Durham’s culinary landscape is flourishing, offering a delightful mix of traditional British fare and international flavors. We visited Turkish kitchen to speak with owner Halil about his journey in the culinary world and what’s its like its like having a Turkish restaurant in the heart of Durham
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00:00Durham's culinary landscape is flourishing, offering a delightful mix of traditional British fare and international flavours.
00:07From the renowned fish and chips at Bell's celebrated for its classic preparation to the authentic Mexican restaurants,
00:13the city caters to diverse palettes.
00:15For those seeking a taste of the East, the Rabbit Hole offers exquisite dim sum in a unique setting.
00:20Whether you're in the mood for a hearty burger at Fat Hippo or a fine dining experience at course,
00:25Durham's dining establishments promise a memorable culinary journey.
00:29But today I visited another well-loved venue, Turkish Kitchen, to speak with Ona Halil about the Turkish flavours they have on offer
00:36and what it's like having a Turkish restaurant here in the heart of Durham.
00:40We've been here since 2020 and we serve authentic Turkish food along with warm Turkish atmosphere welcoming everybody in Durham.
00:54My journey actually started back home in Turkey. That's where I come from.
00:59And the city where I come from in Turkey, it's a big tradition, cultural city with very rich flavour food.
01:07And start with barbecue and so on, Turkish baklava desserts and all that. That's how it started.
01:14And when I moved here about 1999 and I'd done a few jobs obviously before here, but whether I got opportunity to go on hospitality and I thought,
01:24why not bring the flavours to the heart of Durham? And since then we never looked back.
01:29I mean Turkish cuisine is a big, huge cuisine where lots of mazes and Turkish grills, kebabs, stews, slow cook, lamb shank, cooked for ages with lots of rich flavours.
01:46And also we have homemade baklavas, Turkish dessert, it's very famous and homemade Turkish bread, what goes with mazes.
01:55And this kind of foods, that's what we don't offer.
01:58The locals favourite is our mixed platter, which is as I'm sharing mazes, mixture of five and hot starters.
02:06I go along with nice bottle of white wine and with the grill section and people love our mixed grill. That's our favourite.
02:15To be honest, for myself, it's been a long time I'm trying to move in Durham, where before I had a restaurant in Newcastle.
02:23So for me, I feel like it's an honour to have a restaurant in the heart of Durham, where we got a lot of support from the local communities when we first came.
02:33And I still do appreciate that a lot. So for me, it's an honour to be part of this city. It's got a big history, big culture, so proud to be in Durham.
02:43I mean, when you go to a restaurant for meal, it's something different. But for us, it's an experience.
02:51I would love people to come and Turkish food with Turkish hospitality that will feel part of the family.