Like many successful chefs in the greater Boston area, Ana Sortun has experimented with classical French and Mediterranean cuisines, hoping to please clientele with familiar flavors. An unexpected trip to Turkey, however, radically changed her culinary style and led to the opening of Oleana Restaurant in Cambridge. Sortun was presented with the "Best Chef: Northeast" award in 2005 by the James Beard Foundation for her innovative work at Oleana.
Sortun's current success is a far cry from her culinary beginnings as a dishwasher in a small Mexican restaurant in Seattle, where she grew up.
"As a kid I just loved to eat good food, [but] working in the kitchen was what drew me," Sortun said. "[The chefs] encouraged me to move up and within six months I was helping around in the kitchen."
Sortun found that preparation work in a restaurant did not provide sufficient exposure to the culinary world, so after she became proficient in French, Sortun left her hometown to study at the prestigious La Varenne Ecole de Cuisine in Paris.
The availability of fresh ingredients was one of her main reasons for attending culinary school in Paris.
"You can learn French cooking techniques pretty much anywhere, but what really set it [apart] from going to school here was the ingredient factor — the seasonality set the tone for me that was subconscious at the time," Sortun said. "The respect for the ingredients and knowing where they came from was something taught to us not directly but by example — that made it very different."
La Varenne's traditional curriculum was also an important factor in her choice, Sortun said.
"In culinary school they teach you anything from Spanish techniques to French techniques; the only difference about it being in France was it was taught in a more serious way with the professional aspect being more respected," she said. "Shopping at the farmers market was just normal — that's how it was done."
After graduating from the institute armed with classical French culinary experience, Sortun set out to open her flagship restaurant, Moncef Medeb's Aigo Bistro in Concord, Mass.
The restaurant's cuisine was shaped by her experiences living in Spain and Italy in the 1990s, combined with her experience with French cooking. Soon after, two restaurants in Harvard Square — 8 Holyoke and Casablanca — followed, each employing similar culinary approaches.
Despite the breadth of her cooking, Sortun knew something was missing. When the opportunity of a lifetime came up, she knew it could not be turned down.
"About 15 years ago, some woman approached me to go study with her in Turkey and it never occurred to me that Turkey was sort of on the map of the [Mediterranean]," Sortun said. "So I thought, ‘Wow, that could be interesting,' but I had no clue what Turkish food was and what the Eastern Mediterranean was like."
Sortun then left for Turkey and was immediately inspired by the complexity of the nation's cuisine.
"[The Turks] have a mastery of blending spices and knowing how to use them," she said.
"The easiest way to describe Turkish cuisine is like combing Western technique with Eastern flavors."
She was particularly drawn to the cuisine's distinctive flavors.
"It's not spicy like Indian or Mexican food," Sortun said. "There is a use of spice to create depth and richness without making things heavy, so it's a rich cuisine but a lighter style of eating."
The months spent in Turkey were more than enough for Sortun to completely change her cooking style. She opened Oleana in 2001 with a menu influenced by Turkish cuisine.
"A lot of the menu items are inspired by traditional dishes but there is always a modern take on something," Sortun said. "Some of my specialties are tamarind beef with smoky eggplant puree — inspired by an eggplant dish ... with chunks of braised lamb."
Items on the menu are also influenced by French and Greek cuisines, she said. Pan−seared scallops, for example, are served with lentils, Brussels sprout leaves, pomegranate, green olives and walnuts, while a simple wild−striped bass is dressed with a black garlic−Tahini sauce and topped with beet croutons and a cabbage and shallot confit.
Another important component of the restaurant is the emphasis on fresh ingredients, a philosophy that was ingrained into Sortun by her Parisian training. All of the restaurant's organic produce is sourced directly from the nearby Siena Farms in Sudbury, Mass., which is owned by Sortun's husband.
Sortun later decided to expand and in 2008 opened Sofra, a casual bakery and café, which is more accessible and convenient to the passing customer.
Going forward, Sortun hopes to establish more eateries and stores.
"Something is going on but nothing is set in stone; we're always growing and evolving," she said.
