Atkan Özen
Atakan Özen’s cuisine is born from the idea of rediscovering a geography. His childhood spent in Bilecik, surrounded by the soil, production, and changing seasons, left the first traces of the product focused approach that forms the foundation of his culinary style today. His journey into gastronomy, however, unfolded differently from the typical chef’s story. Having started his professional life outside of gastronomy, Özen stepped into the restaurant industry in 2018 with the founding of 21 Masa in Bursa. This journey, which began with management, eventually led him to the heart of the kitchen. As he explored ingredients, techniques, and the gastronomic memory of his region, he began to craft his own culinary language.
This language found its true identity with Tola. At Tola, Özen approaches Bursa cuisine not as a repetition of the past, but as a living, evolving culture. He reinterprets the multi layered culinary heritage that spans from the Ottomans to the Balkans, and from Anatolia to the villages of Bursa, using local producers, seasonal ingredients, open fire, fermentation, and modern techniques. Rather than carrying a recipe into the present day as it is, he strives to understand the idea behind it.He preserves the memory while reimagining the form. For this reason, Tola’s cuisine does not belong to a specific era or a single tradition. It is a contemporary cuisine that draws nourishment from Bursa’s past while asserting its own identity in today’s world.
