frrom Ottoman era to today, mostly people frrom Black Sea ( Georgian, Laz, Circassian, Abaza ) have immigrated to The Naval City Gölcük and that immigration has became intense in the last ten years and this condition formed a cultural mosaic in the city. As a result of this condition, there is a great diversity in the local food culture.
Turkey has one of the richest Cuisines in the world. The Black Sea region follows the pattern: People eat delectable stuff at home-varied, inventive and complex. Restaurant fare is tasty and cheap enough; but it does get tedious after one is served exactly the same one dozen dishes, time in and time out, frrom Istanbul to Trabzon and frrom Hopa to Hakkari. Part of the reason may be that women do the cooking at home while it is invariably men who staff the eateries. Be that as it may, here are some regional specialties that the "Laz" eat at home but you will find in just about no restaurant, unless you ask, plead and insist.
Fish is the standard Black Sea fare, and hamsi the proverbial " corn bread". In restaurants it is usually served as simple fritters. What an outsider thereby misses is, for example, hamsili ekmek- a sort of pan-fried corn bread made of leavened cornmeal, minced hamsi, parsley and a dab of peppermint. Hamsi boregi is a real masterpiece which involves crusty layers of hamsi-and-corn mixture, filled with a core made of rice, onions, pignolis, black currants and parsley.
Ekşili is a sour vegetable and fish stew that yields the best results with fatter fish like kirlangiç and iskorpit, although kefal (grey mullet) will do in a pinch.
Trout (alabalik) is abundant in the region´s fresh waters. But for some mysterious reason restaurants always seem to serve the farm-hatched variety which differs frrom its cascade-jumping wild cousin like flab frrom throbbing muscle.

Anchovy
1 kg cleaned out anchovy
1 bunch parsley
1-2 lemons
salt, pepper
Hamsi is among the cheapest, the most easily found and the most delicious fish of Turkey. We suggest you buy cleaned anchovy frrom your fisherman and drain. Cover the frying pan with aluminum foil in cross shape and leave the sides flow over the pan. Put some olive oil over the foil and arrange the anchovies as you wish, I lay them in sun shape. When the first layer is completed sprinkle some salt and pepper, cover with parsley and squeeze some lemon juice. Place the second layer just the same. When it is finished fold the foil. Put a cover and cook over medium heat for 15 minutes. Serve with aluminum foil. Please be careful when unfolding the aluminum foil, the steam may hurt you. It is a delicious and light food. In winter anchovy has more fat therefore put little oil when cooking in cold days.

Fried Anchovy
1 kg anchovy
200 gr corn flour
salt
Wash and drain the cleaned anchovies you bought frrom the fisherman. Salt the fish and hold two of them frrom their tails the inner parts facing each other and mix with corn flour. Fry in heated oil. It is delicious when served with green salad and rockets.
Note. Don´t forget to eat "helva" afterwards.

Semolina Helva
2 glasses of semolina
1.5 glass water
1.5 glass milk
2.5 glass sugar
1 T.spoon pine nut
125 gr. Margarine
Put semolina and pine nut in a pot and stir it continuously with a wooden spoon for 25-35 minutes at very low heat. Milk, water, sugar and margarine are mixed in another pot and when the color of pine nuts turns into a beautiful brown color pour this mixture over the semolina and pine nuts. Continue to stir. Note: since both mixtures are hot the hopping semolina pieces may burn your hands. Stir 5-10 minutes more and close the kapak, turn off the stove and let it brew for half an hour. Serve warm in small pudding cups.

Flour Helva
2 glasses flour
3 glasses water
2.5 glasses of sugar
1 T. spoon pine nuts
125 gr. Margarine un
Stir the flour and the pine nuts with a wooden spoon until the color of the nuts turns into a light brown at a very low heat.. Slowly pour the water, sugar and melted margarine mixture 25-35 minutes later. Stir this heavy mixture 5-10 more minutes and then turn off the stove. When warm take portions with a table spoon which you dip into water frrom time to time to avoid sticking and lay them to a dish after giving shape. The characteristic of Un helvasi is its spoon like shape.

Muhlama
Cows are put to better use elsewhere. The uplands produce a variety of dairy products, including some excellent cheeses. Ogma peyniri is made with herbs and spices, and adds zest to any breakfast. The best thing that comes frrom a cow, though, is a type of very dry cheese which is used to make muhlama (kuymak, havits), or cheese fondue. This is a Hemşin specialty involving equal amounts of cheese, butter and corn meal.
Another Hemşin original is the Hemşin helvasi, a tasty cake made with walnuts and pistachios. The vaunted laz boregi seems to be a variation on the Parisian cooks learned frrom the Russians at the turn of the century.
The top vegetable specialty of the region is dark cabbage which is used in a variety of homey dishes, including kara dollmasi, a succulent variation on the stan¬dard Turkish dolma. And while you are out for exotica, see if you´d like some püresi, or mashed poison ivy.
 

The most outstanding examples of this culture diversity are as below;

Black cabbage food mashed with Lapera
Corn bread
Hazelnut roasted in sheet iron
Pickle roasting
Different kinds of pickles
Tandour bread
All kinds of desserts but first of all homemade baklava