On a sloping side street deep within Istanbul’s Beyoğlu neighborhood, a chalkboard sign stands outside a small restaurant with five tables. “German chef, Turkish ingredients, French Soul.” This is Mabou, the tasting menu, fine dining restaurant of Chef Cem Ekşi. Or an experiment of building bridges between cultures with the most universal language of all: food. Good food.
The son of immigrant Turkish parents who moved to Pforzehim, Ekşi grew up German, initially deflecting away from his Turkish roots to avoid what most German-Turks dread most: being looked down upon as the child of a Gastarbeiter [migrant worker]. The chef’s search for his own identity led him on a 9,000 km journey through Turkey, discovering his roots for the first time, eating his way through a vast country abundant with ingredients as well as contradictions. He decided to stay, settled in Istanbul, got married, opened three restaurants.
When he was chosen to cater an event during German President Steinmeier’s official state visit to Istanbul, Ekşi was ecstatic. Yet his efforts to create unique dishes that united German and Turkish culinary cultures was overshadowed by a döner kebab brought in from Berlin. His moment in the sun, of gaining recognition as a successful German of Turkish origin was shattered, with the German media choosing to focus exclusively on the stereotypical döner.
But here in Istanbul, he’s a success, an integral part of a city where the confluence of cultures is an intrinsic part of its endearingly chaotic character. With a tiny budget and no investors, the chef and his wife managed to build their restaurant from scratch, gaining an instant following, which led them to open two more venues. Glouton, a French-style bistro and, Bordel, a hip German sausage kiosk with a name inspired by the Friedrich Dürrenmatt quote, “The world turned me into a whore, I shall then turn the world into a brothel.” Its subtly erotic sausages and hot pink design went viral, and nowadays people from all walks of life still drop by to drink beer and bite into a really good Bratwurst…
The Travel Almanac, TTA24, Man vs. Machine
Photography by Christian Werner
Feride Yalav-Heckeroth 