The Man Behind the Stove
Sarıyer, Istanbul — where every recipe carries the scent of the Bosphorus.
A Childhood Measured in Aromas
I grew up in a narrow-streeted neighbourhood of Fatih, Istanbul, in a fifth-floor apartment where the kitchen was the undisputed heart of our home. My mother, Ayşe Hanım, cooked every day without recipes — every measurement lived in her hands, every timing in her instincts. I remember the way she would stand over the ocak on winter mornings, coaxing a pot of mercimek çorbası into the exact shade of amber she had learned from her own mother. The steam would climb the window glass and I would trace shapes in the condensation while she stirred. Those mornings were my first culinary education, and I did not even know it at the time. The spice rack above the stove — sumac, dried mint, pul biber, black cumin — was a geography of flavour I memorised long before I could name the dishes they belonged to. Turkish home cooking is not about precision; it is about presence, and my mother had an abundance of it.
The Fear of Forgetting
The turning point came in 2014, when my aunt Hatice — the last person in our family who still made yaprak sarma exactly the way my grandmother did — had a fall and spent several weeks unable to cook. I sat beside her in the hospital and, for the first time, felt the real possibility that this knowledge could simply vanish. Not gradually. Overnight. I bought a thick notebook and a good pen, and I began asking questions I had never thought to ask before: How long do you soak the rice? What does "enough salt" actually mean to you? When do you know the onions are right? She laughed at my notebook, told me I was being dramatic — and then answered every question with a thoroughness I had not expected. That notebook became the seed of everything that followed. I travelled to Anatolia, to cousins and second cousins, to village markets and family lunches I had previously attended only as a guest. I returned each time with notes, voice recordings, and a growing sense of urgency. These recipes were not written in cookbooks. They existed only in the hands and memories of people getting older.
A Mission Built on Love, Not Commerce
This site — YUNUS TUNC — exists for one reason only: to preserve and share authentic Turkish home-cooking recipes exactly as they were taught to me, without modification, without fusion, without simplification for a foreign palate. I have no interest in making Turkish food "easier" or "more accessible" by stripping it of the steps that make it real. The long simmers matter. The overnight resting matters. The specific regional variety of pepper matters. What you find here is the result of years of listening, cooking, failing, and trying again — offered freely, without sponsorship, without affiliate links, without agenda. If you are from the Turkish diaspora and you miss the taste of your grandmother's kitchen, I hope something here brings it back. If you are discovering Turkish home cooking for the first time, I hope you find it as rich and generous as I have always known it to be. This is my inheritance, and I am glad to share it.
"These recipes were not written in cookbooks. They existed only in the hands and memories of people getting older — and it became my responsibility to remember for them."
— YUNUS TUNC
Culinary Milestones
Born in Istanbul
Raised in Fatih district, where the scent of slow-simmered lamb and fresh simit filled every morning.
First Lessons at the Stove
At age eight, standing on a wooden step-stool beside his mother, Yunus learned to roll sarma leaves and stir tarhana soup.
Grandmother's Recipe Book
Discovered his late grandmother Fatma Hanım's handwritten recipe notebook — faded ink, splattered pages, irreplaceable knowledge.
Began Documenting Family Recipes
Spent three years revisiting relatives across Istanbul and Anatolia, recording recipes never written down before.
First Public Sharing
Shared a slow-cooked kuzu tandır recipe online; the response from the diaspora community was overwhelming and deeply moving.
YUNUS TUNC Kitchen Launches
Officially launched this site as a living archive of authentic Turkish home cooking — unmodified, unsponsored, unconditional.
Over 120 family recipes documented
Spanning Istanbul, Anatolia, and the Aegean coast
Site Owner Information
- Site Owner
- YUNUS TUNC
- Address
- Yeni Çamlık Evleri Sitesi 24J
34457 Sarıyer / İstanbul
Türkiye - [email protected]
Personal Recipe Blog — Non-Commercial. YUNUS TUNC is a personal, non-commercial food blog dedicated to preserving and sharing authentic Turkish home-kitchen recipes passed down through generations. No products are sold here, no advertising revenue is collected, and no commercial services are offered. All recipes and photographs are shared freely for culinary inspiration and cultural appreciation.
Authentic Turkish Home Kitchen — Recipes passed down through generations, made with love from Istanbul to your table.
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Türkiye
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