This Mother's Day, many will celebrate by going out to brunch or dinner. Istanbul Hawaii on Oʻahu is one eatery that expects to serve the Sunday crowd.
The Turkish Mediterranean restaurant is owned by the mother-daughter team Nili Yildirim and Ahu Hettema. The two also share the title of executive chef. Their story of nourishment and love is heartwarming.
When Hettema was a student in Hawaiʻi, she spent years fighting deportation while she sorted out her immigration status.
Her mother, Yildirim, saw the emotional toll of the process, so she flew from Turkey to Hawaiʻi with the necessary spices to cook all her daughter’s favorite meals.
"My life was very cloudy and gray, and her presence just started to make things a bit more colorful," Hettema said. "Instead of cooking with the spices, I actually started painting with the spices. And then, you know, she kind of pulled me, pushed me, and we started cooking together."
They began cooking more than they could eat, so they shared their dishes with neighbors. One woman was so impressed that she pushed the duo to take their food to local farmers markets. You may remember their tents at markets around 2015.
"There is when we realized a few months later, one tent turned into two, two tents turned into three, three tents turned into four. We started to get team members. We were like 'This is a business now, this is not fun as much anymore,'" Hettema said. "That is when I wanted to take the next step, opening a restaurant."
Translated by her daughter, Yildirim said her ultimate dream has always been to cook for people, but she did not expect this journey. Istanbul opened in Kaka‘ako in June 2020.
"I know I would do anything I could for my daughter, so it just was a natural effort to help her," Yildirim said. "She's not just my daughter. She's my best friend. She's my companion of life. She's my all and having her next to me is just blessing."
As for who's the boss in the kitchen? Hettema said employees naturally refer to Yildirim as mom.
This interview aired on The Conversation on May 10, 2024. The Conversation airs weekdays at 11 a.m. on HPR-1. Sophia McCullough adapted this story for the web.
