What is Makara?

The word Makara was used by a Turkish company as their brand name when they launched a chain of Chimney cake shops and kiosks in Istanbul, Turkey. 

The company which created the brand didn’t want others to be able to easily copy their idea or find the product on-line so quickly. The company believed that by completely changing the name (rather than calling it by its traditional European names Kürtőskalács, Kurtos, Chimney cake, Trdelnik or Trldo) they would prevent others copying their concept as quickly in Turkey.

Istanbul receives a lot of travellers and tourists from all over the world who saw the product for the first time. Therefore, they too believed that the product was called Makara and that it originated in Turkey!

What does the word MAKARA mean?
We were told by our Turkish customers that the word Makara means a bobbin / real or roller in Turkish language. Therefore, the customer chose this word as they thought that the cooking roll and the ribbon of dough was like a bobbin being wound up.

How was Makara launched in Turkey?
The idea to bring the Kürtőskalács product to Turkey and re-brand it as Makara, was devised by a Turkish television company, which wanted to introduce product placement into a drama TV program that the company were producing called Kuzey Güney, which translates to north and south.

Kuzey and Güney are brothers, yet they cannot be more different. The older brother Güney is very studious and a good boy, whereas his younger sibling, Kuzey is wild and unpredictable. The character of Kuzey is played by the Turkish actor Kivanc Tatlitug who is one of the highest-paid actors in Turkey and who has won many awards. He is known as ‘the ‘Turkish Brad Pitt.’

As the series progresses, Kuzey’s father becomes increasingly frustrated with his son and wants to wash his hands of him. Therefore, to impress his father, Kuzey takes a trip to Europe and returns with his idea for Makara.

The plan for the TV company, was to open several Makara locations in Istanbul as they show with the Maraka product aired.

What was our involvement in the Makara project?
We were hired by the Turkish television company to go to Turkey and teach various members of their team, how to make Kürtőskalács, sorry, Makara!

The TV company arranged an evening for their guests to come and taste the product, which we catered for. We shipped our equipment to Turkey and gave them our support when they decided to create their own Makara franchise which was rolled out first in Turkey and then in countries where the drama was being screened.

Dober Kürtős – The Chimney cake, Chimney cones, Trdelnik, & Baumstriezel experts