Didem Senol Tiryakioglu

After graduating in psychology from Koç University, Istanbul, in 2001, Didem Senol Tiryakioglu moved to New York to fulfill her dream of becoming a chef. She studied culinary arts at the French Culinary Institute in the Manhattan neighbourhood of SoHo and put theory into practice by working at the Le Cirque restaurant as an intern, and at Eleven Madison Park restaurant, working on the hot appetizers. Didem returned to Turkey in 2003 and worked at Nu Teras, a fashionable Istanbul restaurant specializing in traditional dishes, where she prepared ufak yemekler (small dishes). In 2005, Didem joined the Dionysos Hotel, Kumlubük, an oasis of tranquility and natural beauty near Marmaris in southwestern Turkey. In 2010, she opened Lokanta Maya, in Karaköy, Istanbul, a small restaurant serving dishes that have been prepared with local, seasonal ingredients. The same year she was named Best Chef at the Time Out Istanbul awards. Didem has since opened a bakery and an eatery, Gram, in 2012.