-This is the chef.

It's me.

I'm a line cook, CPA, dishwasher, and I'm a server.

Looks like I'm octopus.

I'm everywhere.

I'm owner.

[laughs] I'm owner, too.

Everything I do by myself.

I want to put my mom's stories, my mom dishes from Turkey, and then my experience a little bit Japanese, and I work so many years French restaurant, and I'm thinking, I'm going to mix these three.

I think it tastes crazy.

[music] My mom made kitel twice a week, and I saw it always.

The kitel good with yogurt and butter.

This is the bulgur, like a pasta dough, pizza dough, similar.

If you make mistake, the broken.

That's the deal.

There's nothing inside.

Just salt and water.

The meat, I use very high-quality ground beef.

After I make dough, I just pour inside and then close it.

Looks like dumpling.

I remember the taste.

I know this.

I know how much my mom put in the spice.

It's ready.

My mom made twice a week.

When I go school, she say tonight have kitel.

I can't wait.

I need to finish the school and to go home and eat kitel.

Now I have every day now.

[chuckles] My family have the restaurant when I young, and then I learn everything, but it's not professional.

Cut, I cook, but it's not like technique.

Then I want to go school, like culinary school.

I want to learn how to cut, how to clean, how to organize.

Nobody show me anything.

Then I start culinary school.

After two months, they send me to Japanese restaurant for the stash.

I saw Japanese restaurant, it's not easy.

Maybe like two months, I just clean shrimp.

After 20 days, I'm like a machine.

Boom, boom, boom.

Then I move French restaurant.

I learn French cuisine, like sauce, puree.

Then I start working.

Eleven Medicine Park, three Michelin-star restaurant in New York.

I learn everything over there.

Work, work, work, and then go home.

Sleep, another day, same.

Focus.

Turkish cuisine, not just Turkish cuisine, it's Middle East.

We have a lot of dishes, and we eat a lot of meat, and actually, we eat fish too.

I use a lot of spice.

Very hard to find it but I'm trying.

I use tarhana.

Tarhana like a Turkish dry soup mix.

Tarhana tastes similar to miso.

I use a lot of miso for the shrimp, lobster, and some fish.

Then I'm thinking why I'm not using the tarhana.

Then I got this idea.

Tarhana inside have yogurt, tomato paste, pepper paste, and some Turkish spice.

I use with yuzu kosu and butter.

Then I cook with the shrimp.

It tastes like Turkish-Turkish.

I put Japanese-style more umami.

It tastes like fusion.

[music] I'm in New York.

Then my wife got a offer job in Los Angeles.

Then I feel like, "Okay, we got to go."

Can change.

Change your life.

Then we move here.

I'm always looking for the space to open my restaurant.

What is the rent?

It's expensive.

Every day, I make little, little money.

Then I put something in the menu.

Two months, very bad because no money.

I'm trying to survive.

I feel like that I'm not lucky guy.

Every single person say, "You are crazy.

Why you spend money for this restaurant?

You are stupid.

Lost your own money."

Nobody trust me.

What should I do?

What should I do?

I'm going to drive maybe Uber after restaurant all night.

I need money.

-Hi.

-Hello.

-Welcome.

How are you?

-How are you?

-Hi.

Come.

-All right.

How was your trip?

-It was perfect.

I bring you a lokum actually.

-Lokum?

Oh, yes.

-Here.

Try.

Is it good?

-Yes, it's good.

-Yes, I will not c.. -Some Turkish people came to my restaurant for dinner.

Selin, she comes with the husband here.

She solved my plate because I don't have the money.

$1.

IKEA.

You know the last chance in IKEA?

I buy there.

I'm going to clean this.

I touch a lot.

She say I have a studio, ceramic studio.

I really want to help you because I saw you work alone.

"What should I do for you?"

I'm like, "I don't have money".

That's the deal.

She say, "Don't worry about that.

I'm going to make him for you."

Then I'm like, "Are you sure because I don't want regular plate."

She say, "What you want?"

"I want interesting."

She say, "I can do it.

Tell me your dream."

-I feel it's so close to my story too.

We are all coming from Turkey.

He learns Turkish cuisine and Japanese cuisine.

I feel myself I'm doing the same thing with my designs.

My master was Japanese, and we connect.

-We measure all dishes, like kebabs, fish, and then we choose this plate for kebab.

-We measure it.

-This is for kitel.

This much area for dumpling.

That looks beautiful.

-Do you want to try to throw this plate?

-Yes.

Let's do this.

[chuckles] I think if you're working with right person, you're going to make every day better.

You need to find the right person.

Okay.

[laughter] -Yes.

Normally, my brother, my father, they call me during the day because they know I'm sleeping in the night.

When I saw 5:00 AM, my brother call me, I feel like, okay, I lost someone, father or mom.

Then I open the phone, then he say, "Mom."

Actually, after I lost my mom, I never go back in Turkey.

I feel like she's over there still.

I'm trying to be not emotional.

[chuckles] Six years now but I think she's going to be happy we are together.

We see each other.

When I lost her and then I really want to open restaurant for her.

I'm going to make the kitel because my favorite dish.

[music] Every single day, coming three or five people in the restaurant all day.

I make little, little money.

I'm starting to use very, very high-quality meat, all farmers market.

Just money coming, whoop, go other side.

Coming in incredible ingredients, look at this filet, how big?

Then when the people came, they say, "Wow, what is this?"

I'm like, this is the high-quality experience.

The LA Times, they do two different article.

After that, my Instagram is going up.

300 DMs, people coming here, that time, crazy.

I can't sleep.

I sleep here too.

No time.

I'm trying to my best.

I want to cook everything perfectly, no mistake, because this is-- I have one chance.

Everybody going to be happy.

Every single person.

I don't like saying the VIP.

Every single person is VIP.

Thomas Keller say every day a little better.

I try every day a little better, but I don't have team.

Every day, I try little.

Not like Thomas Keller say a little better.

It's like health, but I try.

If I try more, I think I'm going to burn out.

Make better, little, it's okay, little, it's good.

Every day, little, it's good.