Grocery shopping was never this much fun. Even in my role of associate bag-carrier for Turkish culinary doyenne Selin Rozanes from Turkish Flavours, I’m thoroughly enjoying our foodie trawl through Istanbul’s upmarket Nisantasi neighbourhood.

With exclusive boutiques and elegant Art Nouveau apartments, Nisantasi almost feels Parisian, but Selin’s roll call of preferred suppliers could only be in Turkey. Plump apricots and unctuous kaymak (clotted cream) are secured for dessert, and zingy olive oil and organic cucumbers and tomatoes for a crunchy salad.

Table-covering sheets of delicate filo will later be transformed into borek, a moreish layering of feta cheese, olive oil, parsley and pastry.

One stop shopping isn’t an option for Selin, and a chugging ferry transports our small group of food buffs across the Bosphorus to Istanbul’s Asian shore. The Kadikoy market is less visited by tourists than the city’s Grand Bazaar, and Selin’s celebrity means shopping for more ingredients for our evening meal is interspersed with lots of tasty samples.

Lunch at Kadikoy’s trendy Ciya Sofrasi restaurant is a cavalcade of ten tasting courses, all designed to showcase the eclectic cuisine of Turkey’s southeastern region where Levantine and Arab influences mingle. It’s also a menu only available to Selin’s guests. Football-sized flatbreads are perfect for mopping up more dips than at the deli section at Countdown, and vibrant glasses of pomegranate and cherry juices are both surprising additions.

Later that night we regroup at Selin’s elegant Nisantasi apartment to make sense of the outcome of her shopping list. Wine from Turkey’s Cappadocia region and robust aniseed-flavoured raki create an ambience that’s as much literary salon as kitchen wars. Eventually our international crew buckles down to create a Turkish feast best enjoyed in a leisurely fashion around an improbably large table.

It’s been another surprising day in one of my favourite cities.