Istanbul Spice Bazaar Tour & Cooking Class

✪ Enjoy visiting an historic spice&food🌶️ bazaar, tasting what it has on offer then cooking your own meal🥘 in a professional kitchen with our chefs.

✪ Sultahmet market tour & cooking class combination

✪ Complementary coffee and tea, wine or beer during meal

✪ Learn food stories of Istanbul

DESCRIPTION

It’s essential to have a guide in the hustle and bustle of the 17th century Spice Bazaar.

DID YOU KNOW that the Spice Bazaar is actually only 5 % spices! The other 95% of what the Spice Bazaar has to offer includes baklava, fresh fruits&nuts, fresh dates, charcuterie, speciality cheeses, Turkish delight (made of pomegranate, rose petals, white chocolate).

If you want to understand the vastly rich heritage of Turkish cuisine and how to cook with all of these ingredients yourself, then this tour is JUST RIGHT for YOU!

You will learn how to prepare a delicious five-course Turkish meal to reproduce back at home for family and friends.

A quick reminder: James Bond had an epic motorcycle chase around the spice bazaar in “Skyfall” movie.

To see how click on the link below:
https://youtu.be/tHRLX8jRjq8

Before cooking a HEARTY Turkish meal, discover the amazing quality of our FRESH products from vegetables to spices, listen to the stories of vendors who have been in this business for generations. STROLL through the cobble-stoned streets of the old town listening to food stories of bygone times.

Don’t miss your chance to experience the city’s OLDEST/cutest farmers' market. The smell of fresh produce will put you in good spirits right away. Just what you need to cook a delicious five course Turkish meal.

You might learn some basic cooking techniques depending  on your previous experience, as well as a few neat little tricks. Most of all, you will learn how to prepare a fantastic five-course Turkish meal to reproduce back at home for family and friends.

Afterwards, we’ll sit down together to eat these foods with some local wines and pleasant conversation in our restaurant, while other diners start to trickle in.

PROGRAM 

Everyday:  14:00 – 20:30, starts at Spice Bazaar, ends at Cooking Alaturka

Meeting Point: In front of the main gate of Spice Bazaar  

• 2:30 pm: Meet at The Pudding Shop to taste an interesting Turkish dessert and tea. Walking to the farmers' market passing by many food shops, including the best döner kebap place in the area. 
• 3:15 pm: Shop like every Turkish family does. Choose the vegetables&cheeses&spices that will later become your meal. Local bakery visit to procure the pide bread you will have with your meal after the culinary workshop.
• 4:30 pm: Introduction and coffee or tea is served.
• 4:45 pm: Cooking Session- Five courses hands-on  'authentic cuisine'  class from qualified experts, 
• 7:30 pm:  Enjoy the meal you create with local wine, beer or soft drinks.

VIDEO

IMPORTANT NOTES

• Everything consumed in the walk& workshop/dinner with two glasses of local wine or beer, non alcoholic drinks are included in the price.
• Please let us know if you have any dietary restrictions or special considetations, and we will do our best to accommodate you. You can write in the Notes section during reservation.
• You will receive the confirmation of your booking's availability within 24 hours. To confirm a class, we need a minimum of 2. If you are travelling alone, tell us the dates you are available and as soon as we find another person we reconfirm with you. Our maximum group size is 8.

Private Classes: For group of minimum 8 we can keep your class private, provided the date and time are available. If you are less than 8 we can still keep it private if you pay for 8. For private group class cancellations, up to 1 week prior to the class is refundable. 

Corporate Team Building:  Culinary team building programs are some of the most popular and effective employee bonding experiences. Cooking and dining together is one of the most joyful and inclusive activities you can do. We are ideal for:

• Building team morale
• Annual meetings
• Moving into new space

MENUS

We generally pick the menu a few days prior to the class, depending on the size of the group and special requests. Our meze menu we only do in AM classes because it doesn't have a main dish. If you have certain preferences, let us know and we'll do our best to accommodate.

Menu 1

• Ezogelin çorbası – Red lentil and bulgur soup with dried mint and chili
• İmam bayıldı – Eggplant cooked in olive oil with onion, garlic and tomato
• Kabak mücveri – Zucchini pancakes with white cheese and herbs
• Etli yaprak sarması – Vine leaves stuffed with meat, served with yogurt
• Şekerpare – Syrupy semolina cakes with hazelnuts

Menu 2

• Yayla çorbası – Hot yogurt soup with dried mint, cumin and lemon
• Zeytinyağlı taze fasulye – Runner beans cooked in olive oil with onion
• Ispanaklı saç böreği – Anatolian flatbread filled with spinach
• Karnıyarık – Eggplant stuffed with meat and bell peppers, with bulgur pilaf
• İncir tatlısı – Walnut-stuffed dried figs cooked in clove syrup

Menu 3 – Meze only

• Zeytinyağlı dolma – Vine leaves stuffed with rice, herbs and spices
• Patlıcan salatası – Smoky eggplant salad with garlic
• Mercimek köftesi – Spicy red lentil balls with cumin and parsley
• Çerkez tavuğu – Circassian chicken salad with walnuts
• Pastırmalı sıcak humus – Oven-baked humus with cured beef
• Künefe – Shredded pastry stuffed with cheese and soaked in syrup

Menu 4

• Kuru bamya çorbası – Dried okra soup with tomato
• Acılı ezme – Spicy onion and bell pepper salad
• Fava – Armenien broad bean puree with dill
• Hünkar beğendi – Lamb sauté on smoky eggplant puree
• Fırında sütlaç – Caramelized milky rice pudding or (when in season)
• Ayva tatlısı – Quince stuffed with apple, cooked in syrup