London chef draws on her Turkish-Cypriot heritage for cookbook
Classics hummus and kebabs feature in Selin Kiazim’s Oklava, but so do creatives dishes such as pan-fried mackerel with black olive croute
Born in London to parents from Cyprus, Kiazim writes in the introduction to Oklava (2017), “In all honesty, I was pretty over Turkish food by the time I turned 19, which is when I enrolled at Westminster Kingsway College to study for a Professional Chef Diploma. At college I learnt the basics of French cookery, which couldn’t have been any further from Mum’s cooking.”
Kiazim won a culinary competition when she was in her final year at college, and the prize was a “five-week trip to New Zealand to work at some of the country’s top restaurants”, including Dine by Peter Gordon, which led to a position at Providores, Gordon’s restaurant in the British capital.
After years of working in other kitchens, Kiazim decided to open her own restaurant. “But before I could launch myself into the cutthroat London food scene, I had to decide what kind of food I wanted to present. I grew up in London, where the culture and the food are so diverse: it is incredibly inspiring to see people from all around the world take the humble cooking from their own countries and modernise it to work in London.
“The combination of my classical training at college, my Turkish-Cypriot family (including the time spent with my nene [grandmother] in her home village), my north London upbringing and four years exploring food from around the world with Peter Gordon gave me a great grounding that meant I could bounce off in any direction I wanted.
“There were two things that led me to develop my style of modern Turkish cooking. First of all, there’s nothing I love to eat more than a well-made kebab: anything cooked over charcoal just tastes better! Second, I wanted to do something that no one else was doing, which is pretty much impossible, as there’s always someone who thought of an idea before you – but that wouldn’t stop me trying.”