When I publish recipes from Turkey or Egypt, connoisseurs come to the comments. No, not even that.
CONNECTORS.
With a capital letter and all caps.
They write to me:
- You're all lying! We were in Turkey and Egypt, and not just like that, but according to the all inclusive system. We had everything local there, we didn't like anything, everything is either too spicy or with such a bouquet spices, that they interrupt the whole taste, and in general, nothing that you attribute to these cuisines is served.
At first I tried to argue with these gentlemen individually, then I realized that I was just wasting my time. Therefore, I will write once, but in a publication format.
Ladies and gentlemen!
To get acquainted with the national cuisine, you need to leave the hotel. And even better - not just get out, but get deep into the country, away from tourist centers.
This is not dangerous - in Egypt, the color revolutions are over, and the Turks... Well, for them tourists are not something that is sacred, but they will definitely not be touched, not even in tourist areas.
However, even if you wander a little longer in the resort areas, look for small establishments in which a handful of locals gather, you can enjoy the authentic food of the region.
And everything that is served in hotels is, sorry, miles: an average cuisine, more or less adapted to the stomachs and tastes of visitors from all over the world. The menu is as flat as it can get.
And that's okay. Because you have to feed a hell of a lot of tourists, and if you focus on authentic food, those tourists will triple the hunger riot. After all, the national cuisine is not always to everyone's taste.
Yes, and I'm sorry, I'm sorry, waiting for something amazing at the hotel - regardless of whether you eat there a la card or from the buffet - is just... naive.
It is simply impossible to hire a star chef there - a star chef will not undertake the organization of a kitchen of such a scale. And the main thing for non-star chefs, again, is to feed the hotel guests fresh, not spoiled during cooking, products. So as not to get hurt, dear ...
Therefore, it is not worth it, you should not find fault with the local cuisine, if you judge it by all inclusive. And you shouldn't judge her by him either.