From winter game to autumn harvest, Sırça Mutfak's producer calendar.
The word “seasonal” appears on menus so often that it has begun to lose its meaning. For us seasonality is not a slogan but a supply chain that works day by day. Let us tell Sırça Mutfak's year through the calendar of our producers.
Winter: game, roots and the cellar
In December lamb from Mudurnu and game birds from Bolu are the spine of the menu. Celeriac, carrots and beetroot cook long in the tandır. Cave-aged cheeses are at their most mature this season; the tulum from Develi is the star of the cheese trolley.
Spring: greens and legumes
At the end of March chicory, nettle and sea beans arrive from the Aegean. Fresh broad beans, peas and artichokes enter the menu for a short time. These are the weeks when we wait for a message from the morel foragers of Gölyaka; if the harvest arrives the menu sheet is rewritten that morning.
Summer: sea and garden
From June to August the menu is built on the sea: sea bass, octopus, mussels, prawns. Summer vegetables such as tomato, pepper and aubergine complete it. In this season no turbot comes from the Poyraz boat; the Black Sea fishing period is limited and no fish are taken during spawning.
Autumn: the harvest
At the end of September the anchovy season opens. Chestnut, quince, pomegranate and olive harvests fall in the same weeks. The early-harvest olive oil from Karadere Olive Grove is at its brightest time of year.
Three rules that keep the chain standing
- Advance payment: We pay producers at the start of the month; cash flow is vital for small businesses.
- Annual commitment: We say at the start of the year how much of which product we will buy, so the producer can plan.
- Visits: At the start of each season the team visits at least one producer.
That is why our menu is the last link of a story much longer than the plate you see.
Measurable results
Last year 78% of the ingredients used on the menu came from 42 producers in Turkey and 61% from within a 500 km radius. We kept kitchen waste under 3 kg a day; a third of the trimmings were fermented and returned to the menu as sauces and garum. We publish these figures every January on our website and on the cards at the tables.
Most of our producers are invited to visit the restaurant and see how their produce looks on a plate. Twice a year we host all of them at the table on the same evening.
What can you do as a guest?
If you are curious about one of the producers named on the menu, ask our server; we will tell you the story of the product, which day it arrived and in which course it is used. On request we share a list of places where you can find our producers' products at home. At the producer evenings we hold twice a year you can meet them directly.
In our next article we will describe, with photographs, our visit to the farm of one of these producers.