Taste the culture, Turkey

Many travelers to the Turkish Aegean region have a huge interest in the local cuisine, and many hotels already source from local producers. Nonetheless, the connection between agricultural producers and purchasers from the hotel industry still needs be improved. Furthermore, the concept of organic food is largely unknown in the Turkish hotel industry. The project "Taste the culture" addresses these issues within two project phases. In the first phase, hotel staff is educated based on a "Sustainable Food Manual" (developed by MODUL University and FH Wien) regarding purchasing, storage and processing of organic and sustainably produced foods. Training courses are being developed with the local project partner and organic-farming expert, Gürsel Tonbul. They convey the benefits and value of sustainable and regional food. These training units will be tested in practice and optimized where required. In addition, it is planned to establish interactive training units in which employees will visit sustainable agricultural operations in the region and get to know their working methods. The second phase deals with the presentation and communication of sustainable food offers. The aim is to develop and improve presentation and communication methods, e.g. signage at the buffet, cooking classes, or digital solutions. This phase is conducted in connection with the MU project “Sustainable Food Communication”. The project partners are ten hotels from the Kusadasi region. The educational material and the results are prepared in a way that they can be used by interested hoteliers in Turkey and worldwide.

Expected Results

Through the project, the offer of regional and organic food in hotels is to be increased. The hotels get the necessary expert knowledge on how their F&B teams can create a sustainable offer and communicate it to the guests. Local vendors and agricultural and food producers also benefit through the purchasing of their products. The project furthermore supports a development towards the use of organic products. Through the improved communication of sustainability activities in the hotels, guest satisfaction can be increased. By raising awareness of the benefits of sustainable food on the side of guests and hoteliers, the participants themselves become ambassadors for sustainable buffets in holiday hotels.