Hazer Amani

Hazer Amani — Biography

Hazer Amani is a Turkish chef known from television; he sat on the jury of the TV8 competition MasterChef alongside Mehmet Yalçınkaya and Somer Sivrioğlu.

Born in Ankara, Amani finished TED Ankara College and then studied sociology at Middle East Technical University. His interest in cooking won out during his university years and took him to South Africa, where he trained in cooking at Cordon Bleu for three years. He rose to head chef at the place where he did his placement after four years there, and then worked as head chef at a hotel. At that hotel he met Yusuf Köksal, partner and general manager of Chilai; Köksal's invitation brought him back to Turkey and to the Chilai restaurant in Bebek, Istanbul. In 2011 he received the 'Most Creative Chef of the Year' award.

Finding that cooking alone was not enough, Amani joined a four-year programme at the Cape Wine Academy, studying the wines of the world and viticulture. Earlier he cooked for a 600-guest dinner whose guests included Nelson Mandela. He names the British chef Marco Pierre White as his idol.