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Japan Times
3 days ago
- Business
- Japan Times
Communal knead: A Turkish baker in Kamakura draws queues
In the sleepy neighborhood of Omachi in southeast Kamakura, a small, unmarked building that sits a fork in the road has drawn a queue of 15 people, hinting at its new tenant. What was once a corner koban police box is now Pide, a tiny Turkish-Nordic bakery. Run by baker Burcu Alkurt, 34, and her husband and business partner, Aziz Firat, 36, Pide specializes in sourdough, which comes in shokupan (milk bread loaf) and the round pain de campagne (French country bread) shapes. Their surfaces are flaky and crispy, and their crumb is soft and airy with no trace of briny bite. The shop is named after the Turkish flatbread that Alkurt's father used to bring home when she was growing up in The Hague. 'My dad was a baker,' she says. 'The name has an emotional connection for me.' However, Alkurt was unsure if she was good enough to bake professionally. Her Turkish upbringing also meant that baking was still seen as a male profession. Ironically, as a child, she had a distaste for Trabzon Vakfıkebir, a traditional Turkish sourdough from the Black Sea region. In 2022, following a life-changing trip to Thailand where the idea of opening a Turkish food business took shape after seeing the country's entrepreneurial spirit firsthand, she left her job as a visual merchandiser to intern at Oslo's renowned bakery, Ille Brod, for two months. As she explored the mellower flavors of Nordic sourdough and noticed how women took the lead as bakers and business owners, something stirred in her. Later that year, she relocated to Kamakura with Firat, who found a product design job in Tokyo. Alkurt connected with fellow Ille Brod alumnus Tsukasa Miyawaki on the day his fabled Tokyo sourdough bakery Vaner served its last loaves. While her dreams of further study under Miyawaki's tutelage were dashed, she did receive, as a parting gift, some of his sourdough starter. This encouraged her to create her own starter. Pide has been attracting customers from near and far since it opened in January this year. | ALEX MICHAEL DWYER A string of serendipitous encounters with friendly neighbors — the jam maker who asked her to bring her bread to outdoor markets in the nearby towns of Zushi and Fujisawa, the contractor who eventually helped reshape what had become a storage building into her current space at Pide — dared her to dream of setting up a bakery of her own. After less than two years of living in Japan, she soft-opened Pide in January 2025. The locals began queuing up to try her lahmacun, a Turkish pizza, before even she and Firat arrived for work. 'That's when I realized, 'Wait, this is not normal,'' Firat says. 'It became something that we didn't imagine.' The harsh realities of running their own business soon set in, though. They've sometimes felt overwhelmed by the daily operations and logistics — the demand for her baked goods has outpaced supply — not to mention linguistic and cultural hurdles. Sourcing the right ingredients was also a particular challenge. She initially had a hard time finding the high-protein flour that was best suited for sourdough. After experimenting with 30 flours from all over Japan, she settled on a blend of six different flours for her recipe, including bread flour, whole wheat and rye from Hokkaido. 'You can make (the sourdough) acidic, sweet or mild; it's up to you,' she says, adding that sourdough is still quite a novelty for Japanese people. Apart from sourdough, Alkurt also makes kardemummabullar and kanelbullar, Scandinavian-inspired buns that have a perfect pillowy texture: Twisted, knotted and just a touch sweet, they come in two flavors — cardamom or cinnamon — and are addictive for all ages. Then there's simit — sometimes known as the Turkish bagel — topped with honey and mascarpone. It vies for your attention with breads like springy rosemary focaccia (a favorite of elderly regulars), Danish rugbro rye and pastries like lemon poppyseed cake. Burcu Alkurt (right) and her husband, Aziz Firat, bring an approachable, relaxed vibe to the bakery. | ALEX MICHAEL DWYER In line with the relaxed spirit of Kamakura, Alkurt and Firat are more than happy to answer any questions customers have about sourdough. In a way, it's also their open invitation to get to know fellow bread lovers from near and far. Their approachability has drawn the attention of an aspiring female baker from Nagoya. The newly married woman was weighing whether she should take a working holiday in Copenhagen to study bread. Alkurt invited her to Kamakura where they had a chance to bake together and chat about opening a bakery in Japan. 'When I talked to her, I really saw how afraid people are to start their own thing,' Alkurt recalls. 'I showed her that you can do your own stuff. You don't need to work 10 years at a bakery (to open your own).' 4-1-1 Omachi, Kamakura 248-0007; ; open on weekends only, from 12 p.m. until sold out
News18
