Cenap Varol is the Executive Chef at Novotel Istanbul. Since January 2014, he has prepared a diversity of delights in the kitchen of Novotel. Genuinely enjoying his work, Varol is grateful for not being a brain surgeon and loves his mother's pilaf. Cenap Varol, the Executive Chef of Novotel Istanbul, who is currently preparing a new menu, took an interest in cuisine at quite a young age and chose that path. Expressing at every opportunity that they have good harmony in their team, Varol says that Novotel Istanbul provides all kinds of possibilities in terms of training. Disagreeing that culinary is a challenging area of work, Varol says, “You have to respect your job because you love doing it and not because of its hardships.” There is a general belief that cooks come from Bolu. But we know that you come from Sivas. How did you decide to choose this job? Let’s say that this belief is now obsolete. I decided to do this job when I was in the 5th grade. In line with my career goals, I enrolled in the hospitality department in high school, and the department of hospitality and culinary skills at university. Also, I have a degree in business management. When you look at the previous periods, the number of foreign chefs in Turkey was quite a lot because the Turkish cooks could not train themselves. But today, foreign chefs are replaced by modern Turkish cooks. Additionally, the potentials of hospitality in Istanbul and Turkey are increasing day by day. A great number of hotels are being established. Thinking about your profession in the 5th grade is very early awareness, isn’t it? At those times, there was a man named Selçuk Kuzu. He was the head chef of a hotel. I used to watch him. For me, kitchen skills are not just about making food. It’s about drawing a picture. My wife sometimes says that I love my job more than her. Until I came here, I continually attended openings in major hotels in the first six years of my marriage. I kept forgetting the way to my house. But my wife has been my biggest supporter. Why do you think that hotel kitchen is important? Hotel kitchen is a very complicated cuisine. Since hotel cuisines are international, you can find all kinds of menus. The most distinctive characteristic of hotel cuisines distinguishing them from restaurant food is their endeavor to appeal to all kinds of demands. In a restaurant, you have the freedom to say that it is unavailable. But we can never say that, we have to make up alternatives. Also in hotel kitchens, the personnel can be trained in a better way. In this aspect, hotel kitchens are more institutional. Novotel places great importance on training. You can cut budgets for everything but training. When you request budget for training, they mustn’t say no. Speaking specifically about this place, I requested a couple of training sessions from Novotel. They never said no and instantly approved my request. In this way, you can improve your personnel. The most important element contributing to customer satisfaction is personnel. If the personnel are trained, knowledgeable and happy in the environment they work in, then there is no reason why they cannot satisfy the customer. And since this is what Novotel provides for us, we continue to work with passion. You are working in a sector appealing to the international area. Is there a specific cuisine that you are specialized in? I can say the Far Eastern cuisine. Also I can speak Japanese as much as my profession requires. My old chief called me Italian. I am good at Italian cuisine as well. In short, from pastry to desserts, macaronis, soups and also presentation, I have worked in all sections of a kitchen. But the food that I love cooking most is Far Eastern cuisine. Even at home, I cook only Far Eastern foods. And I also cook tortellini because my wife loves it. Which do you think is more important; appealing to taste or do we need to follow new culinary approaches? A lot of trends have emerged, such as Californian cuisine, fusion cuisine, slow food, etc. But as far as I am concerned, the most important element is taste. Of course, the appearance is important as well. But I don’t use irrelevant ingredients while creating that appearance. There must be edible foods on my dishes. For example, since I do not like using chemicals, I don’t benefit much from molecular gastronomy. Only if it is able to provide me with a very fresh presentation I would make nitrogenous ice cream by using molecular gastronomy.