A Turkish chef cooked his whole town a special meal for a Muslim holiday

Burak Özdemir, known more popularly by his nickname CZNBurak, is a well-renowned chef from Turkey. He is also a restauranteur and owns three branches of the restaurant Hatay Medeniyetler Sofrasi in three different parts of the Middle Eastern country. While he is pretty acclaimed for his work as a culinary chef, he gained fame and popularity when he started posting videos of his cooking adventures online. As his fans note, he has a recognizable way of "gazing directly into the camera with a smile" when filming, which had made him now a household name in Turkey. On the occasion of Muharram, a Muslim holiday, the famous chef decided to treat his town to a special meal.

Muharram, the first month of the Islamic calendar, is one of the four sacred months of the year for Muslims. Thought to be the second holiest month of the year (second only to Ramadan), Muharram is celebrated by practicing abstinence from joyous events. Then, on the tenth day of the month, known as the Day of Ashura, Muslims hold a fast. They break this fast with a special meal. Özdemir, who is no stranger to the Muslim holiday, wanted to do something extra nice for his community on the holy occasion. Therefore, he did what he does best. Chopping up pounds of ingredients and cooking them in a giant pot over a hot flame, the Turkish chef made a sweet dessert for all those in his town.

Özdemir cooked the treat all by himself and distributed it to members of his community with help from volunteers. In a video posted to Twitter, he is seen packaging dozens and dozens of takeaway boxes of the dessert in one clip, and in the next, distributing the dessert to little children holding out bowls in front of his pot. The video, which already has over 50,000 likes and 5,000 retweets, has been highly praised by his fans all over the world. One user said in response, "Burak, brother, you are a legend. Love from Pakistan. Stay blessed." Another added (translated from Turkish), "I hope you have as much sustenance as the grains you distribute. I wish you passed in front of our house too, we would have eaten your treat."

This is not the first time that the chef has showcased his kind-heartedness (and of course, his excellent culinary skills) online. He has posted dozens of similar videos online, to much praise from fans. Özdemir, who started cooking when he was a teenager, was ranked among the top content creators of 2019 on TikTok for his cooking videos. His videos took a more philanthropic turn when he shared a clip of himself surprising a disabled man with a motorized cart. In these times when it seems like the world is such a dark place, it's important and heartwarming to know that kind folks are still performing acts of kindness. He affirms in that now-viral clip, "The greatest bond is love."