At Meze, we explore the exciting food and cultures of Turkey, the Middle East and beyond.

Who writes Meze?

Meze is written by me, Vidar Bergum. I’m a food writer who made Istanbul my home in 2015. I’ve published three best-selling cookbooks in my native Norway (the first was also translated to German) and have kept a blog for a while at A kitchen in Istanbul. You can read more about my story here.

What to expect

I currently send two newsletters a week:

  • Meze goes out on Wednesdays and features a short essay with links to relevant recipes. Topics range from stories about local food cultures to deep dives on ingredients, travel notes from the region, a perspective on current events from Istanbul or seasonal recipe round-ups.

  • In the kitchen goes out Fridays and usually features a brand new and unique recipe.

All subscribers receive the Wednesday newsletter. The Friday newsletter is for paying subscribers, with occasional issues going out to everyone or reposted to my blog at a later date.

Why get a paid subscription?

Modern day social media and search algorithms aren’t kind to the type of articles I write: In-depth, original and personal. They’re the result of years of immersing myself in the local food cultures, constantly travelling, researching, tasting, eating and recipe testing. I’ve written several books on the topics I cover and edit all my work relentlessly, whether it’s a short newsletter or a book. In short: This is my job.

Sadly, it’s very hard for this kind of writing to survive on advertising, sponsorships or by freelancing for publications. All of those things take a lot of time away from writing, whether it’s making (dumbed down) viral reels or writing recipes for Google, not people. There would be little or no time left to write articles such as those I publish in this newsletter.

Paid subscriptions enable me to take time away from other (bill-paying) projects and dedicate the time to research, write, edit and publish new articles and unique recipes every week. Paid subscriptions are completely optional, and I fully understand that not everyone can or wants to take one up – or that you simply have too many other subscriptions to add another one to your pile.

If you enjoy my newsletters, however, and can spare a dollar or two a week, I hope you’ll consider a paid subscription. In addition to supporting my work (and helping secure the continuation of the free newsletter), you’ll also get an additional weekly newsletter, usually with a new recipe, as well as access to the full archives.

Note: The perks, format and balance of free/paid may change over time. The main thing you're paying for, is to contribute to keeping the newsletters coming. Free and paid ones.

Subscribe to Meze by Vidar Bergum

Join me in exploring the unique food & cultures of Turkey, the Middle East & beyond from my home in Istanbul.

People

Food writer & author exploring the food cultures of Turkey, the Middle East & beyond