Chef
Mehmet Gürs
- Discipline
- Chef
Portrait of Mehmet Gürs
i. Biography
Mehmet Gürs is the chef-owner of Mikla in Istanbul, and the role fits a cook whose work has been built through repetition, place, and long practice rather than display. Born on 13 December 1969 in Ekenäs, Finland, he is associated with New Anatolian Kitchen, a label that points to both rootedness and revision. Of one early influence, he put it simply: "Maybe it was the Finnish-Swedish affinity for natural food that did it. That line is enough to show the terms he has worked in from the start: clean flavors, close attention, and respect for what an ingredient already carries.
The Climb
The foundation came through study as well as service. Mehmet Gürs studied at Johnson & Wales University (1990–1993), and that period gave structure to the work that followed. He then worked as chef at United States in United States, a brief credit that stands in for the harder realities of professional kitchens: repetition, pace, and the discipline service demands. From there, he moved into ownership, first as founder/restaurant owner at Downtown in Istanbul (from 1996), then as founder/restaurant owner at Lokanta in Istanbul (from 2002). Each opening extended his reach, shifting him from cook to builder, and from running a line to shaping the conditions of the room itself. By 2005, that progression reached Mikla in Istanbul, where Mehmet Gürs became chef-owner. The title brings the kitchen, the dining room, and the point of view under one responsibility. From that position, his reputation has accumulated through steady development of what New Anatolian Kitchen can mean in practice.
Today
Today, Gürs remains chef-owner of Mikla in Istanbul, a role that keeps him inside one of the city’s most closely watched dining rooms. It requires the usual trade-off between precision and invention, and between the daily logistics of a restaurant and the harder task of maintaining a distinct voice over time. His work remains tied to New Anatolian Kitchen, the approach through which it is most often read. In practice, the phrase functions less as a slogan than as a working method: a way to connect place, memory, and technique without flattening any of them.
Career - chef-owner, Mikla, Istanbul (2005–present) - student, Johnson & Wales University (1990–1993) - chef, United States, United States - founder/restaurant owner, Downtown, Istanbul (from 1996) - founder/restaurant owner, Lokanta, Istanbul (from 2002)
Signature
Mehmet Gürs is associated with New Anatolian Kitchen, and that association sits at the center of his work. The term suggests an exchange between heritage and modern interpretation, between a region’s repertoire and a chef’s own reading of it. Gürs’s path, from Ekenäs to Johnson & Wales University (1990–1993), from the kitchens of United States in United States to Downtown in Istanbul (from 1996), Lokanta in Istanbul (from 2002), and Mikla in Istanbul (since 2005), gives that idea a concrete frame.
FAQ What is Mehmet Gürs's current role? Mehmet Gürs is Chef-owner. Where did Mehmet Gürs work before? Earlier in his career, Mehmet Gürs worked at Johnson & Wales University, United States, and Downtown. What recognition has Mehmet Gürs received? Best Restaurant / Mikla (2006).
