Ephesus cooking school selcuk turkey

Our cooking school

Nektar is going to be your host and chef.

She has grown up in an Aegean village and has been living in Kirazli village for 7 years. She teaches village style Mediterranean / Aegean dishes with her contributions.

For a warm and fun ambiance, participants cook all together with Nektar and everyone participates for a better understanding of cooking techniques.

What makes our cooking classes so special and unique are the small class size that never exceeds 6 participants, and the great care taken in all details.

We are specialised on village style vegetable dishes and always use seasonal tresh ingridients

You can start with a walking tour in the local market, where Nektar (or a guide ) will give you plenty of tips on picking local, seasonal products. Back at our open garden kitchen, you'll continue your cooking experience and you'll end your day adventure enjoying the food you have prepared in a friendly and casual atmosphere with a glass of home made wine!!

Food has always been a central part of Turkish life

We offer cooking lessons in our home garden kitchen

We are located in Kirazli village

Kirazli means, literally '' Cheery Vliiage. The village is located on a valley 7 miles to Kusadasi and 9 miles to Ephesus.Kirazli is a typical Turkish village; boasting a long history infuenced by both Turkish and Greek civilisations, its people have developed a unique style of living over the years. The village is of nomadic origin, and its residents are mainly occupied in agricultural work and farming, particularly olives, grapes (for both wine production and consumption) figs and many different vegetables. There is an Organic Farming Association serves to highlight the importance of ecological methods of farming.

Surrounded by the mountains and bordered by farm land, Kirazli is a world away from the bustling tourist cities of Turkey. Although the village only houses around 1000 locals, some families are extremely welcoming of newcomers.

You always have a chance to take a walk in the village with a peace, enjoying the green scenery and having cup of Turkish tea at the village coffee house.

Aegean cousine

The land of Turkey ( Anatolia ) is a home land for many civilisations since the prehistoric times. The cultures of Lydians, Hittites, Greeks, Romans, Arabs, Persians and finally Turks (600 years of Ottoman civilisation), along with different religions, left their mark on the eating habits and cooking ways.

Modern Turkey is made up of seven regions, each with indigenous agricultural products, cultures, customs, traditions, and local dishes.

As as a whole,Turkish cuisine is not spicy, exceptions are found in certain parts of southeast. Fresh and seasonal is the best first adjective to apply to Turkish cuisine.

Vegetables are widely enjoyed by the Turks and eggplant is number one.

We can say ''put something into something'' is the concept for Turkish cooking.

Aegean cuisine is in many ways different from Turkish food elsewhere in the country. The shared Turkish and Greek culture of the region's past, the climate and soil suitable for growing a wide range of vegetables, and the prevalence of olive trees and olive-oil production have helped the region develop a much more varied and probably healthier way of eating than elsewhere in Turkey.

If olive oil is the first actor of the Aegean cuisine, then the second ones are the thousands of different plants that live in this region. The class of dishes generally called zeytinyagli (literally "with olive oil") mostly comes from this region; it means vegetables cooked in olive oil, mostly with tomatoes, onions,herbs and spices and served cold. Heaven for vegetarians.

We olive you