Chocoist brings new flavors to İstanbul

 It is one of many chocolate creations that Ari has invented herself. Ari, a self-taught chocolatier, is the owner of Chocoist, a chocolate shop located in Bebek, İstanbul. Ari is of Turkish ethnicity but she was born and raised in Germany. She came to İstanbul in 1993 and has lived here ever since. Although her shop opened in January 2010, her love for all things chocolate began at a very early age.

“I’ve loved chocolate ever since I was a little, little girl,” she said. “My aunt would always bring me those Kinder chocolates eggs with the toys inside. When she didn’t bring them, I would be upset. I don’t know exactly when it started, but as far as I can remember, I always ate chocolate. It’s my favorite food.”

The name of her shop, Chocoist, comes from a combination of the words chocolate and İstanbul. It is also a play on “-ist,” an English grammar suffix added to nouns to indicate someone who follows a particular belief or principle, such as in idealist or perfectionist. Ari defines a “choco-ist” as someone who loves chocolate and is “very happy, curious and open-minded.”

On any given day, the treats on offer at Chocoist may range from saffron-infused Linzer tortes to cinnamon, clove and coriander chocolate bars, to her most popular products of champagne truffles and her pear and red wine brownies. In addition to offering a selection of vegan and diabetic-friendly chocolates, she also takes advantage of seasonal fruits and incorporates them into new recipes throughout the year.

Ari previously studied business and has no formal culinary training. She draws her inspiration for her recipes from her environment, her cookbooks, her travels and nature. All of her chocolates are homemade and contain no artificial ingredients, so they must be consumed within two weeks.

“I get inspiration from everything around me,” she said. “I am inspired by cookbooks and other things I read. I also get inspired by other chocolatiers. Wherever I go, I always try chocolate from every producer, every company and every kind of chocolate. And seasonally when fruits come out I use them in my recipes.”

Ari enjoys being creative in her recipes and often experiments with new ingredients. While she finds some of her best chocolate combinations through trial and error, not all of her creations end up making it to the storefront.

“Once, I tried making a truffle with fruit from a local berry, karadut [black mulberry]. It’s really popular here, so I wanted to try using it. But it went bad within a day. It was horrible. I threw the whole thing out immediately,” she said. Her chocolates and sweets have made a great impression on everyone in the neighborhood, and are especially popular with students studying at the nearby Boğaziçi University. Bryan Eric Baird, an exchange student at Boğaziçi from the United States, found her shop on one of his first days in İstanbul. Although he will be returning home in a few days, he is already planning his next trip to Chocoist.

“I know I will come back to İstanbul one day and when I do, Chocoist is definitely a place I will come back to. The chocolates are delicious and you can tell Soley loves what she does,” he said. Carly Fleming, another American exchange student, agreed. “Soley is so kind, warm and welcoming. Every time you enter her shop, she makes you feel like you’re at home,” she said. In addition to running her shop, Ari leads workshops on making brownies and customizable chocolate bars. She has also provided chocolates and other treats for bachelorette parties, birthdays and weddings. In the future, she hopes to expand her business and continue to come up with new ways to use chocolate. “I really want to be the Nigella [Lawson] of Turkey actually. I think she’s so amazing and I really like her. And the way she cooks is similar to me. We’re always trying new things,” she said.

“I always wanted a little shop for myself, so I could meet as many people as possible and get them to taste my chocolate and my sweets,” she said. “I want to reach all people who love chocolate.” Chocoist is located at Küçük Bebek Caddesi, No. 83 in Bebek, İstanbul. More information can be found on Chocoist’s Facebook page.