THE image of a doner kebab has been sullied in recent years thanks to it being the food of choice for hungry revellers after a night out.

But if you are after a genuine taste of Turkey, with mezze, kebabs and flatbreads all made using fresh ingredients, then head on over to Turquoise, a new restaurant which has just opened in Witham town centre.

Co-owned by Mesut Gulbahce, 33, Turquoise offers the chance to enjoy a takeaway or a sit-down meal in the restaurant above, with food that is prepared and cooked on site. Even the doner kebab, which has developed an unsavoury reputation over the years, is made on site, rather than being shipped in from a factory.

As a result, Mesut can tell you exactly what has gone into it.

And it is all meat, he assures me.

“In the UK, people say doner kebab is a drunk person’s food,” says Mesut.

“But in Turkey it’s not. It’s made with minced lamb and a little bit of fat, and that is exactly howwemake ours here. Who knows what goes into doner kebabs when theymake it in some factories, but here it is all meat. We use the same meat for the doner kebab as we do for our other meat dishes. All that comes from Spitalfields in London several timesaweek.”

Turquoise, inGuithavon Street, opened just a few weeks ago.

It includes starters, a range of authentic flatbreads, which are bought every day from London and servedwith the kebabs (“it’s how they are doing it in Turkey”), and main dishes. But if you’d rather eat in (and booking is a must), stairs hidden just off to the side take you up to the first-floor restaurant which opens up into a cosy dining area lit with Turkishstyle lamps overhead.

Mesut, who came to the UK from Istanbul 15 years ago, says his intention with Turquoise is clear.

He explains: “Turkish food is very tasty and quite healthy, but you don’t get that impression here. In the UK there are thousands of kebab shops, thousands of takeaways, but nowhere that offers authentic Turkish food. So I wanted to show people what proper Turkish food tastes like.

“In Istanbul, we are influenced heavily by the Mediterrenean style of food. We use spices, but very lightly, because we like to enjoy the taste of the meat. The herbs and spices are there just to help bring the flavour out. Each dish has its own character and we do have vegetarian dishes, but Turkish people do like their meat.

“For the restaurant we have chosen good quality wines and spirits and so far, we have been really busy. In fact, we are overbooked.

“People are enjoying our food and it’s surprising – not to us, but to them!”

Mesut and business partner Halil Celik’s decision to open in Witham was a strategic one.

Living in Romford, Mesut travels to Witham every day but says it’s a great area to explore foodie opportunities.

He says: “Witham has a growing young population. It is getting bigger and it is only a short distance to Braintree, Colchester and Chelsmford, close enough for people to travel to visit and eat in the restaurant.

“Witham also hasamore mature crowd who are willing to try something new. With no other Turkish restaurants in the area, it is a good place to be. Wewant to see the same people again and again. “ Mesut, who has first-hand experience of working in takeaways and restaurants, is the head chef at Turquoise. He describes Turkish food as healthy, with much of the cooking done on grills and barbecues.

“There is a big park in Instanbul and people have lots of barbecues there, drinking Turkish tea and coffee.

“Wewant to bring some of those foods here. We offer meals like kleftico lamb shank, chicken shish, mixed shish. A lot of people do ask for a doner kebab.

Most dishes are cooked on a grill and only a handful in a pan,” he says.

“What has been interesting is that a lot of people come in and ask just for the flatbreads. They have been a real hit!

Unfortunately they are something I can’t make here. I leave that to the experts,” adds Mesut.

 

ABOUT TURKISH FOOD

TURKISH food takes its heritage from the Ottomans and is a mix of food from central Asian, Western, Middle Eastern, Mediterranean and Balkan cuisines.

In turn, Turkish food has influenced that of central and western Europe.

Food in Turkey varies across the country. In Istanbul, Izmir and Bursa, spices are used more lightly than other areas, with rice, koftes, vegetable stews, aubergine and stuffed dolmas popular.

 

MUSAKA

(courtesy of Turquoise – serves five)

Ingredients

200g minced lamb

Half a cup of diced red peppers

Half a cup of diced onion

Half a tablespoon of oregano

Quarter tablespoon of cumin

Half a tablespoon of salt

3 medium aubergines, sliced

Two and a half large potatoes, sliced

3 carrots, sliced round

500ml bechamel sauce

Grated cheese of your choice

 

Method

Pan-cook the minced lamb with the salt, diced peppers, onion, cumin and oregano on a low heat for 30 minutes.

Separately, deep-fry the aubergines for 10 minutes, then the potatoes for 10 minutes.

In a rectangular baking dish layer the potatoes, followed by carrots, then half of the aubergines, then the minced lamb mixture. Top that with the rest of the aubergines and pour over the bechamel sauce.

Please in a preheated over at 180C for 10 minutes, remove, sprinkle over the cheese, and return to oven for another 20 minutes.

Cool for five minutes and enjoy.