Jason Pratt
It doesn't seem to Senay Turker that Americans like to cook very much.
Turn on any cooking show, open a magazine and you're bound to find a lot of people promising "quick and easy" meal solutions.
Perplexed by a culture where soaking beans overnight seems like just too much planning, it's been quite a transition for Turker, 30, who moved to Jacksonville seven years ago from Canakkale, Turkey.
Where Turker is from, the baklava isn't made from store-bought phyllo dough; it's made painstakingly from 60 hand-rolled sheets, sheets so thin you can peer through them.
Where Turker is from, stuffed grape leaves and Turkish ravioli don't come out of a jar; they're made in a production that takes days, not minutes.
And if a visitor happens to stop by, he or she better be prepared to eat.
"We would be very insulted if you didn't eat," she said.
So, when the Amity Turkey Cultural Center began making plans for a Turkish festival - ostensibly an event designed to introduce itself to the community - the organizers knew food would have to play a central role. For weeks now, the members of the center have been making cigarette borek (which looks like a taquito and is filled with feta and parsley), stuffed grape leaves and, of course, baklava. On Sunday, April 5, there will be a total of 25 different dishes, including grilled chicken and lamb kabobs.
Call it culinary diplomacy.
Additionally, during the festival, there will be handmade Turkish crafts such as scarves and woven items for sale.
Akif Aydin, the director of the center, invited me to its Southside Boulevard location last week. I thought I would be in the kitchen learning to prepare a Turkish dish. Instead, when I arrived the food was already spread on a small table, about a foot off the ground. Turkish tea in dainty little glasses was brought out.
The food I tried was excellent. Nothing I had was very spicy, but everything had a full, rich flavor. The stuffed grape leaves in particular had a delicate flavor of lemon, mint and parsley.
Currently, there are no Turkish restaurants in Jacksonville, although at least five local pizzerias are owned by Americans of Turkish descent.
Aydin isn't sure exactly how many Turkish Americans live in Jacksonville, although he estimates there are a little more than 600. The center, started 21/2 years ago, has about250 members.
It's already helping to preserve and pass along Turkish culinary traditions. In addition to the upcoming festival, the center offers free monthly cooking classes. And it's home to Jacksonville's only Turkish market, a gem of a tiny store that sells everything from Turkish coffee to grape leaves.
For recipes for stuffed grape leaves and other dishes, visit the center's Web site at www.atccenter.org.
Americans might not spend the kind of time Turks spend in the kitchen, but we do like to eat. And, luckily for us, the work for this year's festival is already well under way.
Turkish Food and Handcraft Festival will be held from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday, April 5, at the Amity Turkish Cultural Center, 4540 Southside Blvd., Suite 202. Admission is free. Call (904) 333-3588 for more information.
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