Banu graduated with a degree in Business Administration from Clark University in Worcester, MA. She started her career as a kitchen manager, before returning to Turkey as Director of Educational Programs at the Istanbul Culinary Institute. She continued her work at The Culinary Arts Center, where she worked on several projects promoting Turkish cuisine. She has participated in several symposiums in New York, Oxford, Tours, Mexico City and Dublin, where she discussed various aspects of Turkish cuisine. Currently, she is an instructor in the Culinary Arts department of İstanbul Medipol University, teaching the history of Turkish cuisine, and a Master's student in Sustainable Tourism Management at the prestigious Bogazici University. Banu also writes her own blog, called Spoon in My Pocket, where she talks about food and shares recipes. She has been leading walking food tours around İstanbul and Turkey's gastronomy capitals since 2009. She is a regular columnist for a bi-monthly food magazine called Food in Life.