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Dear Students,
After a challenging examination process, you are now setting sail toward a new horizon, reaping the rewards of your hard work. From this point forward, what awaits you is not merely an education, but a profound journey of learning. At this meaningful threshold, I congratulate you with my most sincere wishes and hope that your university life will be healthy, productive, and enjoyable.
The Department of Gastronomy and Culinary Arts was established in 2011 within the Faculty of Fine Arts at Gaziantep University and has been continuing its educational activities under the Faculty of Tourism since 2019. Our department consists of two professors, four associate professors, three assistant professors, and two research assistants. In addition, faculty members from different faculties and qualified culinary chefs with industry experience also contribute to our department through an interdisciplinary approach. The duration of education is four years.
The primary aim of our department is to train chefs, researchers, and enlightened individuals who are nourished by the deep-rooted culinary culture of Gaziantep — a city registered in the UNESCO Creative Cities Network in the field of Gastronomy — who respect the gastronomic identity of our city and country, who embrace this identity and contribute to the society in which they were raised, and who possess a sense of ethical responsibility. Our graduates may take part in a wide range of professional fields, including executive chef positions in hotels and restaurants, food and beverage department management, menu planning and consultancy, food styling and content creation, food and beverage units of public institutions, and food and beverage teaching at the secondary education level. Training intellectuals who will play an active role in all social and cultural phenomena shaped in the context of food, place, and people is among the most fundamental missions of our department. In the 6th semester, our students may choose between a 30-day industry internship or a Vocational Application Project; this elective practice represents their first concrete step in their careers in terms of getting closely acquainted with the gastronomy and food and beverage sector, building their professional networks, and testing the theoretical knowledge they have acquired in real business environments. In addition, graduate and doctoral programs are also actively carried out within our Department of Gastronomy and Culinary Arts.
In line with the principle of continuously improving educational quality, our curriculum is regularly updated within the framework of the PDCA (Plan–Do–Check–Act) cycle and Bloom's Taxonomy, and the opinions and suggestions of internal and external stakeholders are reflected in this process. From the first year onwards, our students have the opportunity to get closely acquainted with this unique culinary culture in the Gastronomy and Culinary Arts department kitchen, not only with theoretical knowledge but also by internalizing the mission that "If the world were a house, its kitchen would be Gaziantep." International culinary knowledge, including world cuisines and garde manger, is also conveyed through practical courses, and our students shape their professional and social development in the inspiring atmosphere of this ancient city.
Dear students, we wholeheartedly believe that throughout this four-year journey, you will develop yourselves academically and socially, and that your horizons will broaden. Our door is always open for you to receive the necessary mentorship and academic support during this process. I once again congratulate you and wish that your undergraduate years be filled with success and meaning.
Prof. Dr. Atınç OLCAY
Head of the Department of Gastronomy and Culinary Arts