Chef Ahmet ÖZDEMİR

 

The Ottoman palace kitchen, or matbah-ı âmire, is the name given to the palace kitchen in the Ottoman Empire. 

 

 

Palace Cuisine

The kitchen section of Topkapi Palace, built by Sultan Mehmed the Conqueror between 1475 and 1478, covers an area of ??5250 square meters. Besides the cooking areas, it also includes a pantry, quarters for the cooks and their assistants, a fountain, a mosque, and a bathhouse.

 

The kitchen, consisting of eight sections, had its own stove, oven, and cooks and apprentices with different areas of expertise in each section. In the 16th century, the palace kitchen employed a group of 60 cooks and 200 apprentices, including dough makers, bagel makers, rice cooks, kebab makers, poultry cooks, vegetable cooks, and dessert makers. At their head was the Head Chef, a high-ranking official.

 

The Imperial Kitchen (Matbah-ı Amire) housed many facilities including kitchens, a vegetable store, a pantry, and a butcher shop. The palace kitchens consisted of ten sections, two of which belonged to the confectionery. Meals for everyone, from the Sultan to the lowest-ranking palace official, were prepared in these kitchens. All these kitchens were built on the right side of the second courtyard in the Birun (outer) section of the palace. The Sultan also had access to a special kitchen called the Kuşhane , located in the Enderun (inner) section and staffed by master cooks .

 

 

Kitchen services

In Topkapi Palace, meals for the Divan Viziers and the Harem were prepared in the Has Kitchen , while special meals for the Sultan were prepared in the Kuşhane Kitchen . Meals for the high-ranking women of the Harem were prepared in the Valide Sultan Kitchen, for the Harem eunuchs in the Kızlarağası Kitchen, for the Gatekeepers and Divan officials in a separate kitchen, and for the Chief Treasurer and his entourage, the Chief Storekeeper and his entourage, and the Palace Steward and his entourage in separate kitchens. 

 

These services, which prepared meals for approximately 4,000 people a day and cooked soup, rice, and zerde (a type of sweet rice pudding) for 10,000 Janissaries on special occasions, numbered around 500 in the 18th century, although their numbers varied from time to time. In addition, about 400 Helvacı (confectioners) prepared sweet foods (halva, macun, sherbet, etc.).

 

The masters of the palace cooks  were called Üstüdan-ı Matbah-ı Has (  Master of the Imperial Kitchen). They were followed by apprentices, then division heads, and finally trainees. To these, we must add approximately 300 cooks, and around 100 cooks for the Kızlarağası (Chief Eunuch), Hazinedarbaşı (Chief Treasurer), Kilercibaşı (Chief Storekeeper), and the Palace Eunuchs. A special menu was also prepared for the upper echelons of the harem if necessary. All these servants  were specialists in their respective fields, known by titles such as Head Cook , cook, oven cook, kebab cook, dessert cook, dough cook, rice cook, fish cook, and diet cook.

 

The palace kitchen, which also served as a pharmacy, prepared medicines needed by physicians, while the meals prepared for the Sultan ( the Sultan's meals ) were made in the aviary kitchen. The cooks who prepared the meals for the Sultan consisted of trusted individuals from among the Zülüflü Baltacılar ( the guards with long hair), including cooks and halva makers, along with their apprentices.

 

Dishes requiring special skill to prepare were cooked in individual pots, and if the Sultan went on a campaign, the kitchen staff would accompany him.

 

Masters of the Privy Kitchen

In the rich history of Ottoman cuisine , this title was given to the most knowledgeable and competent chef in the kitchen sections of the palace kitchen.

 

In the Ottoman Empire, "has" meant "the best," but it mostly referred to a "person" or "area" belonging to or in the service of the Sultan. Examples include "has garden," "has income," "has kitchen," and "has room," all belonging to the Sultan. When considered in the context of "has gold" and "has silver," it signifies the essence and most valuable of an object. The word "matbah" (Matbah-ı Âmire) means the place where food is cooked, i.e., the kitchen.

 

Based on this, the term "Üstüdan-ı Matbah-ı Has" has been used to mean " the best of the masters in the Ottoman kitchen organization ," the most knowledgeable, someone who possesses knowledge and experience in all kitchen sections and kitchen services.

