An American-born traveler to one of Istanbul’s oldest communities receives an unexpected welcome in this heart-warming and romantic debut

ELIF SHAFAK'S NEW YORK TIMES ISTANBUL READING LIST
A GREAT GROUP READS SELECTION
SHORTLISTED FOR THE 2022 RUNCIMAN AWARD
LONGLISTED FOR THE 2022 DUBLIN LITERARY AWARD

At the neighborhood café where pastry chef Kosmas, charming widower Fanis, and other Rum—Greek Orthodox Christian—friends meet regularly for afternoon tea, American-born Daphne arrives with her elderly aunt. Daphne unsettles hearts, provokes jealousies, and stirs up memories of the 1955 Istanbul pogrom, forcing Kosmas and Fanis to confront their painful history in order to risk new beginnings. A shrewd and humorous tale, A Recipe for Daphne invites the reader into the kitchens, loves, and secret lives of Istanbul's most ancient community.