Turkish Delights: Chef shares her love of Mediterranean cuisine

“I started cooking when I was 8 years old,” says Ozlen Gultekin. “I have a big family and I was cooking everything. I love it.” 

Gultekin, originally from Turkey, has been delighting customers at the South Bend Farmers Market with her homecooked Mediterranean treats since last summer. She offers a variety of flatbreads and stuffed pastries, some laden with savory spiced lamb and beef or chicken, others filled with spinach and feta cheese, potato or green lentils. Fresh and flavorful, they feel right for any meal of the day, from breakfast to a midnight snack. 

She also makes grape leaf dolmas—a far cry from the ubiquitous bland, mushy version—hummus, baba ghanoush, spicy bulghur kisir salad, falafel and kibbeh meatballs, along with sweets like baklava and cheese kunefe. 

Gultekin, who also offers catering, makes monthly shopping trips to the suburbs of Chicago to source authentic ingredients, such as Turkish chickpeas and rich Turkish butter. Her flavors are layered with tradition and her own inspiration: Pumpkin flatbread is one such creation. 

Her son, Ilgin, helps translate and run the market stand. The two of them, kind and genuine, are apt ambassadors of Mediterranean hospitality, warming up their corner of the market every Saturday. 

Ozlen’s Mediterranean Cuisine 

South Bend Farmers Market
1105 Northside Blvd.
Saturdays 7am–3pm 

Catering orders can be placed through Facebook or Instagram: 
facebook.com/ozlen.gultekin.35
Instagram: @the_mediterranean_catering