Baylan

Baylan’s hundred year old story.. Baylan’s history began when Filip Lenas and Yorgi Kiriçis, born in the early 1900s, emigrated from Yanya to Istanbul in 1919. The first place Filip and Yorgi visited in Istanbul was Beyoğlu, which maintained its identity as an entertainment centre during the armistice days, and their first job was in a French patisserie there. After working in the French patisserie for 4 years, Filip and Yorgi learned the tricks of the chocolate, cake and confectionery trade from the city’s best pastry chefs. Now it was time to open their own shop. Their first shop was opened in 1923 at Beyoğlu Deva Çıkmazı.

Filip and Yorgi, who continue their business by creating delicious cakes and new flavours that have never been tasted before, chose the name Loryan for their brand, which is the spelling of the French word “L’Orient” meaning “East”, “Orient”. The second store was opened in the old Borsa Han in Karaköy. In the 1930s, Filip Lenas invented the indispensable Baylan classic Addis Ababa. At the same time, Baylan’s chocolate factory opened on Karaköy Mumhane Street. The name Loryan was replaced by Baylan in 1937. In the late 1940s, Filip Lenas pioneered the chocolate madeleine with moulds he brought back from Paris.

In 1931, Filip Lenas’ eldest son, Harry Lenas, the doyen of pastry chefs, was born. Mr Harry crowned his childhood passion for confectionery with his training in the field and became the main protagonist of Baylan’s branding with his lifelong efforts. Harry, who first discovered one of his life’s great passions, baking, at school, worked in Baylan’s workshop for about a year after leaving school. Harry went on to study confectionery at the Zuckerbäcker Schule in Vienna, where he completed two important internships and was trained by some of the biggest names in confectionery and bakery.

Mr Harry returned to Istanbul after his studies and in 1954 discovered Baylan’s signature flavour, Kup Griye. Another important event in 1954 was the birth of the “Baylancılar” school, thanks to the literary figures who regularly visited the Beyoğlu branch.

Beyoğlu branch. Baylan, where doyens such as Behçet Necatigil, Atilla İlhan, Sait Faik, Hasan Pulur, Erdal Öz and Sevim Budak were regulars, reached an unprecedented level in the history of literature, found its place in important works of Turkish literature and hosted a number of literary events. Turkish literature and hosted the most important literary debates. In 1961, Kadıköy Baylan was opened, which would become a favourite meeting place for the doyens of the literary world.

Since the 1960s, Mr Harry has introduced the inhabitants of Istanbul to flavours they had never tasted before, such as Italian ice cream, espresso, cappuccino and tiramisu. In addition to new flavours, he contributed to the cultural heritage of the inhabitants of Istanbul with the New Year baskets he prepared and the Valentine’s Day celebrations he pioneered with red wrapped heart chocolates.

In his seventies, Harry Lenas sought a successor to continue the brand’s legacy and his efforts paid off in 2009 when Altinmarka, a company owned by the Altinkılıç family, acquired Baylan. New branches were opened, the corporate identity was renewed and Baylan continued to be a popular destination for the inhabitants of Istanbul. The esteemed Mr Harry Lenas passed away in 2016, but the legacy of Baylan, to which he dedicated his life, lives on.

Celebrating its 100th anniversary with the Republic in 2023, Baylan today serves the inhabitants of Istanbul through its four branches in Kadıköy, Bebek, Galataport and Kız Kulesi. Combining a centuries-old traditional flavour with modern tastes, Istanbul’s

Baylan is a bridge between the city’s cultural texture and palate, carrying a delicious heritage from the past to the future.