Following the success of previous years, the Yunus Emre Institute London participated in London Craft Week for the fifth year in a row, this time bringing the wonderful cuisine and rich arts of Turkey to London! Through seminars, demonstrations, workshops, and talks, the Yunus Emre Institute examines the art of Turkish cooking. This is a great way to enjoy tantalizing delicacies while touring Turkey's rich cuisine with world-class chefs and food writers.
The Institute in Fitzrovia hosted these events between the 9th and 15th of May. One of the sessions conducted was a masterclass on preparing and sampling delectable and authentic Turkish desserts. The masterclass was taught by the well-reputed Chef Servet Kılıç.
We made 3 different desserts starting with baklava. Baklava is a rolled/ layered filo pastry delicacy filled with chopped nuts and sweetened with honey or syrup. It was one of Ottoman cuisine's most beloved sweet pastries.
Next, we prepared Kunefe - a Turkish sweet cheese pastry. Kunefe or Knafeh is a Middle Eastern dessert prepared with kataifi, a spun pastry that is soaked in a sweet, sugar-based syrup called attar and stacked with cheese or other components like cream or pistachio nuts.
Lastly, we made Kazandibi. Kazandibi, also known as Kazan Dibi in Turkish, is a sort of caramelized milk pudding. It was created in the Ottoman Palace kitchens and is now one of the most popular Turkish desserts.
All in all, the desserts were fantastic, catering to all tastes and preferences. Costing only £30 for a whole demonstration and tasting, the workshop certainly provided good value for money.
I would definitely recommend anyone who’s fascinated or would want to learn how to prepare tantalizing Turkish desserts and cuisine in general to book tickets to the workshop for the next time it comes around.
I’m hopeful Yunus Emre Institute runs the workshops outside of the second week of the London Craft Week festival as there’s so much to learn about Turkish cuisine and Anatolia cultures generally.
