Andrea Lemieux is a writer and wine consultant, specialising in Turkish wine. She is the founder of “The Quirky Cork”, a website where she writes wine reviews, and offers services such as wine tasting, custom built wine tours, and personalised wine collection assistance. Andrea is WSET L2 certified, and is working to take the WSET 3 in the near future.

PhD holder in Cultural Anthropology, Co-founder of award winning insight company “Habitus Research”, Co-founder of consultancy company “Angry Grls”, international traveller, speaks Turkish, Italian, and English, multicultural, passionate about women empowerment and collaboration and mother!

Aylin Öney Tan is a food writer and culinary researcher, where she writes a weekly column titled “Fork & Cork” for “Hürriyet Daily News”, and has received the Sophie Coe Prize in 2008 for her work regarding food history. She also produces a daily podcast about food history and culture on “NTV Radyo” titled “Acı, Tatlı, Mayhoş” (Bitter, Sweet, and Sour). She serves as the “Convivium Leader” of the “Ankara Slow Food Convivium”. In addition to her work in gastronomy, she is also an architect and restoration expert, having served as a project manager for the World Bank Turkey’s Cultural Heritage Project, and received awards such as the “Europa Nostra” for her work in this field.

Barış Demirel, trumpet player and singer/songwriter, has been performing under the pseudonym ‘Barıştık Mı’ since 2011. He placed first in the competition organized during Roxy Music Days the same year, releasing his first album T.E.A.R. in 2015 and his second album FAIL PLAY in 2018. The artist has performed regularly at local and international festivals in Istanbul, Holland, Germany, Belgium, England and Switzerland and he received an invitation to attend Montreux Jazz Festival Talent Awards as Barıştık Mı in 2019, giving a great performance with his band. He released his first EP with his collaboration project ‘DPBD’ that featured Da Poet, one of the most prominent Hip Hop producers and MC’s of Turkey. This album is the first Hip Hop production in Turkey that was constructed without utilizing any samples. Barış Demirel has been showcasing the variety of his music through projects he has done with the musicians of Hip Hop, rap, jazz, pop and electronic genres. His first solo album ‘Mutluluklar’ was released on the 4th of June and it features his own lyrics and compositions.

Barış Güney is a writer, composer, and musician signed under the UK record label, Red Music. He has three albums released under this label, titled “Tohum” (2003), “Düşlere Yolculuk” (2009), and “Farımaz” (2016); and has most recently put out his cover of “Gurbeti Ben Mi Yarattım” by Arif Sağ, a famous Turkish singer and bağlama player. Barış Güney also plays bağlama, and uses elements of Turkish folk music, as well as rock and blues in his songwriting.

Barış Mumcu is a music writer, having written articles for various magazines and blogs such as Tvine and Turquazz. Prior to becoming a writer, he has worked as a radio show producer in stations such as “Radyo Fon”, and has most recently produced a 52-episode rock music program called “Roksijen” for “TRT Radio 3”. Barış has also worked in public broadcasting for many years, and was part of the team that organised the Eurovision Song Contest in 2004, in Istanbul. Currently settled in London, he is continuing his professional career in Discovery Channel, and working on a book project. Barış enjoys discovering new music, and is a passionate collector of vinyl.

Burak Ersöz is Artist Relations & Marketing Manager for UK, Germany, Benelux, and Scandinavia regions. He is also a professional musician/drummer, having played and recorded with some top artists in numerous festivals all around Turkey. He took part in R&D projects for some of the cymbals series as a product specialist and had the chance to work with some of the top drummers around the world.

Dr. Burkay Adalığ worked in the medical and pharmaceutical fields for 22 years before he discovered his passion for whisky, and left his director position at GlaxoSmithKline to pursue his interest. In 2013, he founded “Meleklerin Payı”, a website where he writes about Turkey’s whisky culture, which has received several nominations and awards, including “Whisky Blog of the Year”. He also founded one of the first whisky tasting clubs in Turkey, “Maltın Günü”, in 2014. He published his first book “Meleklerin Payı” (Angels’ Share), the most comprehensive whisky culture book in Turkish in 2019; and his second book “İmbikten Kadehe” (From the Still to the Glass), a detailed review of history, production, brand stories of all distilled drinks like vodka, gin, whisky, cognac, rum, tequila and rakı.

