I began my career in asset management at the Ritz-Carlton Istanbul in 2001. A lot happened between 2001 – 2006. The hotel’s opening itself was a significant event. I wrote about this in detail in my blog post entitled, “My 15-Year Business Life and Notes for the Future…” I recommend reading this post as well: https://www.serhansuzer.com/tr/15-yillik-is-hayatim-ve-gelecege-notlar
In short, on 6 October 2001, about 25 days before the hotel opened, an event that was a turning point in American history occurred. The Twin Towers were attacked by planes on 9/11. Immediately following these events, Turkish tourism suffered a major blow. Unfortunately, as Turkey became synonymous with these events, many Western tourists canceled their reservations in our country. This crisis continued for a long time. One day after we opened the hotel, the US invaded Afghanistan. The situation was steadily worsening. Of course, amidst all these events, we were also experiencing our own crisis (see: Kentbank crisis). You can read all the details in the article I linked above.
We somehow managed to get through this difficult period. After 9/11, despite the Istanbul bombings in 2003, we managed to restructure the loan we received from OPIC, but before that, we had to implement a ‘bitter medicine’ within the hotel. 2001-2004 were the Ritz-Carlton Istanbul’s most challenging years. During this period, especially in the early stages, we were forced to implement layoffs, minimal Ritz-Carlton standards, and unpaid leave, all of which we didn’t like, to reduce operational costs. One of the things we unintentionally did during this period was close CAM, perhaps the first true ‘fine dining’ restaurant in Istanbul, and a place we were all proud of.
Istanbul’s first fine dining experience
In 2001, while preparing to open the Ritz-Carlton Istanbul, thanks to the efforts of our first Monegasque general manager, we brought one of the most promising chefs in his field to our hotel: Paul Pairet. Paul Pairet was a young chef who had served as assistant to Alain Ducasse and was admired by everyone. Today, he remains among the world’s most respected chefs and continues to amaze visitors with his truly masterful dishes. You can read Paul Pairet’s biography at http://paulpairet.com/#biography . When this young chef opened Istanbul’s first fine dining restaurant nearly 21 years ago, he assembled a team of highly talented and promising young people. One of these young men was Fatih Tutak. With two stars, he is now the founder and owner of the most prestigious restaurant in Turkey with the most Michelin stars. We are proud of him.
A rising star from Paul Pairet’s team
I remember reading “Turkey’s Michelin-starred restaurants” and seeing Fatih Tutak’s picture and asking myself, “How do I know this chef?” I usually have a good visual memory, so I’m sure I’ve seen him somewhere. Out of curiosity, I opened his resume and started reading, and I found the answer: Paul Pairet. Many of my meetings with Paul Pairet were difficult. Sometimes we held them at the hotel, and sometimes we’d just pop in and visit the restaurant. I’m sure I saw Fatih Tutak during my kitchen visits with Rainer Bürkle, the German general manager who succeeded the Monaco general manager who left our hotel after the opening. Paul Pairet was proud of his team and would sometimes introduce them to us. A meticulous chef with very high standards, Paul was very careful. For example, during the economic crisis, he served a single meal at the restaurant and wouldn’t allow more than 40 people into the restaurant for that dinner. We managed this way for a year, but push came to shove, and we were faced with the dilemma of “Is this restaurant’s image or the financial damage it’s causing?” Regarding the restaurant, which we’d been losing money on, but had kept for prestige, we had to face the challenge of deciding to minimize our financial losses as much as possible. I even vividly remember the meeting where we announced to Paul Pairet that we’d decided to close the restaurant. Rainer Bürkle, one of the best general managers in the history of the Ritz-Carlton Istanbul in my opinion, Paul Pairet, and I met in Ortaköy and had to break the devastating news to him. Frankly, I expected a strong reaction from him, and of course, he reacted with maturity, and I remember quickly moving past the emotional aspect of the situation, discussing how we would handle the closure process, and what would come next.
