“⁠I got into cooking purely because I come from a family of architects and I was a really picky eater as a child. I started cooking because I did not want to eat what my family was eating, and I eventually realized I wanted to pursue it as a career, my family fully supported me in that. ⁠⠀
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I went to culinary school in Turkey, and after graduating I spent some time working in France, with the goal of travelling around the glove and cooking while figuring out what to do. It was then that I landed in Miami, fell in love while I was working at a high-end restaurant, and decided to settle down for a while and perhaps open our own place.⁠⠀
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The beauty of the kitchens here is how multicultural they are. You get to meet people from all backgrounds and all corners of the world.⁠⠀
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Being a woman in such a male-dominated environment meant that I had to work harder, while I was working my way up my input was rarely taken seriously and it took me very long to get out of the dish pits and salad sections because no one believed I could cook as well as the men. ⁠⠀
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It is changing slowly, but it will take time. My advice for any woman wanting to start in this industry is to believe in yourself. You are worth more than anyone says, and you need to trust in your own abilities; if you don’t have that trust in yourself, you will never succeed in our industry, no matter how much knowledge or qualifications you have.⁠”