Welcome to Ankara. I'd like to hear from you about Alaz Restaurant. What is Alaz?

Alaz represents the Migration Route Cuisine. We bring together all the products from the Migration Route and interpret the dishes by incorporating those traditions. However, none of the ingredients we use here are foreign to us; they are all prepared using techniques we know.

We offer familiar ingredients with a slightly modern twist. We use open fires, marinade techniques, and prepare dishes using traditional cooking methods. In short, Alaz is that kind of restaurant.

Can you tell us a little about Alaz? When we first enter, we're greeted by a wood fire. There are reliefs, each with its own meaning. How did you build the space and what was its concept?

Normally, restaurants build the restaurant first, then write the menu. So, very few people write the menu and then build a restaurant. In other words, very few people write the menu and then build a restaurant. We particularly focused on the architecture, taking an old Turkish house and an inn as a base. Like every house, it has a kitchen, a living room, and a garden. We've adapted the traditional house model of our traditions to the restaurant, and we have three very special reliefs depicting both the drinks and the food. One of these is connected to the bar, and the other to the restaurant. Everything we use in our restaurant is copper and iron, unique to those days. Tables were built to match those colors. More precisely, we developed the menu around the migration route and open fire concept, and then built the restaurant. That's how we're proceeding now.

Your restaurant in Bodrum primarily serves fish. So why didn't you choose a fish-focused restaurant in Ankara?

It was actually a dream of mine: to open a restaurant with an open fire and a migratory route concept. Our menu includes both seafood and meat. Of course, we cook our meats here, cooked to perfection, over an open fire. We also have meticulously prepared appetizers and delicacies made with mushrooms and herbs. We also have special recipes like octopus with gum mastic. So, I wanted to realize my dream in Ankara and brought this concept to life.

We tasted your menu and even asked you, "Which one do you prefer?" So, do you have a favorite, Chef Mehmet?

My particular favorites are: "Göbeklitepe," made from mushrooms found on the Migration Route, our zucchini cizre, our liver, and our milk liver. We also have delicious salads. Our desserts, which fit our theme, include options like Kozalak (a type of pine cone) and Kömür (a type of coal). We use both local ingredients from Ankara and ingredients unique to the Migration Route. I highly recommend everyone who visits to try our meats.

Beyond being a Turkish restaurant, how does Mehmet Şefim Alaz aim to gain a place for itself in the global gastronomy scene?

In essence, Alaz is a representative of Turkish cuisine. The restaurant interprets dishes using ingredients from our roots; both its cooking techniques and the way it is prepared reflect Turkish cuisine. With its interior concept, architecture, and every detail, including its open fire, wood-burning oven, and smoldering techniques, Alaz can truly be considered a fine representation of Turkish cuisine.

 

Your son has a very successful team behind this wonderful organization, right? Can we talk about that a little bit?

Yes, there's Emre here, Emre Yalçınkaya, my oldest son. He's worked with us for years. Now we've put him in charge of this concept. We need to prepare for these things. Emre has been so involved in the concept that he's been involved since the construction period, so he's been in control of every detail, the menu, everything here. Of course, as you know, he has an uncle, Mithat Yalçınkaya. We put on the white coats.

“My Tradesman Book Contains Not Lost, But Forgotten Dishes”

Shall We Talk About Your Tradesman Book? What Did You Say There?

So, the story behind my writing the Esnaf book actually came from a young kid who asked me something. After we cooked Turkish food on the program, he asked, "What does vegetable meatballs mean?" "What does sour meatballs mean?" That actually triggered me a bit. So, yes, we tell young people, "You're not interested in Turkish cuisine," and so on, but what do we give them? With this in mind, the Esnaf book actually features dishes we cook in stoves and ovens, not lost dishes, but forgotten dishes. We also examined tradesmen's restaurants, and I can say that most of the dishes in these tradesmen's restaurants were actually made in homes and passed on to restaurants. In fact, tradesmen's restaurants were first established in ports like this. Because, as everyone knows, because there were so many people, they brought their food from home, and tradesmen's restaurants emerged in ports and places with many guests. In the book, we examined both forgotten dishes, tradesmen's restaurants, and the dishes we consume most. I think it was quite helpful.

