Hüseyin Özer (born 1949 in

Reşadiye Reşadiye is a district of Tokat located within the Cappadocia land within the Kızılırmak arc in the central part of the Black Sea. It is on the E E80 highway, on the edge of the Kelkit Stream. Reşadiye is surrounded by Ordu in the north, A ...

Tokat Province Tokat Province ( tr, ) is a province in northern Turkey. Its adjacent provinces are Amasya to the northwest, Yozgat to the southwest, Sivas to the southeast, and Ordu to the northeast. Its capital is Tokat, which lies inland of the middle Black ...

, Turkey) is a Turkish British

executive chef A chef de cuisine (, French for ''head of kitchen'') or head chef is a chef that leads Lead is a chemical element with symbol Pb and atomic number 82. Lead or The Lead may also refer to: Animal handling * Leash, or lead * Lead (leg), ...

and restaurateur, who owns a restaurant chain based in London.

Early life

Hüseyin Özer was born in 1949, in a village of

town in

in northern Turkey. His parents separated when he was very young. Unwanted by his parents, Özer was raised by his grandfather. Unable to attend primary school, he taught himself to read and write. Working in his village as a shepherd, Özer was sent at the age of eleven to

Ankara Ankara ( , ; ), historically known as Ancyra and Angora, is the capital of Turkey. Located in the central part of Anatolia, the city has a population of 5.1 million in its urban center and over 5.7 million in Ankara Province, maki ...

to earn money, where he became a

street kid Street children are poor or homeless children who live on the streets of a city, town, or village. Homeless youth are often called street kids or street child; the definition of street children is contested, but many practitioners and policymak ...

. To learn English, he bought books. In 1967, he moved to

Istanbul ) , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = 34000 to 34990 , area_code = +90 212 (European side) +90 216 (Asian side) , registration_plate = 34 , blank_name_sec2 = GeoTLD , blank_i ...

, where he found employment in restaurants as a dish washer. He continued to learn English, paying a tutor to teach him. Following his military service, Hüseyin went to London in 1975 by bus, as he could not afford to fly there. There, he worked in a döner kebab shop in Mayfair and attended English courses in his spare time.

Career

Özer acquired the döner kebab shop he was working in, and turned it into a restaurant in 1981. His success paved the way for him to open more London restaurants, called " Sofra" (in Turkish

dining table A table is an item of furniture with a raised flat top and is supported most commonly by 1 or 4 legs (although some can have more), used as a surface for working at, eating from or on which to place things. Some common types of table are the ...

), in Covent Garden, Mayfair, Regent Street and

St John's Wood St John's Wood is a district in the City of Westminster, London, lying 2.5 miles (4 km) northwest of Charing Cross. Traditionally the northern part of the ancient parish and Metropolitan Borough of Marylebone, it extends east to west from ...

. Each restaurant is unique. The menus consist of typical

meze Meze or mezza (, ) is a selection of small dishes served as appetizers in the Levantine cuisine, Levant, Turkish cuisine, Turkey, Greek cuisine, Greece, the Balkan cuisine, Balkans, the Caucasian cuisine, Caucasus and Iranian cuisine, Iran. It i ...

s, kebabs and desserts of

Turkish cuisine Turkish cuisine () is the cuisine of Turkey and the Turkish diaspora. It is largely the heritage of Ottoman cuisine, which can be described as a fusion and refinement of Mediterranean, Balkan, Middle Eastern, Central Asian and Eastern Eur ...

. He has owned up to twenty cafés and restaurants in several locations in London. However, his current focus remains on the two fine dining restaurants. In addition to his restaurant business, chef Özer runs a catering service company. Özer has an estimated personal fortune of £37 million, according to television programme, The World's Richest People.

Social life

Dedicated to education, Özer established a trust in Ankara in his early years, which turned into a foundation named "Hüseyin Özer Education Foundation". In a partnership program with Middlesex University, he teaches students how to open and run successful restaurants. He has contributed to the Turkish-English Chamber of Commerce.

Recognition

In 2011, Özer was honoured with the Entrepreneur of the Year award by the Star Network at the World Food Awards. In 2007–2008, his restaurant in Regent Street was recommended by

Michelin Guide The Michelin Guides ( ) are a series of guide books that have been published by the French tyre company Michelin since 1900. The Guide awards up to three Michelin stars for excellence to a select few establishments. The acquisition or loss of ...

. He is one of the three Turkish people who featured in the Discovery Channel's programme ''World's Richest People''. In 2011, Hüseyin Özer was given an honorary Doctorate of Letters by the

University of Westminster The University of Westminster is a public university, public university based in London, United Kingdom. Founded in 1838 as the Royal Polytechnic Institution, it was the first Polytechnic (United Kingdom), polytechnic to open in London. The Polyte ...

Book

References

External links

Hüseyin Özer website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ozer, Huseyin 1949 births People from Reşadiye British chefs British restaurateurs Turkish chefs Turkish restaurateurs Living people Turkish emigrants to the United Kingdom