The history of Asia Minor has given modern day Turkey an incredibly diverse cuisine. The land bridge between Europe and Asia has been a melting pot for cultures (and food!) for millenia. As a result, Turkish food is a wonderful fusion of Mediterranean, Balkan, Slavic, Caucasion, Central Asian, Middle Eastern, and North African cuisines. Sofra's menu incorporates dishes from all regions of Turkey a
nd every "parent" cuisine is therefore represented. All dishes are prepped daily by Chef Yuksel Gultekin who works by the "from scratch" rule. He makes everything from the dough you will see him rolling into pita and pizzas to the dressing on the greens to the many dips and meat marinades. Because olive groves abound in Turkey, olive oils and olives figure largely in Turkish cooking. Yuksel only uses cold-pressed extra virgin olive oil and black olives imported from Turkey for all food preparation. In fact, many of Sofra's ingredients and beverages are imported from Turkey. But because the long growing season in Turkey produces an abundance of fruit and vegetables, fresh local produce is equally essential to Yuksel's menu. Yuksel's efforts to consistently provide fresh, quality food have been rewarded with the patronage of amazing guests (Sofra really does have the best customers!) and with many rave reviews. Highlights:
Avenue Edmonton's 2009 25 Best Things To Eat
Golden Fork Awards 2009, 2012, 2013, 2014
Featured on Season 2 of The Food Network's "You Gotta Eat Here"
Articles and Reviews:
http://avenueedmonton.com/articles/chefs-night-out
http://www.canada.com/edmontonjournal/news/cityplus/story.html?id=e6244ed6-9951-4a6c-8395-7faca8ce1657&p=1
http://www.vueweekly.com/turkish_delights_are_sofra_so_good/