“Ankara Became a Place Where I Made My Dreams Come True”

You're busy with your MasterChef schedule, but you don't neglect Ankara. You're at Alaz twice a week, Saturdays and Sundays, I believe.

Sometimes, if I'm not filming, I'm here Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. I'll be in Ankara after the season ends. Ankara has been a place where I've realized my dreams. Of course, the concept of our restaurant in Istanbul is wonderful, as is our restaurant in Bodrum; but this one reflects my dreams even more. I'm also giving it special attention because it's a restaurant I'm looking to develop. Our restaurant has only been open for six or seven months, so we're still in its "baby" phase. We spend most of our time here; as you know, we have a very young team, and we're developing them. That's why we're dedicating more time to it.

Because we're a sectoral publication, we talk to many chefs. We know that MasterChef has a huge mission in promoting Turkish gastronomy in Türkiye. You've instilled a love of food and cooking in young people. So, what would you like to say to our young friends who want to become chefs?

They should never forget their roots. As I mentioned at today's event, three or four of our dishes are inspired by their mother's cooking and traditional cuisine. If they're starting out in this profession, they should first remember their roots and thoroughly learn their own cuisine. Then, they can develop their skills in different cuisines.

There's something I always say: It's nearly impossible for a cook who hasn't fully embraced their own cuisine or embraced that culture to embrace different culinary cultures. The reason is simple: First, you must learn your own unique cuisine to integrate with others. Cooking techniques around the world are fundamentally the same, and you'll always encounter them.

If you went to Australia or America today, no one would ask you to cook an Italian dish; you would be expected to cook a Turkish dish. Because everyone is judged on their own expertise. Therefore, the most important thing we can tell all young people is to learn their own cuisine first and never forget their roots.

Is there anything you would like to say to HORECA TREND readers in the form of a message?

You're doing a fantastic job. We're already part of the HORECA group; we're involved in this industry. We know you're a magazine that has truly been working in the industry for years. This was our first chance to interview you, and you can follow developments in the industry here. You have a very qualified team; thank you.

Source: HORECA TREND

How did your interest in gastronomy develop? What motivated you to make food the center of your life and choose this profession?

It's been about 23-24 years since I started this profession. More than my mother's ancestry from Bolu, it was my grandfather's love and passion for this profession that excited me and pushed me towards it. During my childhood, unlike most families who discussed football or politics on weekends, our home was filled with conversations about food, kitchen processes, and other aspects of hotel kitchens. Later, I chose to enter this sector because of my grandfather's enthusiasm, discipline, and systematic approach to running a business that was considered an art form.

What inspires you most when designing a menu? What role do local produce, seasonality, or the influence of world cuisines play in your menu creation process?

I love to excite people; I want our kitchen team to unite and come up with more innovative products. Since I started my career, I've been pushing the boundaries of the traditional. I incorporate herbs and vegetables, and we're not limited to meat and fish. We first discuss the different products we discover within our team to see how they can be adapted to our dishes. Then, we integrate those adapted products into our menu. We offer our regular guests these innovations, and we shape our menu based on the positive feedback we receive. We've also developed an approach to food chemistry. We teach our young talent not only about whether a product is cooked but also about the chemical reactions that occur below the boiling point of water. Because boiling water isn't just a physical phenomenon; it involves many chemical transformations. Understanding and applying food chemistry allows for the true flavor to emerge. The dishes we prepare by releasing the disaccharides and natural glucose in the product reflect the food's true flavor. Unfortunately, today, the true flavors of food have been compromised. The once-sweet aromas that once emanated from the kitchen when a cucumber was cut are no longer readily apparent. We are trying to revive these natural flavors by combining the inspiration we get from Ottoman cuisine with new world techniques.

How does your procurement process work? Which products do you procure and how? 

