Interview by Jonathan Soriano
Name: Ferhat Dirik
Location: London, United Kingdom
Occupation: Restaurant Owner, Mangal II
Spirit animal: Probably a mix between Richie from The Bear (I tried to deny the connection for so long but it’s too uncanny) and a fox.
What do you do for Recreation? Forest walks, playing pool, reading, dining out, sitting down for 4 hours and not move
If you were to do something other than what you do for a living today what would that be? Writer - either as a copywriting gun-for-hire or short stories
What was the last gift you got for yourself? A media unit for my living room, as a pre-pre gift of buying myself a PS5.
What was the last gift somebody gave you? My girlfriend bought me and my kids a board game
What is your biggest vice and how do you deal with it? Cigarettes - by enjoying every puff and not beating myself up about it
How do you navigate through difficult situations? Really depends on the context. I can be very measured, calm and deliberate in how I deal with a crisis, or I can instinctively get out of something as and when it happens. Thankfully, I’m blessed with my intuition and force of personality.
Name one of your favourite people in the world and why this person is one of them? Jeremy Corbyn. Consistent stands up for the right causes despite intense media misinformation.
If you had to call somebody right now that you haven’t talked to in ages who would that be? I’m not really estranged from anyone I would want to talk to! If there’s no contact, it’s intentional.
What was your proudest moment and why? Not so much a moment but more a “journey”: Raising my children. No professional achievement comes close.
Which city is cooking you the best meal and where? Istanbul. Because it’s wired in me. It can be any number of my favourite spots there, from the kebabs at Zubehir, to the meze at Asmali Cavit, to the stews at Ciya. I can’t get enough and I keep going back.
The day that we publish this piece on Ferhat, the Dirik brothers book will be fresh of the press and filled to the brim with recipes past (honouring their traditional ocakbasi days), to recent past (lockdowns and subsequent changes), to the very present. All matched with storytelling that longevity in Dalston could prompt, as gentrification, financial challenges, and a dogged determination to succeed can only manifest. It is a personal expression of one family, of immigration, of creativity and risk. It is quintessentially Mangal II, yet also steeped in the psyche of a Londoner - the gaze of two brothers and their vision and identity in the ever-changing landscape of East London.
It is raw. It is true. And it is delicious. A table-book to read, and dishes to savour. It is their passion project, from Ferhat Dirik and Sertaç Dirik, and the foundations Ali Dirik built through sheer talent and relentless energy. All photography is through the magnificent lens of Justin de Souza.
This is the Mangal II story. Inhale it like the smoke of the ocakbaşı.
