Offering Yeni Rakı to your guests is an opportunity to introduce them not only to the pleasure of the drink, but also to a new experience of established rituals, presentation and gastronomy. Easily spawning its own gastronomy within different cuisines, rakı is the ideal accompaniment to an enjoyable meal, sharing, conversation and entertainment.

1. Funda Inansal
rakı harmony in global cuisine
France
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2. Funda Güzelmeriç Inansal
Funda Güzelmeriç Inansal founded her own business with the advertising sector experience she gained in
Ajans Ultra during her university years in 1990. Her company was active in glass production and export for
10 years in Turkey. Simultaneously she marketed her products internationally with her important partner
active in foreign trade in Hong Kong. She took place in the founding period of Konya Cam as founding
shareholder. In addition to her other business activities, in 1995 she entered the food & beverage sector
and she took the first steps by franchising international restaurant chains in this area which she was
interested in. She opened the restaurants such as Chez Bouvier, Santa Lucia and Belgo in Turkey.
She has had his expertise in food and beverage sector by the trainings she got abroad and she has been
still transferring her expertise to the sector with her consultancy firm, Dude Table which is very different
from traditional consultancy firms by creating its own creative gastronomy projects such as Restaurant
Week for the companies as a solution partner. She has been aiming to take Turkish cuisine to higher levels
on the international platform by her “LocalisBeautiful” project.
Funda Güzelmeriç Inansal, who has been taking part in a lot of social responsibility projects in education
and creative thinking, is one of the founders of Creative Children Association and board of trustees
member of Cappadocia Vocational School of Higher Education.

3. OfferingYeniRakıtoyourguestsisanopportunitytointroducethem
not only to the pleasure of the drink, but also to a new experience of
established rituals, presentation and gastronomy. Easily spawning
its own gastronomy within different cuisines, rakı is the ideal
accompaniment to an enjoyable meal, sharing, conversation and
entertainment.
The main reason why mezes, the basis for rakı gastronomy, adapt so readily to all cuisines, is that they
are snack foods and starters served in small portions, and consumed with different rituals. These small
portioned dishes accompanying spirits have different names in different countries depending on their
lifestyle and food rituals, such as ‘tapas’ in Spain, but all these names correspond to the concept of ‘meze’.
Themanydifferentflavoursinsnackfoodsor“appetisers,”coldstartersandhotstarterscaneachbecome
a perfect meze when served in small portions. Rakı will inspire you based on the basic harmony principles
detailed in the guide. Regardless of how the rakı will be drunk – as an aperitif or an accompaniment to a
long and enjoyable dinner – the pleasant times will start with the one and only constant: mezes.
Keep in mind that the technical aspects are not the only criteria in rakı-food harmony; the culinary
customs and rituals of different countries encourage you to discover the best harmony. In thıs guide,
which provides basic rules for the pairing of foods with rakı, you will find, in addition to traditional national
dishes, examples of new dishes based on local tradition, fusion between national cusines, and complex
dishes from the menus of Michelin-star chefs.
The dishes in this guide have been selected as suggestions in order to inspire you to explore rakı
gastronomy even further. Together with the mezes that you will prepare thanks to the experience and
creativity of your chefs and suggestions from your service team, Yeni Rakı can also assist you in creating
new experiences.
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4. Snack food
• Crudités – carrot, bell peppers, asparagus with cheese dip
• Tapenade – puréed olives, capers, anchovies and olive oil
• Roasted goat’s cheese with thyme and ground pepper
• Roasted pepper tapenade Boursin with crushed garlic, fresh herbs, and preserved roasted red peppers
• Cherry tomato tarte tatin with fresh green salad
• Marinated olives – olives marinated in pepper and thyme
• Marinated tomatoes – oven-roasted tomatoes with onion, fresh sage and rosemary
• Cornichon pickles
• Gougères – cheese puffs
• Grilled peach & goat’s cheese
• Pickled veal tongue with pickles
• Pissaladière – Provençal onion tart with onion confit, anchovies, olives and fresh thyme
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5. Starters
Appetizers
• Cheese platter; Etorki, St Albray, Blue Roquefort, goat cheese, and Brie, Crunchy nuts, strawberries,
sweet pears, or pickled onions
• Roasted vegetables with aioli
• Baked Camembert chese with cherry tomatoes
• Seared scallops with sorrel cream sauce
• Cheese soufflé
• Chicken and mushroom soufflé
• Shrimp gratin with crab & seared scallops