Can Öktemer was born in 1985 in Ankara, Turkey. He graduated with a degree in Radio Television and Cinema from Başkent University, and started his graduate degree in the Radio Television and Cinema department of Ankara University. He is currently working on this degree in Ankara.

Born in Istanbul, a city, where the two continent meets, violinist Cihat Aşkın is known as one of the most anticipated international representative of the Turkish violin school. He has given recitals and concerts in 51 countries in North and South America, Europe, Asia and Africa, and shared the Turkish and universal music with the world audience. He shared the same stage with artists like Jesus Lopes-Cobos, Yoel Levi, Raphael Walfisch, Shlomo Mintz and Ida Haendel and praised by the world press.

Eliff Karadayı is a Turkish painter and artist who specialises in the genre of pop-art. Having studied electrical engineering in university, she decided to follow her heart and pursue painting instead. Since then she has produced many paintings, and has opened several exhibitions. Eliff is also passionate about culinary arts, and often writes about food and beverages.

Elvan Uysal Bottoni is an author and columnist, born in Turkey and currently living in Italy. She has penned several books, including “Üzümler ve İnsanlar”, which is a book on Italian wine makers, children’s books on cooking to raise children’s ecological awareness on the food and ingredients they consume, and Italian cookbooks titled “Emma Teyze’nin Kitabı” and “Mamma Mia!”. She also writes a weekly column on olive oil for the Turkish newspaper “Hürriyet”.

Emre Dayıoğlu is a musician, music teacher, and interviewer. For the past five years, he has been traveling in Turkey, visiting different cities and villages to interview local musicians about their home’s music and culture. He documents and shares his findings on his YouTube channel with over 75k subscribers. His songs where he sings and plays the saz are also available to listen on streaming platforms such as Spotify and Apple Music.

Feridun Ertaşkan is the founder and editor of “Cazkolik”, an online portal that publishes articles, news, interviews, and reviews regarding jazz music. He has worked in the music industry for over 25 years, gives seminars on jazz music, and organises music events. He’s a member of IKSV (Istanbul Culture & Arts Foundation) Jazz’s advisory board.

Francesco Martinelli is a music writer, educator, and event organiser. He has co-organised the “Pisa International Jazz Festival” between the years 1976-1982. He then went on to organise various concerts and festivals during the 1980-2000s, including the “Italian Instabile Orchestra Festival” between 1997-2006. His teaching experience as a faculty member and a guest lecturer include many schools such as NYU, Wesleyan University, William Paterson College, Bilgi University, and Istanbul Conservatory. He is currently teaching “History of Jazz” courses at the Siena Jazz Foundation, University, and Mascagni Musical Institute, and works as the Director of Archives at Siena Jazz.

Gözdem is a passionate food and drinks lover. Coming from a diverse family, she was always interested in food, drinks and culture. She is taking an active part in food and gastronomy network of Turkey, participating in many foods and alcoholic beverages related projects.  She has experience in brand creation, business start-ups and innovation in alcoholic beverages. She has managed the Kayra Wines brand creation, International Wine and Spirits Academy foundation in Turkey and many rakı innovation projects for the last 17 years. She was an active board member for the creation of Wines of Turkey brand, supporting the awareness creation and promotion of indigenous grapes of Anatolia. She is now working independently, as a consultant, specifically focused on strategic brand building, innovation projects in food, beverage and agricultural fields.

She has an infinite appetite for learning, reading about sociology, ethics of food and how theory relates to current consumerism driven world dynamics.

Hakan Doğan comes from a family of bakers for four generations, and is himself a baker and owns a bakery named “Pasto Bursa” in Bursa, Turkey. A firm believer that bread holds valuable cultural and historical information about where it’s made, Hakan has written several books on breadmaking and pastries, and his first book, “Ekşi Mayalı Ekmekler” (Sourdough Breads), has won the Gourmand World Cookbook Awards.