 

Head Chef

In the Ottoman palace kitchen, the head chef was the person with authority and knowledge in their respective kitchen. Each of the kitchen sections within the Ottoman palace kitchen organization (the Royal Kitchen, the Bird House Kitchen, the Valide Sultan's Kitchen, the Kızlarağası Kitchen) had a head chef. The staff in these kitchen sections included cooks, hearth cooks, kebab cooks, pastry chefs, dough makers, halva makers, rice cooks, fishmongers, and dieticians who prepared meals prescribed by physicians.

 

 

The Ottoman palace kitchen , which also served as a school (or training center) and had a " training system ," had apprentices, commanders, and trainees (assistant apprentices) who served all the cooks. The person who assigned tasks to other sections of the Ottoman palace kitchen, controlled the workflow, and personally inspected the quality of the dishes before they were served was called the "chief cook" (aşçıbaşı).

 

In the Ottoman palace kitchen organization, the Üstüdan-ı Matbah-ı Has (Head Chef) was responsible to the Matbah-ı Amire (Imperial Kitchen Superintendent) and, when necessary, to the Kilercibaşı (Chief Storekeeper). In modern professional kitchens, however, the duties of the head chef are more detailed and diverse.

 

Table service

In the Harem, table service was overseen by a senior female member of the Harem called the "Chess Master." The "Head Towel Keeper" was chosen from among the senior pantry keepers. The person responsible for guarding the towels was the "Towel Servant." Only the Head Pantry Keeper served Sultan Abdul Hamid II at the table. Those closest to the Sultan were the members of the Private Chamber. The Sultan would eat alone in the Private Chamber or on the terraces and gardens, using a spoon and his fingers to eat, and then washing his hands with soap. The "Ewer Servant" and the "Ewer Keeper" were assigned to wash the Sultan's hands before and after meals. All these duties were performed by the Enderun eunuchs. Each of them had a predetermined promotion level.

 

Halva Makers - Halva Factory Kitchen

The palace's sweets, such as halva, macun (a type of Turkish sweet), and hoşaf  (a type of Turkish compote), were made in the Halva House Kitchen , where those who worked were called the Halva Makers of the Imperial Household. Those who were successful became the Head Halva Maker, Head Taster, or Head Compote Maker. In the 18th century, the guild consisted of 6 masters and over 100 apprentices. Topkapi Palace had a separate halva house adjacent to the main kitchens. Some of the macun made there were also believed to be beneficial for certain illnesses and weak constitutions, so they were made under the supervision of the chief physician. Once a year, on a night called the "herb night," a special macun was made and sent individually to all the palace dignitaries, and the guild members celebrated and rejoiced that same night.

 

Other sections

The palace bakers were called Habbazin-i Hassa. They worked under the supervision of the head baker and consisted of dough makers, bakers, and sieve operators. The Fodlacılar (Pide makers) were separate.

 

These also included butchers, yogurt and milk vendors, greengrocers, poultry vendors, bagel sellers, ice and snow vendors, tinsmiths, candle makers, wheat threshers (Kendüm küban), water carriers, and storekeepers who worked in seven divisions. They all worked under the head storekeeper who was located in the Enderun (palace school).

 

The official in charge of the palace kitchen held the rank of Hâcegân and was called the Matbah-ı Amire Emini ( Chief of the Imperial Kitchen). Under the supervision of the chief pantry officer, the Matbah-ı Amire Emini was responsible for meeting the kitchen's needs, keeping expense and expenditure ledgers, and being financially accountable to the chief accountant.

 

Parallel to the historical processes witnessed by the Ottoman palace in the 19th century, changes also occurred in the organization and expenditures of its kitchens. While the total kitchen expenses of the palace during the Tanzimat period were estimated to be between 400-500 thousand kuruş, in the subsequent period, especially from the Second Constitutional Era (1909) onwards, significant restrictions were imposed on food expenses, as in all matters related to the palace. During this period, the transition to a table d'hôte system (standard menu) in the palace kitchens aimed to save money on this expense item.

 

According to archival documents, the dishes prepared daily in the Ottoman palace kitchens during this period were as follows: Soup, Chicken, Rice, Seasonal Vegetables, Pastry, Dessert, Pudding, Cold Dish, Milk, Weekly Dessert (Thursday, Monday), Fish twice a week, and Sour Dish Set (Plate and Tray).

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