00:00Durham's culinary landscape is flourishing, offering a delightful mix of traditional British fare and international flavours.
00:07From the renowned fish and chips at Bell's celebrated for its classic preparation to the authentic Mexican restaurants,
00:13the city caters to diverse palettes.
00:15For those seeking a taste of the East, the Rabbit Hole offers exquisite dim sum in a unique setting.
00:20Whether you're in the mood for a hearty burger at Fat Hippo or a fine dining experience at course,
00:25Durham's dining establishments promise a memorable culinary journey.
00:29But today I visited another well-loved venue, Turkish Kitchen, to speak with Ona Halil about the Turkish flavours they have on offer
00:36and what it's like having a Turkish restaurant here in the heart of Durham.
00:40We've been here since 2020 and we serve authentic Turkish food along with warm Turkish atmosphere welcoming everybody in Durham.
00:54My journey actually started back home in Turkey. That's where I come from.
00:59And the city where I come from in Turkey, it's a big tradition, cultural city with very rich flavour food.
01:07And start with barbecue and so on, Turkish baklava desserts and all that. That's how it started.
01:14And when I moved here about 1999 and I'd done a few jobs obviously before here, but whether I got opportunity to go on hospitality and I thought,
01:24why not bring the flavours to the heart of Durham? And since then we never looked back.
01:29I mean Turkish cuisine is a big, huge cuisine where lots of mazes and Turkish grills, kebabs, stews, slow cook, lamb shank, cooked for ages with lots of rich flavours.
01:46And also we have homemade baklavas, Turkish dessert, it's very famous and homemade Turkish bread, what goes with mazes.
01:55And this kind of foods, that's what we don't offer.
01:58The locals favourite is our mixed platter, which is as I'm sharing mazes, mixture of five and hot starters.
02:06I go along with nice bottle of white wine and with the grill section and people love our mixed grill. That's our favourite.
02:15To be honest, for myself, it's been a long time I'm trying to move in Durham, where before I had a restaurant in Newcastle.
02:23So for me, I feel like it's an honour to have a restaurant in the heart of Durham, where we got a lot of support from the local communities when we first came.
02:33And I still do appreciate that a lot. So for me, it's an honour to be part of this city. It's got a big history, big culture, so proud to be in Durham.
02:43I mean, when you go to a restaurant for meal, it's something different. But for us, it's an experience.
02:51I would love people to come and Turkish food with Turkish hospitality that will feel part of the family.
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