Starburst from the Ritz-Carlton to Abroad
The Ritz-Carlton, Istanbul, is essentially the highest-standard hotel and food and beverage institution in Turkey. This was true during my time and remains so today. From its grand opening, it has introduced many valuable professionals to the sector. I remember that between 2001 – 2006, the year the hotel I worked at opened, we trained and transferred around 40 tourism professionals abroad. This has always been a source of pride for us. During my travels abroad, during my stays at the Ritz-Carlton in many countries around the world, I was always pleased to encounter Turkish professionals who had transferred from us. Many of them went on to crown their successful careers by moving into management positions.
Fatih Tutak and Cevat Yıldırım
I believe another young talent who joined us during my time there was Cevat Yıldırım, who worked at the bar. Cevat was an expert in the spirits industry, especially cocktail making. He worked like a chemist. He was constantly experimenting at our bar, constantly exploring new innovations. I even remember some hotel managers at the time criticizing him, saying, “This guy’s wasting too much material, incurring unnecessary expenses.” I would tell them, “I always support creative people. Don’t interfere with the guy. Let him innovate the bar menu and develop himself.” I disagreed with that criticism and personally supported him.
Let me explain Cevat’s talent. I’d go to the hotel bar and say, “I’m feeling down today. Can you give me a cocktail to perk me up?” He’d immediately prepare one of his signature cocktails, and the drink he offered me truly revitalized me. I even remember him asking, “Can you make people fall in love with each other through alcohol?”
One day, Cevat and I had a moment. My friend, who was both the owner and manager of the company that was the distributor of Finlandia Vodka at the time, called me, and the conversation went something like this:
– Serhan, next week we’re holding a cocktail competition in Turkey for Finlandia Vodka. Would you like to join us as a jury member? “Thank you for the kind invitation, but I don’t know much about alcohol. I don’t drink much anyway. I think it would be better if you invited someone who does.
“It’s not important at all. The important thing is that the jury has respectable, good-natured people we can trust. I think you should come; it’ll be fun.”
“Okay. If you say so, I’ll be happy to come for the fun. Thank you again for the invitation.”
After this speech, I took my place on the jury. As soon as the event started, the contestants lined up in front of us. What did I see? Among them was our Cevat. When I saw him, I said, “What are you doing here?” and made a hand gesture. He came over and said, “Excuse me, Mr. Serhan, participating in competitions like this isn’t welcome at the hotel, so I signed up and came.” I asked him, “Who’s not welcome?” and he replied, “Never mind, I won’t mention your name right now.” Afterward, I wished him success. I remember thinking to myself, “I need to support this kid whose talent I believe in.”
Champion in both Turkey and theWworld.
Even though I had limited influence within the 15-person jury (because I didn’t know anyone), I remember exclaiming several times after Cevat’s prepared drinks (because I genuinely liked them). The results were announced among the crowd of contestants. Cevat had won the competition. I was overjoyed. He came up to me and thanked me personally.
Of course, the story didn’t end there. Cevat lived up to our expectations. He traveled to Finland to represent Turkey in the Finlandia Vodka World Championship. Our Cevat also won the World Championship, held in a very special setting in ice houses. Cevat, who brought Turkey a very important and prestigious championship in this field, had outperformed the best bartenders in Finland, where drinking is practically a national tradition. He later brought the trophy to me at the hotel, thanked me personally, and said, “Thanks to your support, I achieved this success,” dedicating his victory to me and the hotel. This made me truly happy.
Cevat was then transferred to Lucca. Frankly, no matter how much I tried to convince the hotel general manager not to lose him, I couldn’t, and unfortunately, we couldn’t keep Cevat on our team. Lucca, with its excellent drink menu, has been a hit for years, and this was a significant transfer for them.
I wish the “ladies and gentlemen who serve ladies and gentlemen” success
Congratulations to all the Ritz-Carlton colleagues who have achieved this success, and I want to express my pride in them. I wish the “ladies and gentlemen who serve ladies and gentlemen” success in their careers.
I believe that these talents, which combine food and beverage with art, should always be supported. I believe that a school of international standards should be established in our country to support young people with this talent in the future.
We’ll see more talent emerge from our ranks capable of earning a Michelin star, provided we establish systematic mechanisms to identify and support them. Personally, I left the industry many years ago and have been working in the energy sector for the last 11 years. Therefore, I recommend the idea of opening a school for highly talented and creative chefs and bartenders to those working in this sector.
Tag: education
