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.

Why get a paid subscription?

Believe it or not, but food writers on the internet have bills to pay too. Paid subscriptions enable me to take time away from other (bill-paying) projects and dedicate the time to research, write and publish new articles and unique recipes every week.

Paying subscribers get new recipes every week, as well as access to the full archives. 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.