• Sirlion croquettes: Beef patties dredged in breadcrumbs
• Oyster fritters with fresh lemon juice
• Scallops L’orange: Sauted scallops with scallions & orange zest
• Pan seared foie gras with caramelized figs
• Foie gras with truffles, Medallion of duck with black truffles
• Veal liver and onions: Sauted cubed veal and caramelised onions with parsley
• Pan-fried duck liver with poppy seeds, grapes & Chantecler apples
• Duck rilette: Duck pate with toast, onions, cornichons and pickles
• Crudités – carrot, bell peppers and asparagus with cheese dip
• Tapenade – puréed olives, capers, anchovies and olive oil
• Roasted goat’s cheese with thyme and ground pepper
• Roasted pepper tapenade Boursin with crushed garlic, fresh herbs, and preserved roasted red peppers
• Cherry tomato tarte tatin with fresh green salad
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6. • Marinated olives – olives marinated in pepper and thyme
• Marinated tomatoes – oven-roasted tomatoes with onion, fresh sage
and rosemary
• Cornichon pickles
• Gougères – cheese puffs
• Grilled peach & goat’s cheese
• Pickled veal tongue with pickles
• Pissaladière – Provençal onion tart with onion confit, anchovies, olives
and fresh thyme
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7. Salads
• Apple, beetroot & pear salad with an olive oil and lemon dressing
• Celeriac remoulade salad with a mayonnaise dressing
• Cucumber and mint salad with a yoghurt sauce
• Broad bean, potato and egg salad with sherry vinegar
• Lentil salad with goat’s cheese and walnuts
• Tuna Niçoise salad – tomatoes, tuna, hard-boiled eggs, Niçoise olives and anchovies, dressed with
vinaigrette
• Orange, fennel & beetroot salad with cumin vinaigrette
• Spinach & green apple salad with wine vinegar
• Chicken liver salad – sautéed chicken liver, beetroot & rocket, mustard & raspberry vinegar dressing
• Traditional Turkish Çoban salad – fresh diced tomatoes, diced cucumber, onions, fresh parsley, fresh
lemon, dressed with olive oil
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8. Main courses
• Chateaubriand – roasted beef tenderloin with roasted vegetables
• Butternut squash cassoulet
• Catalonian meatballs in a tomato sauce
• Poulet à la fermière – gratin of chicken in a cream sauce
• Grilled sardines with lemon
• Halibut Provençal – braised halibut with garlic, shallots, fennel, tomatoes and olives
• Sole meunière – sole with butter sauce & parsley
• Langoustine gratin
• Cod with herb butter – pan-seared cod with fresh herb-flavoured butter
• Moules marinières – mussels with fries
• Steak au poivre – peppered filet mignon steak coated with cracked peppercorns
• Veal stew with mushrooms and onions
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9. • Hachis parmentier – French Provençal-style shepherd’s pie
• Herb-crusted rib roast with roasted potatoes & head of garlic
• Magret de canard – seared fillet of duck breast with potatoes
• Confit de canard – duck confit served with a green salad & potatoes
• Boeuf Bourguignon – stewed beef with mushrooms and onions
• Civet de Cerf – braised venison
• Pan-fried scallops wrapped in smoked duck breast, winter squash & ginger purée
• Wild duck with red cabbage, chestnuts & celeriac purée
• Meunière-style turbot with tender carrots and turnips
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10. Turkish Cuisine
• Ala Nazik – tender lamb with aubergine purée
• Beef Moussaka – layers of aubergine, ground beef & potatoes served with salad
• Lamb shish kebab – prime side of lamb skewered and cooked over charcoal with grilled
peppers & tomatoes served with bulgur
• Grilled shish meatballs & grilled onion, tomatoes
• Kuzu Incik – braised lamb shank slowly oven roasted with a subtle taste of fresh herbs, topped with
aubergine
•Seafoodcasserole–kingprawns,monkfish,scallops&shrimps,simmeredwithMediterraneanvegetables
and herbs in a regional tomato sauce, served with bulgur
• Shish kebab – cubes of lamb on a skewer cooked over charcoal, served with rice and salad
• Iskender kebab – a special preparation of tender lamb on pita with yoghurt with tomato sauce and
a final touch of butter
• Slow-roasted shoulder of lamb, seasoned with wild thyme
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11. Dessert
• Sheep’s cheese, Basque black cherry jam
• Fruit platter & chocolate, with blackcurrants, blackberries, cardamom, pears, dark chocolate, figs,
raspberries, grapes, watermelon and strawberries
• Chocolate mousse
• Spiced poached pears
• Crème brûlée
• Crème caramel
• Floating Island
• Poire Belle Hélène
• Pot de Crème
• Pear Charlotte, chocolate sauce
• Teurgoule
• Cranberry and almond clafoutis
• Brioche French toast, salted butter caramel & poached pear
Turkish Cuisine
• Halva – warm semolina dessert
• Baklava – traditional Turkish puff pastry dessert – layers of filo pastry in honey syrup and pistachios
• Kadayıf – shredded wheat with pistachios and syrup
• Sekerpare – pastry in syrup, oven baked with pine nuts
• Fırın sutlaç – Turkish rice pudding, browned in the oven
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