Umami Food & Beverage
Chef Bora Korkmaz
Born in Ankara in 1987, he completed his primary and high school education at Büyük College. He played as a licensed player on the basketball team at Büyük College until graduation. He lived in Brazil for a one-year Rotary Exchange program before university. He then graduated from Bilkent University's Computer Technology and Information Systems department in 2010.
He worked in restaurants in Ankara to develop his hobby, cooking, into a profession for many years. To further his technical skills and gain fundamental technical training, he graduated from the Culinary Arts Academy's Cooking Program in 2011.
After a short work experience at Kanyon Le Pain Quotidien, he worked at the Spice Market Restaurant owned by Michelin Star Chef Jean-Georges at the W Hotel Doha in Qatar.
To learn the fundamentals of French cuisine, he received a Cuisine Diploma from Le Cordon Bleu London. He interned at Pollen Street Social, a one-Michelin-starred restaurant in London.
Following his London experience, he worked as a Pasta Chef at Massimo Bottura's restaurant in Istanbul, a 3-Michelin star chef featured on Netflix's Chefs Table.
In 2015, he returned to the Culinary Arts Academy as the Instructor Chef responsible for Professional Training. During this time, he took on many different roles, including R&D consultancy for Tefal, food styling for MSA photo and video shoots, the film Acı Tatlı Ekşi, and technical consultancy for Buğra Gülsoy.
He opened a GastroPub in Ankara with his brother. He also served as the opening and culinary consultant for various businesses, including Bardak Moscow Turkish Restaurant and Cafe Nero. He also taught in the culinary department at OKAN University. He also served as a food styling and technical consultant for a Coca-Cola commercial.
He served as WMF's Turkey brand chef for over three years. He supported the brand in product testing, localizing foreign recipes, standardizing local recipes, R&D, recipe development, strategic marketing support, and more.
One year after assuming the pre-opening Executive Chef position of MEG Bebek Restaurant, his path crossed with NOBU. He worked as Sous Chef at NOBU Istanbul during its opening in June 2021. In May 2022, he opened NOBU Bodrum and NOBU Beach as Chef de Cuisine. He has served as the Executive Chef of Sunset Grill & Bar Restaurant in Ulus, Istanbul, for 29 years.
Voltron, which he and his wife İpek co-founded in March 2023, drawing on their years of experience, continues to operate under the Umami F&B banner in the food and beverage sector, primarily in consulting, concept events, and training. In two years, they have completed 12 consulting projects and 23 events for brands such as Amazon, Hendricks Gin, Boyner, Ballantines, and Arçelik.
Skiing, yoga, and basketball are his favorite sports. He and İpek formed the band DJs Cat & Bat, where he also performs as a DJ at various events. Besides his native Turkish, he speaks fluent English and Portuguese. He is a comic book and Lego collector and has five cats, Robin, Maddy, Totoro, Yennefer, and Anakin, whom he adopted during his marriage to İpek.