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Istanbul Food Tour & Cooking Class

Shop, Cook, Feast: A Hands-On Culinary Adventure

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From the market to the kitchen: join us as we spend a full day shopping, cooking, and eating like local Istanbulites. After shopping for ingredients in one of Istanbul’s most food-centric neighborhoods, we’ll teach you how to cook six of our favorite regional recipes from across Turkey – dishes like Circassian chicken, stuffed eggplant from southeastern Turkey, Aegean-style mincemeat pastries and more – before sitting down to enjoy them together.

ABOUT

Behind every great Turkish cook is a neighborhood community – a baker, a third-generation milkman, a greengrocer with fresh seasonal produce, a butcher who’s owned the same shop for decades. Nowhere in Istanbul is this local culture more alive than in Kurtuluş, where our cooking experience takes place.

This neighborhood, once home to religious minority groups during the Ottoman Empire, has maintained its unique, community-oriented soul even as fast food chains and megamalls have started to dominate areas nearby. Before we start to cook, we’ll explore the shops of Kurtuluş as we gather our ingredients. Visiting the simit stand where the neighborhood lines up for a morning snack, the liver butcher favored by chefs all over the city, a cheese shop, greengrocer, a traditional bakery and a cured meat and maze shop that this neighborhood is known for, slowly, a vision emerges of a community life that revolves around food. Welcome to Kurtuluş.

Back at the kitchen, we’ll teach you how to cook six of our favorite Turkish recipes from all over Turkey in our Istanbul cooking class – dishes like Circassian chicken, stuffed eggplant from southeastern Turkey, Aegean-style mincemeat pastries and more. Once lunch is ready, we’ll open a bottle of raki, the traditional liquor of Turkey, and celebrate the food that we’ve prepared. For a sweet finale, we’ll enjoy a pumpkin dessert laced with tahini and walnuts and some revitalizing Turkish coffee.

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DETAILS

  • Group size: 2-7
  • 5 hours
  • Everyday 9:15am
  • Kurtuluş

Dietary

Can accommodate vegetarian and vegan diets. Local alcohol is served with lunch.

Mobility

Includes market visit to shop for ingredients. Offers a hands – on activity in a home in a residential neighborhood. Children welcome.
REVIEWS
The experience is fabulous if you desire wandering the backstreets, visiting local stores, and best of all cooking and experiencing Turkish cuisine!... Read more Read less
I cannot recommend Culinary Backstreets tours highly enough.... Read more Read less
Could not have asked for a better introduction to Istanbul food and culture.... Read more Read less
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
How are you dealing with COVID-19 risk on your walks? We have reinforced our commitment to safety with new guidelines to assure maximum safety of our guests on our walks in terms of social distancing and hygiene while maintaining the quality of the experience. For more details on our precautions, read here. Our routes have been altered during this period of time to ensure the safety of our guests, guides and community. Our cancellation policy is extremely flexible to deal with changes in travel plans.
What is included in the fee? In addition to your Culinary Backstreets guide, all food consumed on the walk – almost a dozen different edible specialties – are included in the price. Alcoholic beverages are not included.
Why is the Culinary Backstreets tour more expensive than some other walking tours? Our approach is different than most tour companies. Each of our culinary walks is the outcome of considerable research. We work with academics in the field and our own team of experienced professionals – both guides and local journalists. Our ongoing publishing of articles, from restaurant reviews to features about the intersection of food and culture, constantly feeds new material into the culinary walks, so they evolve and constantly improve. Though costly, we believe that this is how to create the quality experiences we strive for. We practice honest tourism and would never accept a free lunch or any sort of commission. On the contrary, we are proud to know that the money spent during the culinary walk goes to support businesses that we believe in, helping to preserve the social and cultural fabric of the cities we love so dearly.
How does the payment process work? Once you have made a reservation, we require the full fee to be paid in order to complete the online booking. Our online booking system uses Stripe to process secure payments. Your card is only charged if the walk is confirmed.
What is your cancellation policy? 90% will be refunded if given 1 week notice prior to walk and 50% will be refunded if given 72 hours notice or more. Less than 72 hours is non-refundable.
Are your walks public or private? How many people are on them? Our walks are 2-7 people and are open to the public. If you would like to do a private walk, you can book it for a supplement by selecting book entire excursion. If it is not available on booking, we may be able to arrange one for an additional fee. Please contact us at walks@culinarybackstreets.com for more information.
Can I get a discount if I join more than one walk? Yes, we offer a 10% discount to those who join more than one walk. Please email us at walks@culinarybackstreets.comif you’d like to join multiple walks.
Are your walks suitable for people with food allergies? This can vary based on a number of factors, including the food item in question. Please email us at walks@culinarybackstreets.com to discuss your situation before booking.
Are your walks suitable for vegetarians, pescetarians and vegans? They shop,cook,feast activity is very suitable for vegetarians and pescatarians.
How physically demanding is the walk? The Shop,Cook,Feast activity is probably the least physically demanding walk. There is a short shopping activity followed by a cooking and eating activity in one location.
Can children join the walks? We have had children of all ages on our Shop, Cook, Feast activity and they seem to enjoy it immensely.
What kinds of dishes are taught in the Shop, Cook, Feast activity? The menu is determined by your guide, and it is based on what produce is in season.
Do you offer the Shop,Cook,Feast activity walk during Ramazan? Yes, we do offer this activity during Ramazan.
How will I return, once the tour is over? Our tour prices don’t include transportation. If you book a tour, you’re responsible for arriving to the pre-arranged meeting spot on your own. Once the tour is over, we will help you get an authorized, safe taxi to your hotel, or provide directions on public transportation, if you’re interested in that.
Is it okay to photograph the food on the walk? You are welcome to photograph during the walk – but please be respectful of the other guests and remember that this is meant to be a group activity, not a dedicated photo shoot.

Reserve your spot

Guests
Select date

Guests

Adults
Age 13+
Children
Ages 7-12
Children
Ages 6 & under
Shop, Cook, Feast: A Hands-On Culinary Adventure
Adults x $120
Total
Fee includes everything consumed on the walk.
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