A story from Kaş-Kekova, Turkey, prepared in collaboration with the Mediterranean Conservation Society (MCS) for the observance of the 2021 edition of International Women’s Day
Two years ago, Kubra Karadayi Beyoglu and her husband left Istanbul and moved to the seaside town of Kaş where they opened a small restaurant. They cite that their fascination with the nature of the Kaş-Kekova marine protected area as the main reason for them setting up shop there.
As a green-minded entrepreneur, Ms. Karadayi Beyoglu runs "Zoka Street Food", the name she chose for her restaurant, on locally sourced produce of the season. Her days start with a morning visit to the local fish stalls. The day’s catch provides instant inspiration for the menu.
Delivering a new menu daily comes with challenges, but the Cheffe says she enjoys the process. This has allowed her to build rapport with the fishers and to better understand the mouth-watering wealth of local marine biodiversity.
The Kaş-Kekova waters have recently seen a spike in Non-Indigenous Species (NIS), including lionfish. Although it is edible, lionfish was little known by the local gluttons and had a somewhat frightful reputation. The entrepreneur still remembers the first time she was presented with a lionfish. "Don’t touch it or you’ll die", a fisher warned. "But as I did my own research and learned how to safely clean the fish, I realized it didn’t deserve all this aversion".
In a stroke of culinary genius, the innovative entrepreneur turned the lionfish into a local delicacy. Several other edible invasive species, including marbled and dusky spinefoot, soon followed lionfish on the journey from the waters of Kaş-Kekova to Ms. Karadayi Beyoglu’s restaurant. "People now come to our restaurant specifically for the invasive species we serve", she says.
When Kubra Karadayi Beyoglu first tastes a new entry on her NIS menu, she first familiarizes herself with the salt and fattiness levels of the fish and creates her recipes accordingly. For the lionfish, which is low in fat but potent in flavor, she recommends softening impact on the palate with a touch of fresh herbs and a juicy tartar. *As a business owner, Kubra understands that her restaurant is part of a local web of services, which is why she values collaborating with other restaurateurs, fishers and farmers. In addition to generating good business, putting non-indigenous fish on the menu relieves endemic species and turns a scourge into a bonanza. But for this to work in the long run, small-scale coastal fishers must want to target these species.
One of Ms. Karadayi Beyoglu’s dreams is to meet like-minded women entrepreneurs from other countries. She also believes that there are many chefs and cheffes in Turkey who would add lionfish to the menus they offer.
Restrictions related to the Covid-19 pandemic have impacted the business, so the restaurant started offering delivery services in order to stay "afloat". "I have started using social media to communicate with the customers, but it is not the same thing as welcoming them into my restaurant. The "don’t fear the lionfish" invitation to a new culinary experience works better with a reassuring smile.
The Kaş-Kekova Marine Protected Area
The Kaş-Kekova marine region covers a total of 258.30 km2, 92 km2 of which is designated as a Marine Protected Area (MPA). Studies show that 1000 marine species live in the Kaş-Kekova region. *To preserve and protect the marine ecosystem of this coastal region, the Mediterranean Conservation Society (MSC) is implementing a Marine Ranger System and other programmes under its Endangered Landscapes Programme. MSC is also partnering with UNDP GEF-Small Grants Programme on a project which promotes and conducts scientific research on the consumption of invasive alien species, aiming to reduce exogenous pressures on the marine ecosystem.
Photos: ©SPA/RAC, Artemisia Bodrum
Author: ©SPA/RAC, Esra Kartal-MCS
Translation: İpek Yılmaz, Yasemin Ulusoy