for Turkey's gastronomy. What would you like to say to businesses and professionals in the HORECA field? What are the things that make you say, “Oh, I wish we didn't do this” or “It would be great if we did that”?

It will be very useful to first get to know the gastronomy of your own country, then get to know the cuisines of the countries that have become leaders in the world, and then learn about promising cuisines. Apart from this, it is equally important to read and research a lot. After all, gastronomy is not a static phenomenon; it evolves with geography, culture and time. Unfortunately, you cannot say "I learned this job". It is necessary to constantly pursue innovations. It requires a lot of budget and time. It is necessary to treat this as a hobby and allocate time and money to it.

Source: HORECA Trend