Food as memory

I grew up in my grandmother’s house with my mom and my aunts, so there was always someone cooking. My role was mostly just to eat; I didn’t really enter the kitchen until I left home for university. That’s why food, for me, has always been connected more to memories and people than to the act of cooking itself.

There are still certain tastes and smells that take me straight back to my childhood: fresh fish, chestnuts roasting on the stove, and toasted bread with butter and honey.

Finding my place in a new culture

After finishing my bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Türkiye, I moved to Canada for my PhD. Stopping at local coffee shops for a scone or a cookie quickly became part of my daily routine. I didn’t think much of it at the time, but looking back, it was one of the key ways I connected with a new culture and found my place in it.

After moving to Leuven, while I was in the middle of writing my thesis, I decided that academia was no longer the path I wanted to follow. So, I left. Not long after, I attended a career bootcamp at IHL, which gave me the confidence to take the next step and start my own business.

While living in Leuven, I realized there were a few things I really missed about Canada — among them, a really good scone and the campus cookie shop. Leuven feels like home to me, and I thought it was missing one small thing: Canadian-style cookies and scones. So, I decided to bring them here.

Baking for other people

While I don’t particularly enjoy general cooking, I love baking—and more importantly, sharing what I make. Baking feels much less satisfying without someone to share it with, and seeing someone’s reaction right after they try something I’ve made is one of my favorite things.

That love for baking and sharing eventually grew into Round & Tri, a small cookie and scone business, inspired by Canadian mountain towns. I now share my cookies and scones at the weekly markets in Leuven and Heverlee. I love the openness of a market: people passing by, stopping for a chat, coming back the next week, and slowly becoming familiar faces.

The people scones brought into my life

Of course, running a business matters to me, but the conversations and connections are just as important. I’m genuinely happy when an American woman who visits us almost every week tells me how much she loves scones, or when an Irish newcomer stops by to share tips and kind words. It’s just as rewarding to discover that my local coffee partner is a true scone enthusiast.

These are people I probably wouldn’t have met otherwise. Somehow, scones connected us.

And that, for me, is the power of food. It helps you find your place in a new culture, carry memories from one place to another, and create connections between people. I absolutely love that.

Quick Fire Food Round

Dish that reminds me of home
Any freshly cooked fish

Go to meal for friends
Stuffed eggplants with minced meat (karnıyarık), Turkish rice (pilav), and a garlic-cucumber yogurt dip (cacık).

Biggest cooking disaster
I tried to make rice pudding the traditional way—as they do in northern Türkiye, without cornstarch—and it ended up being just milk with rice. My friends still talk about it!

Where do you like to get your ingredients to cook something from your home country?
Apart from rice, I can find almost any ingredient in the local markets in Leuven. For rice, I go to Al Taj to get a specific variety.

What is a new meal you discovered since moving to Belgium?
Vol-au-vent. I tried it once, but I guess I just have to find the right place to get the real experience.

What traditions do you have around food?
Not much of a traditionalist, but my morning isn’t complete without my pre-breakfast routine: coffee, dates, and walnuts.

In your language, how do you say ‘enjoy your meal’ or ‘that’s tasty’ or ‘I’m full’
Depending on your cultural background, we say “Afiyet olsun” or “Yarasın”, both of which mean “may what you eat bring you health.”