Seasonality is very important to us. Since arriving here, we've met with many companies and sampled their products. Because there's no standard supply chain in our country, the peppers you find today might not be available next week. Therefore, we prioritize seasonality when designing our menus. For example, we use winter vegetables in the winter and spring vegetables in the spring. Our suppliers are constantly changing, which helps prevent complacency and keeps us open to new alternatives.

You've been featured in numerous selections, including the Michelin, Gault & Millau, Creative People Talks & Hospitality Awards, and won numerous international awards. What does such significant success mean to a chef? What did your inner voice tell you when you achieved your first major success? How did you feel? How do you feel now?

I actually think we didn't fully achieve our goals. These are, of course, great achievements, and there's no denying it. We took a strong stance there. But our goals were always higher. For example, we made it to the Michelin list, but our ultimate goal was to earn a star. Gault & Millau'da  We bought 3 hats, but our goal was to buy 4. Bocuse d'Or'We became the first Turkish champions in the'or go and top 10'Our goal was to enter, but we couldn't. Of course, these achievements made us happy and proud, but our real goals were above that. 

Turkey'Gastronomy tourism has gained significant momentum in recent years. However, there is still a long way to go… At this point, Türkiye'What should be done to take Turkey to a better point in gastronomy tourism??

Gastronomy is a culture and Türkiye'Turkish cuisine should be better promoted on international platforms. Although Turkish cuisine is very strong, it is not'and most people just ""aggressive." However, Scandinavian cuisines are based on simplicity and freshness, and thanks to their flexible structure, they are more innovative and advantageous in tourism. Spices are very important in our cuisine; the extensive use of spices in everything from stuffed meatballs to pilaf is an approach not seen in European cuisines. French cuisine is deep-rooted but resistant to change; Scandinavians, on the other hand, stand out by presenting the produce of the land in a simple and correct manner. This flexibility gives them an international advantage.

Which gastronomic trends are most prominent in hotel kitchens worldwide? Is Turkey catching up with these trends?'"Hotels are generally not located in the city center, but are seen as structures separate from the city and catering mostly to foreign tourists. So, are these trends making their way into the city? Do hotels contribute to the gastronomy of the city they are located in?"

The biggest mistake hotel restaurants make is directing guests to the restaurant via the reception desk; this can be off-putting to outsiders. Hotel restaurants, with independent entrances from the street, are more intimate, open to the outside world, and attract more customers. However, the past practices of hotels, which contribute significantly to the city's gastronomy, have harmed tourism: 25-30 years ago, cruise passengers visiting Beşiktaş were overcharged by taxis and restaurants. "Warnings were issued saying, "Don't eat out." Such excessive pricing reduced tourists' interest in local cuisine.

Concierge recommendations are also problematic; tourists are often directed to restaurants that offer the highest commissions, while fine dining establishments that offer quality but don't pay are left out in the cold. This is why many foreign tourists choose Türkiye.'It is identified only with kebab and raki, and the rich diversity of the cuisine is not promoted.

Sustainability is very important to you. You have sustainable methods like turning vegetable waste into spices or recycling root vegetable waste. Can you tell us the details of your work in this area?

We practice zero-waste. We repurpose everything from fish heads to bones and tails. We dry vegetable peels and turn them into spices, creating our own spice blends. We also use the stems of vegetables as bases, just like our mothers used to do. Our goal is to use the kitchen waste-free. We make portions small enough for everyone to eat. If there's a local product available, we try to source it. We try to reach out to women producers. These are all zero-waste, sustainable practices. We're thrilled that the peels aren't going to waste. We've raised awareness, and now the team is taking its own initiative.

Intercontinental Grand Ankara'May your mission in Ankara be auspicious and successful.'Welcome to Ankara. Ankara is an important city for HORECA TREND. Our entire team is in Ankara.'and Ankara'We love Ankara.'There's great potential in gastronomy. You will undoubtedly make valuable contributions to realizing this potential. Sincerely, Ankara'What do you think about it? What do you think can be done?

