Mehmet Gürs (born 13 December 1969) is a Finnish celebrity chef,[3] television personality, restaurateur and consultant.[4][5][6][7] He is considered to be Istanbul's most recognizable chef.[8][9]

Mehmet Gürs
Gürs in 2011
Born
Mehmet Gürs

(1969-12-13) 13 December 1969 (age 54)
Culinary career
Cooking styleTurkish/Finnish[1]
Current restaurant(s)
  • Mikla (Istanbul)[2]
    Num Num Cafe & Restaurant (7 branches)

Biography

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Gürs was born in Finland to a Turkish father and a Finnish-Swedish mother and grew up in Stockholm and Istanbul.[8] He spent eight years training and working as a chef in the United States; from 1990 to 1993 he studied Hotel, Restaurant and Institutional Management at Johnson & Wales University.[10][11] In the mid 1990s, he returned to Turkey to start his first restaurant called Downtown; six years later he opened Lokanta and then Mikla in 2005.[3]

Gürs's Istanbul Food & Beverage Group now consists of Mikla, the numnum café & restaurant, Trattoria Enzo, Kronotrop, Terra Kitchen chain and the group's research lab, the workshop.

Awards

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  • 2001: Best Restaurant/ Downtown - TimeOut Istanbul
  • 2002: Best Bar/ NuTeras - TimeOut Istanbul
  • 2003: Best Chef/Mehmet Gürs - TimeOut Istanbul
  • 2004: Best Bar/ NuTeras - TimeOut Istanbul
  • 2006: Best Restaurant/ Mikla - TimeOut Istanbul

Personal life

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Gürs has one child. He speaks Swedish, Turkish, French, and English.[11]

References

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  1. ^ "Cultures Meet at the Dinner Table". The New York Times. 9 December 2007. Retrieved 25 June 2011.
  2. ^ "Mikla". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 18 October 2012. Retrieved 25 June 2011.
  3. ^ a b The Sunday Morning Herald (8 October 2010). "Celebrity chef with an anthropologist's interest in rare food". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 25 June 2011.
  4. ^ Euronews. "Turkey with a Twist:Combining Cuisine, Culture and Commerce". Retrieved 25 June 2011.
  5. ^ "Tähtikokki Mehmet Gürs palasi kotiin Helsinkiin" (in Finnish). Hotel St. George [fi]. Retrieved 20 September 2021. Suomalais-turkkilainen Mehmet Gürs
  6. ^ Paavilainen, Kaisa (14 September 2018). "Pönötys pois ja herkut pöytään! Ravintola Andreassa ei turhia hienostella, vaikka viiden tähden hotellissa ollaankin". City (in Finnish). Retrieved 20 September 2021. Ravintoloitsija Mehmet Gürs on palkittu suomalais-turkkilainen keittiömestari
  7. ^ Kahkonen, Heikki (6 September 2017). "Antto Melasniemi ja Mehmet Gürs ovat St. George -hotellin keittiön päätähdet" (in Finnish). Viisi Tähteä Media. Retrieved 20 September 2021. Suomalais-turkkilainen Mehmet Gürs
  8. ^ a b Food and Wine. "Turkish Picnic". Retrieved 25 June 2011.
  9. ^ Sabah. "Gürs: Gastronomi turizmiyle milyonlarca Euro kazanırız". Retrieved 25 June 2011.
  10. ^ Johnson & Wales University. "Mehmet Gurs '93, Chef, Restaurant Owner". Retrieved 24 February 2018.
  11. ^ a b Mikla. "Mehmet Gürs Profile". Retrieved 25 June 2011.
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