We Spoke with Assist. Prof. Dr. Zeynep Tacer Caba of BAU Gastronomy and Culinary Arts About the Alliance by Institut Paul Bocuse Membership

Bahçeşehir University has become the first member from Türkiye in the field of gastronomy of the "Alliance by Institut Paul Bocuse,"one of the world's most important culinary arts, food service and hospitality alliances. Our department, which has once again reinforced its goal of graduating students equipped to work anywhere in the world, quickly adapted to current conditions and carried out a wide-ranging curriculum revision during the pandemic. It also continues to successfully implement the requirements of the hybrid education model in line with the conditions of the period. We heard all the latest news from the BAU Department of Gastronomy and Culinary Arts from Head of Department Assist. Prof. Dr. Zeynep Tacer Caba.

Could you tell us about the process of your Alliance by Institut Paul Bocuse membership? How did it progress?

The Alliance by Institut Paul Bocuse membership process of the Bahçeşehir University Department of Gastronomy and Culinary Arts began in 2019, with the support of our university administration, when Gürhan Kara, Business Development Coordinator of the Department of Gastronomy and Culinary Arts, contacted Paul Bocuse. He had also examined different institutes around the world and, for this purpose, paid a visit to Paul Bocuse in Lyon. It was then decided to proceed with Paul Bocuse in view of its global recognition, structure and prestige. First, we submitted our preliminary application with a very detailed application file. After the preliminary application was evaluated positively, representatives of the alliance were scheduled to visit our department for an inspection, after which the decision would be made. However, when this visit could not take place due to the pandemic, we held several detailed meetings with the Paul Bocuse evaluation committees. We sent many documents. And in fact, for the first time in their history, they accepted us into the alliance without an on-site inspection, taking into account the characteristics of our department, our university's vision and the contributions we will make to the alliance.

What contributions do you think this membership will bring to Bahçeşehir University?

As a world university affiliated with BAU Global, Bahçeşehir University has the vision of becoming a distinguished, internationally recognized research university that leads in the production of knowledge and technology. Today, Bahçeşehir University collaborates with 235 universities from 6 different countries around the world. In other words, we are a world university that educates global citizens and where international students study.

In this sense, becoming a member of the Alliance by Institut Paul Bocuse, which has 21 members from 18 countries, will undoubtedly make an important contribution to increasing our university's international impact in gastronomy and culinary arts, as in other fields. Thanks to this alliance, our students will have the chance to take courses at different member schools, and our academics will be able to teach students in different countries. As a result, our university will increase its international recognition in gastronomy and culinary arts. Through its internal activities, the alliance enables interaction, relationships, partnerships and knowledge exchange among its members, and it is also very important for future partnerships.

 

Do you think you will also contribute to Turkish gastronomy through this membership?

The Bahçeşehir University Department of Gastronomy and Culinary Arts has become the first member from Türkiye in the field of gastronomy of the Alliance by Institut Paul Bocuse. Turkish cuisine is one of the most important cuisines in the world. In this sense, we are very excited to represent Turkish gastronomy in the alliance. With this membership, we will carry out activities to introduce Turkish cuisine to chefs and students in the 18 member countries of the alliance. In this way, we believe we will make an important contribution to making Turkish gastronomy better known around the world and recognized by new generations of cooks.

How did your education continue during the pandemic, which has lasted about a year?

Under the new conditions that emerged when the pandemic first broke out, we aimed to preserve the multidisciplinary nature of gastronomy, in which technical practice and experience are intertwined, by using different channels of distance education. We implemented the requirements of hybrid education, which our university has applied very successfully, in our 3 professional multi-purpose kitchens designed with state-of-the-art technology and in our pastry and bakery kitchen. In this way, with special cameras, a limited number of our students attend classes in the kitchen in line with pandemic conditions, while our other students follow the class live via the online system. In this respect, in addition to our university's experience, support and solutions in information technologies, our students' contributions and views on each course have guided us.