Four-hands dinners at Maçakızı

From July to September, Maçakızı’s executive chef Aret Sahakyan shares the kitchen of Ayla Privé with four guest chefs. Four four-hands dinners across the summer, thirty-five covers each, table facing the Aegean, during the months when Göltürkbükü and its Mediterranean surroundings are at their most vivid.

The view that made Ayla Emiroğlu fall in love with Bodrum in 1977. Some things don’t need improving. Photo courtesy of Maçakızı.

Thirty-five covers on the Aegean

Ayla Privé is the Maçakızı restaurant that operates exclusively for private events, within the Göltürkbükü resort that joined the World’s 50 Best Hotels list in 2025. Alongside the main restaurant, which holds one Michelin star under Sahakyan’s direction, this space works on an altogether different scale: a bar, a bespoke open kitchen, a large communal table and an open-air dining room overlooking the Aegean. Thirty-five covers per service, at one of the most sought-after addresses on the Turkish coast in summer.

That reduced scale defines the proposition. Both chefs cook in full view of the room, sharing the pass and the produce. Each dinner brings together eight dishes: four from Sahakyan and four from the guest, with the Aegean Mediterranean kitchen as its foundation — local produce, strict seasonality, fishermen and growers from the surrounding area.

Kokoreç, sweetbread, smoked potato purée and summer truffle. Sahakyan’s cooking at its most personal: local produce, technique, no unnecessary flourish. Photo courtesy of Maçakızı.

Aret Sahakyan in the kitchen of Ayla Privé. This summer, he shares it with three of Europe’s most exciting chefs. Photo courtesy of Maçakızı.

Four nights, seven Michelin stars

9th July · Akrame Benallal, the creative freedom of Restaurant Akrame

The series opens on 9th July with Akrame Benallal, chef and founder of Restaurant Akrame (Paris, one Michelin star). Born in France and raised in Oran, Algeria, Benallal trained under Pierre Gagnaire before spending a season at El Bulli with Ferran Adrià — two formative experiences that shaped his approach to cooking: creative, product-driven, and guided by the element of surprise. He opened his eponymous restaurant in Paris in 2011, earning his first Michelin star within months of opening. His cuisine, built around seasonal ingredients and carte blanche menus, is defined by bold flavour combinations and a refusal to repeat himself. The dinner is sponsored by LVMH.

Akrame Benallal in the kitchen of Restaurant Akrame, Paris. On 9th July, he brings his carte blanche approach to the Aegean. Photo courtesy of Restaurant Akrame

23rd July · Massimiliano Delle Vedove, the fire of Smoked Room

Massimiliano Delle Vedove at Smoked Room, Madrid. On 23rd July, he brings his mastery of fire and embers to the Aegean. Photo courtesy of Smoked Room.

The first dinner brings Sahakyan together with Massimiliano Delle Vedove, executive chef of Smoked Room (Madrid, two Michelin stars). The most introspective project of the Dani García Group opened in 2021 with just fourteen seats and earned two Michelin stars within six months, an unprecedented achievement in Spain. In his kitchen, the grill and smoke are not finishing techniques but the axis around which every dish is built.

20th August · Francesco Sodano, the kitchen-laboratory of Famiglia Rana

Francesco Sodano at Famiglia Rana, Oppeano. On 20th August, his research-driven Mediterranean cooking meets the Aegean. Photo courtesy of Famiglia Rana.

The second guest is Francesco Sodano, executive chef of Famiglia Rana (Oppeano, Verona, two Michelin stars). Born in Campania in 1988 and trained alongside Anthony Genovese at Il Pagliaccio in Rome, Sodano joined Famiglia Rana at the start of 2024, when Gian Luca Rana, of the celebrated fresh pasta dynasty, brought him in to give the restaurant a new gastronomic direction. In November 2025, just sixteen months into his tenure, he earned a second Michelin star. His cooking is technical and research-driven, drawing together Mediterranean flavours, Asian influences and produce from the restaurant’s own kitchen garden, underpinned by a laboratory equipped with state-of-the-art machinery.

17th September · Jonny Lake, a reunion with Trivet

Sahakyan and Lake have cooked together twice before. On 17th September, Ayla Privé is the setting for their third meeting.

Old Fashioned Chocolate. A signature from Trivet’s dessert menu, where Lake’s precision speaks for itself. Photo courtesy of Trivet Restaurant.

The third dinner closes the season with Jonny Lake, chef and co-owner of Trivet (London, two Michelin stars), the restaurant he opened in 2019 in Bermondsey alongside sommelier Isa Bal. Former head chef of Heston Blumenthal’s The Fat Duck, Lake built at Trivet a chef’s cuisine without a fixed tasting menu, earning its second Michelin star in 2024. It will be the third time Sahakyan and Lake have cooked together: Lake had previously visited Maçakızı, and Sahakyan cooked at Trivet on 28th March 2026 — good enough to bring them back together for a third time.

Four dates, thirty-five covers each. One of the most intimate propositions of the Mediterranean summer.