MAKSUT ASKAR

CHEF & owner of the restaurant Neolokal

Maksut Askar is the chef owner of the restaurant 'Neolokal' located in Salt Galata Museum in Istanbul. With modern takes on Anatolian Cuisine, Maksut Askar cooks deeply into the heart of guests who experiences "Neolokal" with refined family cooking of not only Maksut's childhood and emotions but also the root and traditions within this very geography, in which he believes is the real Anatolian Cuisine.

Maksut Askar studied tourism and hotel management at high school and university. During his education, he studied both culinary and service management. Maksut Askar worked in food and beverage industry while and after his studies. This period led him into a passion for taste design and he reflected this passion in various projects. He transformed the tastes he designed into art exhibitions, consulted and designed events for many important food&beverage brands and entities. His last 10 years have passed chasing his dream as a chef at the restaurants he opened.

Neolokal Bio

At Neolokal which opened in November 2014, Chef Maksut Askar, who is heading a young and curious team says “if we do not protect our food culture, heritage and traditions, next generations to come will not have anything left in their hands”.

To guarantee our future, our traditions have to be adjusted to todays circumstances and become sustainable. The correct way for us to do this is to express our respect for the earth at every opportunity and to share this deep respect we feel with our guests, in a humble manner.

As Neolokal; we consider ourselves timeless. This gives us the opportunity to constantly renew ourselves as we continue our path and learning from our past which is our roots, traditions and lost cultures. We feel it is our duty to preserve it for the future and for future generations. Thus we feel like we are a bridge between the past and the future, presenting dishes from the past in a modern way that will be accepted in the future. By combining modern techniques and innovative perspective with traditions of Anatolian cuisine, we revamp the taste that she has given us from these fertile lands since thousands of years.