Gastronomy and Culinary Arts

I am Associate Professor Şevki Ulema. I am Head of the Department of Gastronomy and Culinary Arts, Faculty of Tourism at Sakarya University of Applied Sciences. Our university was established in 2018 and we started with 40 students in our department in the 2018-2019 academic year. Our first year courses are focused on business, tourism and foreign languages. Starting from the 2nd grade, we head towards gastronomy and culinary arts lessons. Our lessons are applied lessons. Culinary Practices, Basic Culinary Techniques, Turkish Cuisine and World Cuisine (we give this course for two semesters) are the lessons given in practice. In addition, we have courses such as Marketing and Menu Management in the field of food and beverage management. Thanks to our Technology-related Information Technologies and Food and Beverage Automation courses, our students also have the equipment required by the information age. We also have other courses on different study areas related to the kitchen. These are our courses such as Cold Kitchen, Patisserie. With courses such as Cake, Dessert and Pastry, students are equipped with the skills appropriate for the pastry department. General Health Information and First Aid lessons are among the lessons that will enable our students to work in a safer environment. Molecular Gastronomy and New Trends in Gastronomy courses enable our students to be aware of the developments in the field of gastronomy. Within the scope of special interest, we also have elective courses such as Local Cuisine and Ottoman Cuisine. While the courses in the 1st and 2nd classes are generally compulsory, the compulsory and elective courses are balanced in the 3rd and 4th years. In addition, our students can pursue versatile development opportunities by choosing common elective courses. There is a patisserie section in our practice kitchen. In the patisserie section, students can prepare cakes and pastries with the help of marble countertops and ovens. In addition, all industrial kitchen equipment is available in the department used by the instructors. Our students can have the chance to experience the equipment found in an industrial kitchen. Internship is the subject in which our department is most ambitious about. Our students do a 60-day summer internship. In addition, they work in the workplaces within the scope of the Professional Practices course in the 4th and 8th semesters under the 6+2 model. In this way, they consolidate the theoretical and practical lessons they learned, in a period of 7 months, at school in the workplace environment.
Within the framework of the possibilities of our university, our students have the opportunity to study at universities abroad and do internships thanks to Erasmus and Mevlana programs. Our university, faculty and department have cooperation agreements with many universities in European countries. The 5th of the International Gastronomic Tourism Research Congress will be held by our faculty and department in October 2021. Our department, together with the Sakarya Tourism Provincial Directorate, organized the Sakarya Local Recipes and Presentation Competition within the national scope and concluded it in March 2021. Our students participate in various national and international cooking competitions both in Turkey and abroad. There are national and international awards, degrees and medals they have won from these competitions. In line with their own career paths, our students can work as chefs in independent food and beverage businesses. Likewise, they can work as a chef in the food and beverage units of hospitals and accommodation businesses. They can also work as managers in food and beverage businesses. They can establish their own businesses with small or large capital or become an educator in the field of gastronomy by pursuing an academic career. I personally recommend that our students who are interested in gastronomy, who believe they are talented and resourceful in the kitchen, prefer the Department of Gastronomy and Culinary Arts. According to a study conducted in 2020, Sakarya University of Applied Sciences graduates are the 11th most preferred state university by employers. This is a very important achievement for a newly established university. There are also cultural and sports activities along with the library facilities that Sakarya University of Applied Sciences students can benefit from. In addition, Sakarya city is home to nearly one hundred thousand students. It has many opportunities that students can benefit from. Qualified public and private dormitories, transportation facilities and many social facilities are available in Sakarya. I wish success to students who prefer Sakarya University of Applied Sciences, Faculty of Tourism, Department of Gastronomy and Culinary Arts.