The Zurich chef and entrepreneur on happiness, leadership qualities and theatrics: part four of the interview series on role models that promote equality.
Does that mean I’m successful then? Who decides? I have many options – I cook, I’m on TV, I’ve written a book. But professional goals don’t motivate me. I’m interested in feelings. Moments of happiness. When I can make guests happy in my Restaurant Gül.
Like strawberry cream. People expect so much from happiness. Yet it’s often much more understated. For me, it’s all about consciously lived moments, like spending time with my father. And the other kind of happiness: when I’m running late yet I still catch my train – I get more of a kick out of that.
No. Having said that, women’s skills are definitely questioned more often. The problem is structural. Influential female chefs are still far from being mainstream. But at the end of the day, only one thing matters: whether the food tastes good.
Things are starting to shift. Kitchens are historically evolved power structures, but we can decide how we lead. For me, it’s less about hierarchy than clarity. Like an orchestra: it needs a female conductor, but everyone is important.
I attract a certain type of person. The men in my team are also extremely empathetic. Feelings act as a filter.
My mother and sister gave me the gift of basic trust, not just in myself, but in other women too.
Hardly at all for me, personally. But my restaurant is as noisy as an extended family. It’s always Christmas here, and the confetti is always flying.
We cook on charcoal, so when we grill bread, the aromas are louder than during a quiet bake. Silence comes during the closing credits: in the harmonious baklava.
A boiled egg with salt. A potato with a half-melted knob of butter.
My first home-made marble cake. Best of all, my father thought it was shop-bought. I don’t remember what it tasted like, but I remember that feeling very well. That’s what I call a real success.