Authentic Turkish Cooking at a Local’s Home in Cihangir

This experience exceeded my expectations. Dinner at the home of Burak and his fiancé was absolutely lovely. They were warm and welcoming. We learned about Çiğköfte while Burak prepared it with great passion for making it authentically and perfectly. Lots of laughs and we also got to listen to some lovely live music and learn more about the culture. It was the perfect welcome to Istanbul for me and intro to the culture and I recommend it wholeheartedly. Thank you!

It was a wonderful experience to get to know Turkey from the inside! Turkish food, Turkish people and having so much fun together! Leyla, the host, is filled with so much joy and makes you feel at home! And the food was really good as well! I would always do it again!

This cooking class was so tasty and lots of fun!! Our hosts introduced us to some wonderful Turkish dishes and made sure that we all felt welcomed and comfortable in their home. The instruction was very detailed and went at a pace that all levels could follow.

Great way to learn more about the people, food and culture. We thoroughly enjoyed our time with Rodja, our host, and getting to here family. We learned so much about her and her experiences as well as the local area. Loved that it was hands on and there were only 4 of us in the class. The food was delicious and Rodja an exceptional host. Highly recommend!

Sezgi, her mom, and her sister were all REALLY lovely hosts. Very proactive teachers, interested in chatting, super friendly. It really did feel like going over to a friend's house on the holidays and just cooking and hanging out with their family. It was nice to see slice of real Turkish life, since the rest of our vacation is so touristy. Also, we did this cooking class on my friends birthday, and they made a special dessert and put candles in it for her and sang. It was so kind and genuine. Also delicious. The only thing I'd note, if you are staying near all the tourist sites in Old Town, their home is a 30-60 minute Uber ride from Old Town, depending on traffic. I didn't realize that till after we booked! But it was definitely worth the trek.

Our host Ozge was a beautiful soul. Kind and generous with her time and knowledge. This was a wonderful way to spend an afternoon especially with Ozge’s lovely puppy Penny and kitten Theo ❤️

We had amazing evening cooking with Özge! The food was wonderful and the company even better 🫶❤️ We made delicious eggplants with all the sides we could want. Özge even surprised us with an amazing dessert. We highly recommend this class for actually useful cooking tips, insight about everyday life in Turkey and great food.

Özge is the loveliest host! My family and I spent a great evening with her. She opened her house to us and allowed us to have a great Turkish experience. We had fun cooking together and sharing cultures. She thought us some traditional recipes and gave us suggestions to visit the city. We conclude with coffee and cake. It was great! Highly recommended

I didn't noticie how the time passed, I had fun stuffing and rolling things. Those things turned out to be very delicious as well. Overall, it surpassed my expectation by miles. I did this to make wife happy but turns out stuffed dolma is the thing for me and I am the happiest.

I truly appreciated how well-prepared Özge was during our cooking experience. I learned many different recipes from Turkish cuisine, all enhanced by her unique touch. I felt both guided and free at the same time, so I want to express my gratitude to our host for creating such an open atmosphere. My favorite dishes included biber dolması (stuffed peppers) and kabak tarator (yogurt-zucchini mezze). Although I struggled a bit with rolling the cigarette böreks, the taste was still delicious regardless of their shape. Overall, it was a delightful time spent with my partner. We both enjoyed the cooking and dining experience with someone who was friendly and generous!