Ahu Hettema & Nili Yildirim

Istanbul Hawaii - Honolulu, HI

Istanbul Hawaii cooks modern Anatolia through Hawaii’s season, held between two homelands. Chefs Ahu Hettema and Nili Yildirim, mother and daughter from Mersin on Türkiye’s Mediterranean coast, work side by side: one rooted in tradition, the other shaping it with a modern hand.

Yildirim brings the language of spice and memory; Hettema composes with restraint and clarity. Hettema’s path did not begin in culinary school. It began in art, poetry, psychology, and the quiet endurance of immigrant life. Recognized as Hawaii SBA Women-Owned Business of the Year and a James Beard Women’s Entrepreneurial Leadership Fellow, she leads a kitchen grounded in precision and care.

Expect ingredient-led, seasonal cooking shaped by Hawaii’s aina; vibrant mezes, citrus, herbs, smoke, and fire. It settles softly, then stays quiet, lasting, held somewhere deeper than taste.