Turkish Cypriots were next on the list for the World in One city site and I will provide a brief synopsis of the day below.
The idea behind the site is to facilitate cultural understanding through the food cultures consume and the rituals surrounding them and due to Turkish cuisines omnipresence within the city; whether a Turkish kebab house, grocery store or tea shop. My curiosity revolves around the characters behind the food and their families, I aim not to add to the plethora of reviews that inform peoples opinions/perspectives, I wish to open windows and splay light on the people, their stories, histories in order to richly document their communications about their food and culture, the everyday rituals, the crux of the cultural fabric, the make up, the essence, the personality, the qualities that radiate when one has evacuated the archaic image of the kebab shop from their mind.
Questioning people in cafes and telephoning grocery stories, through much trial and error I have slowly but surely uncovered the most efficient method of infiltration into the cuisines of a designated ethnic group, and it is to target community centres to approach with patience and sincerity.
After extensive net trawling, I identified a Turkish Cypriot community centre situated on Green Lanes by Turnpike Lane tube station, the home of one of the largest Turkish/Cypriot communities in the capital for a day of filming.
This centre sprung out immediately from a list of many others due to culturally sensitive restaurant that comprised part of the complex. Boasting two separate menus, one geared towards the 1st generation immigrants whilst the the other caters for the westernised Turk/Cypriots, the 2nd generation. I was excited at the prospect of being able to bare witness to two versions of the same cuisine, identifying first hand influences the west has imparted.
I was particularly lucky to have been communicating through he wonderful receptionist Bahar who managed to arrange my day filming in the kitchen and in the community centre itself, there will be more images to follow. The session included filming in the kitchen, the community centre and a series of interviews.
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