Ankara remains somewhat untouched. People's tastes are confined to certain patterns. For example, if someone consumes certain foods until they're 30, their palate won't develop. Meyhane and kebab culture is widespread here, and people are seeking new flavors. The younger generation is bored with the same old food. Innovators in Ankara win. Here, we'll be working with local produce, seasonal products, and Ottoman recipes. But here, we're making a change. We'll be cooking everything with wood, from our grill to our oven, using a live fire concept. Everything will be cooked live. Since we're a nomadic cuisine, we want to reflect that a bit. We smoke our own products. Our goal is to offer our guests a living flavor, a meal.

Finally, the global trend is towards simplification. If you could serve a dish in Turkish cuisine that would lend itself to simplification, what would it be?

Antep's "çağla aşı" (green pepper soup) would be a perfect fit; it's incredibly delicious. The chefs here use vegetables grown on their own farms, not processed. If they're using chard, they harvest it from their own fields. I'm not talking about hotel kitchens. The hotel kitchens there, like ours, are a bit faster at producing. The restaurants have their own gardens and use fresh produce. 

Some chefs don't even add salt to their dishes. In greenhouses built on the seashore, the waves wash over the vegetables, allowing them to naturally absorb the salt as they grow. Chefs use these vegetables in their dishes. It's essential to go all-out: natural salt, natural flavors...

We always have a lot of spice and hotness. When spices overpower the main ingredient, the essence of the dish is lost. For example, celery with orange and olive oil is made to sound modern. When you eat it, the orange flavor is overwhelming; you feel like you're eating an orange. So where's the celery? We're losing the main theme.

Vedat Milor'In an interview we did with him, he said that the biggest shortcoming of Turkish cuisine is wine. What are your thoughts on wine? Does its absence from our culture harm the dining experience?

I definitely disagree with him. Türkiye'There are some very good wines here; perhaps it needs some time to pair. But raki can also be used with very good food. In the past, we had an ancestor with wine barrels, and he had wine cellars. There are many dishes that pair well with raki; it's not just appetizers! Anise is also a bit overpowering because it's aggressive. You need to compare it with the right flavors. Çanakkale'in Ayvalik'in Cappadocia'in Kalecik'We have numerous cellars here. All the good restaurants here serve wine.

Source: HORECA TREND

How do public administrations meet food needs? 

Public administrations meet their food service needs with several different methods. The most basic and long-standing method is to purchase food from the market by tender, and to carry out the cooking and distribution processes with the administrations' own means. This method is still used in many military units.  

The other method is purchasing food services with ingredients. In other words, administrations purchase food supplies and cooking services from the same contractor. 

The least common form of food purchase is the purchase of rations. Food rations are purchased for short-term missions, such as AFAD officers, police, soldiers, etc.

How do the administrations determine the type and quality of the food they purchase through tender, either cooked or as rations?

Administrations determine the type, quantity and quality of the food they will purchase in their technical specifications and go out to tender. However, care is taken to ensure that the food in question is of a quality appropriate to the administration's duty. For example, law enforcement officers on operational duties need to take in the necessary calories or hospitals need to provide diet food for diabetic patients. For this reason, food lists are prepared by experts. Administrations assign dietitians or food engineers to this task. 

How do public administrations purchase food services?

Türkiye's public procurement market size reached 2023% of GDP in 6.  In 2024, public procurement increased to 2.5 trillion lira, of which 450 billion lira was made up of the service sector, including food service procurement. 

Every year, more than 700 companies sign contracts with public administrations, either individually or through partnerships, within the scope of food services.  In this context, it makes an average of more than 2.500 food service contracts every year. The most important of these contracts are carried out by companies operating in Ankara. The most important reason for this is that the administrations within the scope of the central government are located in Ankara. 

Can you say that the competition among companies operating in the food sector is quite intense in tenders? 

