With virtual schools and private tutors now the norm, some superyacht guests are opting to cruise for extended periods with their families, and this does put extra pressure on the chef and crew. Kids can be fussy eaters, so what do you cook the little ones in between their lessons and dips in the sea? Do you stick with the tried and tested favourites, or expand their tastebuds with a few dishes influenced by the country you’re cruising in? If the latter appeals, take a look at these Turkish dishes that come with the local kid’s official thumbs-up.

POPULAR TURKISH FOOD FOR KIDS

BAZLAMA TOST (A Turkish toastie)

Most kids love a toastie, and Turkish ‘bazlama tost’ is a delicious fluffy-centred twist on the run-of-the-mill grilled sandwich. Bazlama is a flat, round, leavened bread traditionally baked over a wood fire in the villages around Türkiye, but most supermarkets and better bakeries sell a version. It’s around 2cm thick, so ideal for stuffing with the kids favourite fillings. In Türkiye, bazlama with oozy yellow cheese and ‘sucuk’ (Turkish pepperoni) tends to be the favourite, or bazlama grilled then filled with sandwich meat and salad. Recently, there’s been a boom of bazlama cafes opening along the coast, and even fancy bistros are serving it for lunch with all manner of jazzy fillings, perhaps with chipped potatoes or a salad on the side.

GOZLEME (Turkish pancakes)

Turkish pancakes (gozleme) is a popular Turkish kids breakfast or lunch, and a dish sold widely in the open-air market cafes and village restaurants. Don’t think fancy French crepes or sweet American pancakes, Gozleme isn’t made with a batter, but with a simple flour and water dough (yufka) that is rolled into thin rounds and cooked on a circular hot plate. Traditionally gozleme is savoury, filled with a mild white cheese (lor) and herbs, mincemeat and onion, or mashed potato and yellow cheese. But you can get sweet fillings to appeal to tourists in the cafes along the coast. The dough is easy to make, but there is a definite art to rolling these into perfectly thin rounds. ASK SENEM to supply some premade yufka rounds so you can rustle up your own on board, or go to a local restaurant where the kids can watch the women sat cross-legged rolling the dough and cooking them lunch. Gozleme is a light and tasty dish usually cut into strips or segments, and served with salad and a healthy glass of ayran (a salty yoghurt drink).

BOREK (Turkish pastries)

Borek is best described as Turkish pastries, and it comes in so many different shapes, with so many different fillings, that it’s hard not to find a variety you love!  You will spot borek shops open from early morning in Türkiye as the locals love to eat borek for breakfast. Failing that, patisseries and larger supermarkets sell it on their bakery counters. Think cheese, potato or mince filled pastries and pasties. Popular varieties include crispy puff pastry filled borek, roll-borek cut into bite-sized pieces, and ‘su’ (water) borek which is more like a wetter filo pastry lasagna with layers of white cheese. Borek appears as a starter in many restaurants, and kids are likely to love the crispy cheese-filled ‘sigara’ borek – crispy cigarette shaped filo rolls with a mild cheese filling.

PIDE (Turkish pizza)

Almost all kids love pizza, and if thin and crispy is a preference, Pide will get a swift thumbs up! Long, thin, boat-shaped pizza dough is topped with all the favourites, or traditionally with either spiced mincemeat (kiyma), or yellow cheese (kasar) and spicy sausage (sucuk). Pide is remarkably cheap in local restaurants, and they are usually cooked in a traditional ‘pide’ stone oven and chopped into easy to handle strips. If pizza is a go-to with the kids on board, try Turkish pide on your travels in Türkiye as they may come away preferring them to the Italian counterparts.

LAHMACUN (Spicy meat pizza)

An alternative to Pide served at all Turkish pizza restaurants is Lahmacun. These will appeal to those that like things mildly spiced and tasty, with a little kick. Think extremely thin (almost tortilla thin) round pizzas with a skinny layer of spiced mince topping. There’s an art to eating lahmacun, think rolling a fajita: take your flat lahmacun (typically two or three are ordered per adult), put a strip of flat-leaf parsley and onion sumac salad down the centre, squeeze over a little fresh lemon, and roll. Eat with your hands, then move onto the next. Lahmacun is one of the cheapest and tastiest dishes found in Türkiye.

KOFTE (Meatballs)

Just as kids in the US and UK love burgers, kids of all ages in Türkiye love kofte. Kofte has to be the safest bet on most Turkish menus for kids. Delicately spiced and tasty lamb or beef patties either fried or grilled and served up with chips, Turkish rice and salad. Kofte is available everywhere in Türkiye, and there are many different varieties. Stuff the centre with a little cheese for the kids, or serve it with a traditional tomato, herb and onion sauce for adults.

CHICKEN OR LAMB SHISH KEBAB

If the kids like grilled chicken or meat, a shish kebab is a great choice and healthy to boot. Skewered marinated meat, grilled and served up with Turkish rice, ‘lavas’ flatbread and salad. Take the meat from the skewer and mix it in with the rice for smaller kids, or serve it in a wrap for those on the go – whichever they prefer, it makes a tasty and easy to make lunch or dinner.

MANTI (Turkish ravioli)

If the kids like ravioli or dumplings, try them on Turkish manti. These delicious little lamb or beef filled dumplings come in a variety of shapes; triangles, knots, and rounds. They taste a lot like ravioli without the tomato sauce. These tasty little pillows are surprisingly addictive, especially served as it is locally – tossed in warm butter with natural yoghurt (normally garlic yoghurt) and some tomato sauce on top.

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