Meet Fikri, a Kurdish chef from Turkey with more than 20 years of professional cooking and restaurant management experience. Fikri’s love of food began in childhood, growing up in a typical Southeast Turkish kitchen, under the caring hands of his mother, a home cook who would impress the best of guests. Fikri’s restaurant was among the top 10 in Istanbul out of over 13,000 restaurants in the area. 

Meet Kristina, the ever willing taste-tester and a beneficiary of Fikri’s cooking. Their journey began when she dined at his restaurant during a global conference she was attending from a neighboring country.  Kristina fell in love with the man, the city and the food and after moving from Washington, DC to work in Eastern Europe, she, packed up her bags and settled into Turkey. They started a restaurant together while she continued her global pursuits. In 2019 they moved to Washington, DC, where heated words and political debate are better made with a full stomach.

What does Pera stand for? 

Istanbul is always in their hearts, and on their plates. Pera is one of their favorite parts of the city – an ancient district that separates the old city (the historic peninsula of Constantinople by the Golden Horn) with the new. A neighborhood that by definition was fusion – home to Greeks, Europeans and Romans. It is that spirit, bringing together of old and new, that PeraEats evolves as they begin another culinary adventure together in the DMV.

Istanbul, the city that never stops eating.