Food service procurement tenders are an area where there is a lot of competition. I would like to explain this by giving an example. In 2024, more than 2.000 objection complaints were made to the Public Procurement Authority for food service procurement tenders, citing various reasons. In other words, companies that wanted to compete under more favorable conditions in food service procurement tenders did not hesitate to take the issue to the Authority. Again, in a tender held in Ankara in 2024, 22 people submitted bids, and the margin of error was as high as 55%. In other words, there is fierce competition. However, tender competition can also be at more reasonable levels due to reasons such as the location of the tender, the nature of the administration, and the feasibility of the specifications.   

In an environment where there is so much competition, how do public administrations ensure that the food is produced to the specifications and quality they want?

This is a very important question. Especially today, as a result of the inspections carried out by the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, food products that are understood to be counterfeit or adulterated are disclosed. It is very difficult for the administration to inspect the ingredients used in food in detail and to identify such foods. For this reason, it is important to control companies that sign contracts with high deduction rates by offering prices well below the approximate cost. 

What do you think companies that want to get a share from the highly competitive food service procurement but have not participated in a tender before should do?

Recently, there have been important developments in our public procurement system. For example, e-tenders have become widespread. Tenders are now being held in a more secure environment. In other words, a company operating in Edirne can participate in a food tender in Kars using the computer on its desk.   

However, the real problem stems from not being familiar with the tender legislation and not being able to read the tender documents prepared by the administrations sufficiently. Currently, dozens of food companies have been banned from tenders due to their lack of tender literacy. 

As someone who has been a tender consultant to the most important food companies in Türkiye, I must say that all companies that make high profits in tenders definitely receive consultancy from professionals. In short, there is no point in participating in food service tenders without knowing the tender legislation.

There are many companies across Türkiye that have problems with food service procurement tenders. What are the main services you provide to these companies as a corporate entity? 

Public tenders are conducted with complicated legislation that is difficult to understand and whose implementation is based on experience. In addition, tender practices are an area with definitive provisions in terms of form and duration, which have restrictive rules. Not only the tender, but also the inspection and acceptance procedures, price difference and entitlement procedures are areas where almost all contractor companies have disagreements with the administration during the execution of the contract. 

Public procurement legislation consists of two separate laws, dozens of secondary legislations and countless regulatory decisions. It is not possible for a food company to know the legislation to the letter and follow it on a daily basis. For this reason, companies that do not want to make mistakes work with us. 

What advice would you give to food companies to access detailed information within the scope of tenders? 

Today, “knowledge” is the most important power! For this reason, we produce content on hesap.tv to share the knowledge and experience we have gained over the last 30 years with the public. I recommend that you review the “Public Procurement Law and Practices”, “Public Procurement Contracts Law” and “Service Procurement and Labor Law Practices” sections on this channel. 

Similarly, I recommend our 3 books that companies that will participate in tenders within the scope of food service procurement can benefit from. The first of these is our work called “Documents Showing Work Experience in Public Tenders”, which contains important information on participating in tenders. The second is our work called “Determination, Questioning and Explanation of Extremely Low Bids in Public Tenders”. The last book I can recommend is our work called “Procedures for Prohibition in the Public Tender Process”. This book is an important book that compiles the issues regarding not being banned during the tender process or what kind of procedures should be done in case of a ban.

Who is Ilyas Kilic?

İlyas Kılıç completed his undergraduate and graduate education at the Military Academy and Selçuk University. Kılıç is a public administration specialist and also a tender consultant. After working for 20 years in public institutions within the scope of tender and contract law, he retired in 2010 at his own request. He wrote articles on tenders in many newspapers and magazines. He edited tender books published by Kılıç Academy Publications. 

Ilyas Kilic, who is also the chairman of the board of directors of Kilic Corporate Consultancy Inc., provides consultancy services to various public institutions and corporate companies within the scope of tenders. Kilic Corporate Consultancy includes tender experts, lawyers, expert auditors and solution partners. Together with his team, he informs the public within the scope of tenders via the tender.tv YouTube channel. 

Source: HORECA TREND