Mother's family returned from today's Macedonia (ex Yugoslavia) to Izmir in 1939, brought by the Ottoman Empire following the conquests. Our ancestor's adventure in Balkans lasted around 200 years, and brought with them a rich culinary tradition.

Mother Esin founded her own home-cooking restaurant 'Cumba' (Esin'in Mutfağı) in 1999. This humble little restaurant (in the Istanbul neighborhood of Ataşehir) became a great success by presenting the cultural mosaic of our family cuisine. In the year 2007, Esin also established Esinaki, a Turkish / Greek restaurant, which she successfully operated until this year.

Our family on father's side returned to Istanbul from Constanta, Romania in 1925. Grandfather was born in Kemaliye, (Eastern Anatolia), a city founded in the 9th century famous for certain crafts and known for it's meat industry.

Arzu dedicated her interest with her mother's acclaimed experience in cooking and founded Dai Restaurant in April 2010.