In February the James Beard Foundation shortlisted Sayat Ozyilmaz ’08 and his wife, Laura, in the “Best Chef: California” category for their Eastern Mediterranean restaurant, Dalida. “I’m really excited about it, but I have very little control in the process,” Ozyilmaz says. “It’s a proud moment for us, but it’s not changing anything in our day-to-day lives.” 

Originally from Istanbul, Ozyilmaz opened Dalida two years ago in San Francisco’s Presidio National Park. “It’s a way to bridge my Armenian and Turkish heritage and cultures,” he says. The menu also reflects his wife’s roots in Guerrero, Mexico. The couple met at the Culinary Institute of America in New York. “The menu at Dalida is secretly the love story of its two chefs,” wrote a San Francisco Chronicle critic. “There’s a lot of love at Dalida, and there’s even more to love about it.”

An econ and German studies major, Ozyilmaz worked at the College’s organic farm and studied how organic goods were marketed in rural Turkey. After graduation he worked as an industrial engineer, but it didn’t stick. After some soul searching, his career trajectory changed. He traveled to Turkey in 2012 to test recipes for a cooking show and then to India to work as a cook before enrolling at the Culinary Institute in 2013. “I felt as though I could do anything I wanted,” he says. 

Dalida means “dahlia” in Polish. It’s also the official flower of San Francisco, the national flower of Mexico—and the name of Ozyilmaz’s mother. “Running this restaurant is a team sport, it’s a craft, and it’s a small business at the same time,” he says. “You’ve got to be part of a team.”