BAU Becomes a Member of the Alliance by Institut Paul Bocuse

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. Further strengthening its goal of producing graduates equipped to work anywhere in the world, our department adapted quickly to current conditions and made an extensive curriculum change 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 membership in the Alliance by Institut Paul Bocuse? How did it go?

The membership process of the Bahçeşehir University Department of Gastronomy and Culinary Arts in the Alliance by Institut Paul Bocuse began in 2019, with the support of our university administration, when our Department of Gastronomy and Culinary Arts Business Development Coordinator Gürhan Kara contacted Paul Bocuse. He had also examined various 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 terms of global recognition as well as structure and prestige. First, we submitted our preliminary application with a very detailed application file. Following the positive evaluation of the preliminary application, alliance representatives 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 and 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 features 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 an internationally recognized, distinguished research university leading 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, membership in 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. Our university will thus increase its international recognition in gastronomy and culinary arts. Through its internal activities, the alliance fosters interaction, relationships, partnerships and knowledge exchange among member countries, 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 organize activities to introduce Turkish cuisine to chefs and students in the 18 member countries. In this way, we believe we will make important contributions to making Turkish gastronomy better known around the world and recognized by new generations of cooks.

How has your education progressed during the pandemic period of about a year?

Under the new conditions that emerged when the pandemic first broke out, we aimed to preserve the multidisciplinary structure of gastronomy, in which technical practice and experience are intertwined, by using different channels of distance education. We implemented the requirements of the hybrid education model, which our university has applied very successfully, in our 3 professional multi-purpose kitchens designed with the latest 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, taking pandemic conditions into account, while our other students follow the class live through the online system. In this regard, in addition to our university's experience, support and solutions in information technologies, our students' course-specific contributions and opinions have guided us.