Page 36 - Turkinsurance Digital Magazine

36 gourmet corner

Lezzet’e +1 (Tasty +1) Nobu

Founded by a group of partners including Robert De Niro,
Nobu is opening its İstanbul Branch at the rooftop of
Ritz-Carlton in May. We talked about the legend of Nobu
with Herve Courtot, Corporate Chef at Nobu Hotel, who visit-
ed the venue during construction works.

What makes the infusion of Peruvian and Japanese cuisines
so successful? Nobu steps well beyond being just a simple
combination of Peruvian and Japanese cuisines. It is a brand
with a story. Chef Nobu prepares Nobu dishes by using both
cuisines in a way that leaves the mark of both on each dish,
and adding his own style on top of that. To put it simply, he
interprets those cuisines in his own style, turning them into
Nobu dishes. His originality makes him unique.
How do you adapt new Nobu branches to their locations?

Every city where we open a restaurant is a new excitement for
us. Each restaurant opened by Nobu around the world is de-
signed nearly in the same way in terms of concept, service and
food. However, we try to use the local ingredients of each ge-
ography as much as possible. After deciding to open a restau-
rant in a region, we visit local markets to see how we can use
them in our dishes. To discover new flavors, we go through a
preparation period of at least 6 months. Our primary target is
to ensure that the dishes you order in New York and İstanbul
taste the same. I can easily say that this is the hardest part of
our job, putting the same flavor on the dish anywhere in the
The famous Chef Somer Sivrioğlu shared seven delicious rec- world… This requires a systematical preparation.
ipes inspired by the seven geographical regions of Turkey. We
will share the details of one of those recipes which are described Will the famous Hokusetsu sake be included in the menu of
as ‘Tasty + 1’, because they accompany main dishes. your İstanbul branch?

Chef Somer Sivrioğlu has introduced a new dimension to the Definitely. It has a significant place in Japanese culture, and
culture of garnishing with new recipes prepared especially for is a very important flavor that complements our dishes. In
+1. Sivrioğlu successfully represents Turkish cuisine abroad. a sense, it is an important part of the Nobu experience. For
He has now created new recipes of accompanying elements to sure, we will be serving it so that our guests can have that
represent each geographical region of our country. Anything experience.
can be described as an accompanying garnish that we believe
to go well with a main dish. From now on, you may find inspi-
ration in Chef Somer’s recipes while preparing your garnishes
and accompanying flavors at home. We would like to share one
them with you.

One of the most characteristic features of Mediterranean cui-
sine, which is inspired by different cultures, is the balance be-
tween meat and pastries. In this recipe, spiced meatballs grilled
in a pan are lined in a store-bought sandwich bread or hot dog
bread. The difference of this recipe from regular meatball sand-
wiches is its special sauce prepared with beans, fresh seasoning,
onions and tahini. This delicious sauce, which can be described
as a tahini bean salad puree, is blended and added inside the
meatball sandwich.