Umut Karakuş

Umut Karakuş was born in 1984 to a family of cooks. However, it was his grandmother that had the most influence on his life, where in his words “she fed me in the most beautiful way”. He started in his father’s dough shop and soon went on to create menus with a well-known chef in Turkey whom he had been introduced to. Aware that he lacked technical knowledge, Karakuş sought out an institution that he could go to but found none that were suitable. After working on several great projects, he studied cuisine and pâtisserie at Le Cordon Bleu in Istanbul, then moved to London for 2 years to continue consulting. Karakuş returned to Istanbul in 2017 and worked at the Fairmont Hotel. Just a year later, he was selected as Chef of the Year in Turkey (Time Out) and now heads up Oligark, the largest restaurant complex in Turkey. In addition, he has his own street food restaurant called Muutto in Moda, Istanbul.