Musa was born in 1960 in Nizip, Gaziantep (Southeastern Turkey) where he learned to be a chef from family members who were specialists in kebabs and pastries. In his early years he worked on a family farm and later as a helper in restaurants. He opened his first restaurant in 1987 and since then he has been traveling to the far corners of Turkey and Middle East to further pursue his passion for rarely found Anatolian dishes. His love of food has led him to extensively research the food history of Mesopotamia and try recipes over 400 years old.

He now is the chefowner of three kebab houses in the Kadikoy district of Istanbul, Turkey—two named Ciya, and one called Ciya Sofrasi. His impact on Turkish cuisine and especially on kebab houses in Istanbul comes from his extensive knowledge of Eastern Mediterranean, Arabic, and Turkish kitchen traditions. His repertoire includes over 60 dishes from all over Turkey and Middle East. Chef Dagdeviren and his restaurants have received rave reviews in Turkey and his restaurants are always on the lists of “Best 10 Kebab” and “Best 10 District” restaurants for Eastern Mediterranean food. His energetic wife, Zeynep, manages the restaurants.

In 2004, Food & Wine magazine, one of America’s leading food magazines, published an 8 page article on Musa Dagdeviren, including recipes. This article could be found at this link.
Another article could be found here.

Website: www.ciya.com.tr

This entry was posted on Wednesday, February 15th, 2006 at 4:28 pm and is filed under Index, Food & Wine, Chef.