20-07-2025
- Entertainment
- News18
Turkish food festival delights with authentic street-style favourites
New Delhi, Jul 20 (PTI) A variety of delectable kebabs — from the fiery and flavorful 'Adana lamb kebab' to the succulent 'Doner kebab' wrapped in soft pita bread — are featured alongside a tempting selection of dips at an ongoing food festival here, showcasing the finest of Turkish cuisine. The Turkish food festival, currently underway at Tahia in Noida, captures the vibrant aromas, textures, and hospitality of a bustling Turkish bazaar as it offers a curated menu of traditional street-style favorites and innovative interpretations. Whether it's the ever-popular 'Kibbeh' — crispy bulgur shells filled with delicately spiced vegetables or lamb and fried to a perfect golden brown — or the showstopper 'Lahmacun Turkish Pizza' — a thin, crisp flatbread topped with fragrant herbs and a savory mix of spiced vegetables or minced lamb — the festival offers visitors an immersive culinary journey through the streets of Istanbul. 'At Tahia, we think that food is a storyteller — and this festival is our ode to the flavours and soul of the Middle East. We've reimagined each dish with love, spice, and creativity, while remaining true to tradition," Nishant Kumar, founder of Tahia Noida, said in a statement. The menu, curated by chef Kartikey Puram, boasts of a range of toothsome delicacies including 'Jackfruit skewer kebab', 'Pide' (Turkish flatbreads baked with spiced vegetables, cheese and herbs) and 'Chicken Shish Touk' (marinated grilled chicken served with garlic sauce and salad). To finish off the feast on a sweet note, the festival offers indulgent desserts like the gooey viral sensation 'Kunafa brownie pistachio indulgence' and the sinful 'Zaffrani milk cake'. The gastronomical extravaganza will come to a close on August 31. PTI MG MG MG (This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed - PTI) view comments First Published: July 20, 2025, 13:45 IST Disclaimer: Comments reflect users' views, not News18's. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
Daily Mirror
28-06-2025
- Daily Mirror
Brits travelling to Benidorm told to avoid 'huge mistake' when using taxis
A Brit abroad has warned people visiting Benidorm this year that there are allegedly "fake taxis" driving around, urging people to exercise caution when they're travelling Heading to Benidorm this summer? One Brit abroad has shared that you may want to be careful about the taxis you're getting in while you're there. Harry, who posts regular Benidorm content under the username @harrytokky, shared the "warning," urging people to exercise caution because there are reportedly "fake taxis" which could turn out to be a "random stranger's car," and they will not take you to the destination you want to arrive at. Harry explained in his TikTok video that he would tell people which taxis were safe to take and which to avoid completely if they wanted to stay safe in the party capital. He said that "in Benidorm there's only one type of taxi that you should be getting into," and they are "white cars with a blue stripe down the middle". Harry shared that they usually "have a light on the top of the roof," and it will be either green or red. "If they're red, the taxi is in use," whereas if the light is green, it's free to get in. He said these taxis will "take you to your destination nice and safe," which is more than can be said for the "fake taxis" he speaks of. Harry continued: "So guys, if you're coming out to Benidorm, they are the only taxis that you should be looking out for because you don't want to get into some random stranger's car" because they may not take you where you're going. In the comments, someone wrote: "What about Uber? The last time I was there, I used Uber from Benidorm old town to the airport; it was a regular black car." Others reiterated that they managed to use Uber while they were there, but others shared that they'd "struggled" and "couldn't get the app to work". Another Benidorm visitor recommended "the Pide app," saying it was "really easy". Harry responded: "I totally agree with you. I should've mentioned that". Somebody else said that they'd used the Pide app the "whole time" they were in Benidorm, saying it provided them with "fantastic service". Radio Taxi Benidorm is a local taxi company that can be contacted by phone when you are in the area, and they provide safe taxi journeys that are legitimate. In the comments, another person recommended that you look for the "blue stripe" on the car to be sure that it's a real taxi. It's important to note that in high season, it may be more challenging to find taxis readily available at the ranks. Others recommend that, for safety, you get your hotel to call you a taxi so you know they're real. You can also ask a restaurant to call you a taxi, so you're not walking around the streets to find one. You can also check the Google rating of a taxi company before using it, but make sure you do your research online beforehand.