Devrim Dikkaya is an academician, music writer, radio programmer and festival director. Amateur Jazz Musicians Festival, which he founded during his university years, has lasted 12 years. He has written catalogues for many organisations, which include Akbank Jazz Festival. Devrim Dikkaya is actively producing content for jazzdergisi.com and radyocazkolik.com while dreaming of becoming an amateur percussionist.

Murat Beşer is a music writer, having written for some of the biggest newspapers in Turkey such as “Milliyet” and “Cumhuriyet”. He has also produced radio shows on stations such as “Radyo Kuzey” and “TRT”, and worked as a music consultant for various organisations and festivals like the “Istanbul Jazz Festival” produced by “IKSV” (Istanbul Foundation for Culture & Arts).

Murat Sezgi is the founder and CEO of “3dots”, a growth consultancy for startup companies, mostly focused on music events and festivals. He is also the co-founder of “Bozcaada Jazz Festival”, and is a partner of various other businesses such as “Spacegoats”, a production company, “XJAZZ”, a music festival, and “Accessible Everything”, an organization focused on disability rights.

Nilhan Aras is a researcher and food writer, and has published many books on Turkish food, culture, and cuisine. She has also worked as Editor-in-Chief for the Turkish magazine “Metro Gastro” published under Metro Cash & Carry, and has won the Gourmand Award in 2006 for Best Food Magazine.

Orhan Kahyaoğlu is a researcher, writer, poet, and music critic. His articles have been published in many magazines and newspapers, such as “Milliyet”, “Cumhuriyet”, “Hürriyet”, and “Radikal”. In addition, he has published several books on the history of music in genres such as rock, jazz, pop, and Turkish folk, as well as books on sociomusicology. He has also worked in educational settings, where he has taught in Marmara University, and served as Department Head for “Akademi Istanbul”s Music Department between the years 1995-2002.

Orhan Tekelioğlu is a sociologist with a doctorate degree from University of Oslo and METU, as well as a writer, poet, and educator. He started his career as an academician in “Bilkent University” in 1991, and went on to be the founding dean of the Faculty of Communications in “Izmir University of Economics” in 2003. He has taught and been a guest lecturer in many other schools such as “Bahçeşehir University” and “Ohio State University”. His poems and articles have been published nationally and internationally, in various magazines such as “Theory and Psychology” and “Middle Eastern Studies”.

Prof. Dr. Sevilay Çınar is an academician and writer, specialising in musicology, music theory, and music education. She has written several articles on Turkish Folk Music, including her doctorate thesis on “Contemporary Female Âşıklar and Âşık Music Tradition of Turkey”. She is continuing her academic career in the Musicology Department of “Ankara Hacı Bayram Veli University” and “Turkish Music Conservatory”.

Born in 1969 in Ankara. Sibel Köse is one of the leading jazz vocalists in Turkey. She has started to sing professionally when she was a student at METU School of Architecture, having improved her technique fast and won Zamosc International Jazz Vocalists Competition placing the first place. Köse has been featured in many jazz albums in Turkey and shared the same stage with Dee Dee Bridgewater, Raul Midon and Stacey Kent. She released an album recorded in Poland right after.

Tangör Tan is an agricultural engineer, gastronom, and educator. Since 2009, Tangör has been working as a food researcher in “Mikla Restaurant”, and traveling all over Turkey and Anatolia to research local ingredients and processing techniques. He also teaches courses about Anatolian ingredients and gastronomy at “Özyeğin University”, and “The Culinary Arts Academy” in Istanbul.

Tolga Zafer Özdemir is a composer, inventor, pianist, and educator. His music has been played in six continents. He is the founder of “Tritonet”, a musical calculator for harmony. Always curious, Tolga continues his research in various musical subjects such as music with artificial intelligence. He is also a faculty member in the Music Department of “Istanbul Bilgi University”