sage London
PRIVATE DINNING & EVENTS, CORPORATE CATERINGS
Meet The Chef
Irem Aksu​ is a London-based chef and researcher from Turkey. First she founded her project Topik: food without borders in 2015 whilst completing her MA in Cultural and Critical Studies at Birkbeck University of London. Not long after she established Sage London for private catering & events in the UK.
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Irem started running her seasonal dinner series based on Istanbul's diverse cuisine at E5 Bakehouse in 2015, where she cooked with ethically and locally sourced produces and explored sourdough bread making principles over two years. Each menu she created was inspired by the flavours of different cuisines, including Sephardic Jewish, Istanbul Rum (Greeks), Armenian, Circassian and more which perhaps unrecognised or hidden, make up Turkey’s modern-day culinary culture. Between 2018 - August, 2019 March, Irem was the chef-in-residence at October Gallery 's Restaurant in Bloomsbury, London. She also has been collaborating with Delfina Foundation for the foundation's traditional "family lunch and dinner" series since the summer 2019.
In summer 2022, Irem opened Sage which is a pop-up summer restaurant in North Aegean coast of Turkey. Sage Cunda is based on Mediterranean - European food, daily casual space for specialty coffee with freshly baked pastries and reservation only dining space for late afternoons & evenings. She is also a founder-chef of Melin Cafe in Ayvalık which is a gorgeous North Aegean town of Turkey.
Irem’s cooking also focuses on ideas of sustainability, old cooking and preserving techniques as well as a new era of diversity in food cultures in Istanbul and beyond.
Alongside running Sage London events&Caterings, Irem carries on her daily professional kitchen routine in London-based restaurants as a chef and menu development consultant.
Open Kitchen: interdisciplinary food talks
Irem produces Open Kitchen radio show at Açık Radyo (Open Radio) which is considered as one of the rare independent institutions in the Turkish media scene.
Sample Menu
A Sneak Peak of Different Menus
Family style
sourdough & green olive salsa verde
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housemade focaccia, wild garlic & ricotta dip
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tomato, peach, basil, sumac
green beans, potato, fresh mint, aioli
sea bass en paupiette, preserved lemon salsa verde
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chalk stream trout, confit lemon, braised chickpeas and shallot, green sauce
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rhubarb custard Eton mess
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house-made grape, onion, rosemary and onion focaccia
bitter leaves, blood orange, pine nut vinaigrette
hake in anchovy, winter tomatoes, olives, caper sauce
braised saffron leek chickpeas with salsa verde
pear clafoutis, clotted cream
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3 course choices
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Starter
Smoked salmon, beetroot, watercress, dukkah
Warm salad of cavolo nero, pumpkin, ricotta, walnut green olives
Cream of leek potato soup, crispy ham
Golden beetroot, burrata, honey, marjoram, urfa chili
Tarama, endive, chive, house focaccia
Raw mackerel, green apple, sorrel, onion
Slow roasted golden beetroot, labneh, pistachios, mint
Autumn squash, pine nuts, pickled red onions, stilton
Broccoli, ricotta, toasted hazelnuts, olive salsa verde
Main
Roasted leg of lamb, rosemary garlic butter beans
Sage lamb chops, romesco, green beans, pickled shallots
Braised celeriac, hazelnut, watercress, goats curd
Grilled mackerel, beetroot, creme fraiche
Chalk stream trout, fennel, aioli
Beef, potato, wild mushroom gratin
Hake, clams, saffron rice, aioli
Polenta, wild mushrooms, green sauce
Roasted seasonal vegetables, labneh, salsa verde
Dessert
Rose water muhallebi, caramelized oranges
Sea salt bitter chocolate olive oil mousse
Cardamom poached pear, clotted cream
Rhubarb frangipane galette
Rice pudding poached rhubarb
Pavlova with seasonal fruits
Lemon posset
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Buffet
(not a final draft menu, just a few samples)
British charcuterie & Neal’s Yard cheese platter, sourdough bread, crackers, chutney
Butterbeans, soft boiled egg, pickled red onion, tomatoes, green pepper, tahini lemon vinaigrette
Radicchio, lettuce, cress, fennel, apple (or pear), balsamic vinaigrette
Roast chicken, aioli, new potato salad, salsa verde
Freekeh, slow roasted lamb, parsley sauce
Chalk stream trout, shaved fennel, cucumber, broad beans, sultana, mint, sesame dressing
Za’atar aubergine, chickpea, olive tagine, berry couscous
Tabbouleh, tomato, bulgur wheat, lemon pepper olive oil
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At Your Service
Tel: +44 77 3078 9906 | Email: contact@sagelondon.co.uk
Tell me a little about your event so I can begin the creation process
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