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KITCHEN OF THE
IMPERIAL PALACE
The importance of culinary art to the Ottoman Sultans is evident to
every visitor to Topkapý Place.
The huge kitchens were housed in several buildings under ten domes.
By the 17th century some thirteen hundred kitchen staff were housed
in the Palace.hundreds of cooks, specializing in different
categories, such as soups, pilafs, kebabs, vegetables, fish, breads,
pastries, candy and helva, syrups and jams, and beverages, fed as
many as ten thousand people a day, and in addition, sent trays of
food to others in the city as royal favor.
The importance of food has also been evident in the structure of the
Ottoman military elite, known as the Janissaries. The commanders of
the main divisions were known as the Soupmen, other high ranking
officers included the Chief Cook, the Scullion, the Baker, and the
Pancake Maker, though their duties had little to do with food. The
huge cauldron used to make pilaf had a special symbolic significance
for the Janissaries, and was the focal point of each division. The
kitchen was at the same time t6he center of politics, for whenever
the Janissaries demanded a change in the Sultan’s Cabinet, or the
head of a grand vizier, they would overtrn their pilaf cauldron.
“Overturning the cauldron” is an expression still used today to
indicate a rebellion in the ranks.
It was in this environment that hundreds of the Sultan’s chefs, who
dedicated their lives to their profession, developed and perfected
the dishes of the Turkish cuisine, which was then adopted in areas
from the Balkans to southern Russia, and even as far as North
Africa. Istanbul was then the capital of the world and had all the
prestige, so its ways were imitated. At the same time, it was
supported by an enormous organization and infrastructure which
enabled all the treasures of the world to flow into it. The
provinces of the vast Empire were integrated by a system of trade
routes with caravanserais for refreshing the weary merchants and
security forces. The Spice Road, the most important factor in
culinary history, was under the full control of the Sultan. Only the
best ingredients were allowed to be traded under the strict
standards established by the courts.
Guilds played an important role in the development and sustenance of
the cuisine. These included hunters, fishermen, cooks, kebab cooks,
bakers butchers, cheese makers and yogurt merchants, pastry chefs,
pickle makers, and sausage merchants. All of the principal trades
were believed o be sacred and each guild traced its patronage to the
saints. The guilds set price and quality controls. They displayed
their products and talents in spectacular parades through Istanbul
streets on special occasions, such as the circumcision festivities
for the Crown Prince or religious holiday.
Following the example of the Palace, all of the grand Ottoman houses
boasted elaborate kitchens and competed in preparing feasts for each
other as well as for the general public. In fact, in each
neighborhood, at least one household would open its doors to anyone
who happened to stop by for dinner during other festive occasions.
This is how the traditional cuisine evolved and spread, even to the
most modest corners of the country. |
