Where to Start with Özlem Warren
Özlem Warren grew up in Antakya, a city in southern Turkey with one of the oldest and most diverse food traditions in the country. She learned to cook from her mother and grandmother, then spent years teaching Turkish cookery classes in the United States before moving to England, where she launched her popular blog and began writing cookbooks. Her work stands out for its warmth, its regional specificity, and its commitment to making Turkish home cooking accessible to anyone willing to try.
Start here
Özlem's Turkish Table
Özlem Warren · 304 pages · 2019 · Easy
Themes: Turkish cuisine, meze, kebabs, home cooking, regional recipes
Warren’s debut cookbook is the distillation of everything she learned growing up in Antakya and years of teaching Turkish cooking to home cooks around the world. It won the Gourmand World Cookbook Award for Food Heritage of Turkey in 2020, and it remains the most personal and approachable introduction to Turkish home cooking available in English.
Why Start Here
This is the book Warren was born to write. It covers the full range of Turkish home cooking, from meze spreads and soups to kebabs, borek, and baklava, all rooted in the specific traditions of her family and region. The recipes are tested for Western kitchens, with clear instructions and ingredient notes that help you find what you need.
Warren writes with genuine warmth. She shares stories about her mother’s kitchen, the markets of Antakya, and the meals that mark Turkish celebrations and everyday life. The food photography by Sian Irvine is beautiful throughout, making this as much a pleasure to browse as to cook from.
What to Expect
A 304-page hardcover organized by course, from meze through desserts. Most recipes are straightforward enough for weeknight meals. The pantry guide at the front is essential reading. A foreword by Ghillie Basan, the respected food writer who chaired Warren’s talk at the Edinburgh International Book Festival, sets the tone for a book that takes Turkish home cooking seriously while keeping it accessible.