Turkish Breezes in Razlog

Hilmi Anıl Sezer
Sep 8, 2017
2 min read

Within the scope of the voluntary project, as 6 Turkish volunteers we organized lunch and dinner to promote Turkish Cuisine and Turkish Culture in Maazata which is one of the leading restaurants in Razlog.

Before the lunch, we held various meetings with the restaurant owner Marieta Alistarova to determine our menu. As a result of these meetings, our menu consisted of 1 kinds of soup, 1 kind of main dish and 2 kinds of dessert. You can see this menu below.

Lunch Menu:

Soup: Lentil Soup (Mercimek Çorbası)
Main Dishes: Toothpick Kebab (Kürdan Kebabı)
Deserts: Chicken Breast Pudding(Tavuk Göğsü) – Turkish

Shortbread(Un Kurabiyesi)

On the morning of 17.08.2017 we started preparations for lunch. Our team members are Ebranur Kocabaş, Melike Nur Kilic, Seda Nur Sülük, Mihriban Halisdemir, Esra Berber and Hilmi Anıl Sezer. We had 2 hours in total to get this menü, so this preparation process was very stressful and also funny. With the arrival of the meal, people started to come to the restaurant and the menu was served according to the their preferences. While people were eating their meals, Turkish melodies were accomponied them. The most exciting part for us was the first tasting of the dishes by our guests. It was quite satisfying to see the pleasing expressions on the faces. After the lunch with a total of 40 attendees, we learned from the restaurant owner Marieta that the guests were very satisfied with the food.

After the lunch, Turkish Cuisine Dinner was waiting for us. A few days before, the posters were prepared for this night, they were hung on certain points of the city. The name of this culture night was Turkish Breezes in Razlog. The dinner menu is consisted of 7 kinds of dishes.

Dinner Menu:

Soup: Yoghurt Soup (Yayla Çorbası)
Salads: Bulgur Salad (Kısır) – Cabbage Salad (Lahana Meze)
Main Dishes: Tray Kebab (Tepsi Kebabı)- Oven Roasted Chicken with Potatoes ( Fırında Tavuk Patates)
Deserts: Flour Halva (Un Helvası )– Mosaic Cake (Mozaik Kek)
Hot Drinks: Turkish Tea and Turkish Coffee

We started the preparations from the previous evening and prepared a few dishes on the menu. The time for us to prepare for the meal was 3 hours, so we had to prepare this menu within 3 hours and this preparation process that we competed with time was quite exciting and stressful. In addition, we have created photo galleries that introduce Turkey and its culture in various walls of the restaurant. Our guests slowly began to come. Firstly, Turkish melodies greeted the guests. After that, 3 of our team members walked around the tables and informed the guests about the menu. There are not only Bulgarian citizens among the guests but also guests from different countries such as Russian, Latvian, Italian, Spanish and Portugese. Then our food service began. During this time, Melike Nur Kılıç was burning henna to guests who demand. The guests' satisfaction was reflected in the first their faces. After the meal, slow music left their place in motion music. We have exhibited the local dances of Turkey all together. Then, there was culture mosaic with Bulgarian dances. Such an entertaining night ended with Turkish Tea and Turkish Coffee.