Istanbul Gelisim University (IGU), Faculty of Fine Arts (FFA), Gastronomy and Culinary Arts Department Chair Prof. Aslı ALBAYRAK, organized with the efforts of the Faculty of Applied Sciences, Gastronomy and Culinary Arts (Tr&Ing) Department, Cooking, Pastry and Breadmaking Departments, the Gastronomy Festival was organized for the second time this year.
The theme of the festival held on May 22, 2025 was “GastroTech” this year. The festival, which addressed the subjects of artificial intelligence and technology, brought the festival atmosphere to the campus with GastroTalks interviews with academic and industry leaders, artificial intelligence short film and poster competitions, a fairground where food and beverage treats were held, music with DJ accompaniment and a career area where leading companies in the sector interacted with students.
The event began with the opening speech of Istanbul Gelişim University (IGU) Secretary General and Gastronomy Department Coordinator Assoc. Prof. Serdar Egeli. Then, IGU Rector Prof. Bahri Şahin and IGU Board of Trustees Chairman Abdülkadir Gayretli were invited to the podium to make the opening speeches. Following the opening speeches, the “Festival Organization Committee” was presented accompanied by the Marching Band.
Then, the speakers took their places for the 1st session. In the 1st session, the chefs took their places to discuss “Success Stories of Hotel Chefs” under the moderation of Prof. Aslı Albayrak. In the session, Executive Chef Gazi Çiftçi (Fairmont Quasar İstanbul), Executive Chef Efe Anıl Çetin (Rixos Tersane İstanbul), Executive Chef Şevket Cihan (The St. Regis İstanbul), Executive Chef Yusuf Gülyiyen (Grand Hyatt Taksim), Executive Chef Samet Güney (Princes Palace Resort İstanbul a Member of The World), Executive Chef Ali İhsan Özkan (The Ritz-Cartlon İstanbul) and Head Chef Semih Acar (Soho House İstanbul) told the students about their success stories.
At the end of the First Session, the award ceremony for the "Artificial Intelligence Poster" and "Artificial Intelligence Short Film" competitions held within the scope of the GastroTech 2025 event, which brings together gastronomy and technology, was held. The main theme of the event, "Artificial Intelligence", invited the participants to rethink their culinary cultures with artificial intelligence aesthetics. The two competitions held within the scope of the event attracted great attention. While the Artificial Intelligence Poster Design Competition expected the participants to visualize the cultural traces of Turkish and world cuisines in the language of the digital age; The Artificial Intelligence Short Film Competition addressed the transformation of culinary heritage with a cinematic narrative under the title of “Time Travel: 100-Year Change in Turkish Cuisine with Artificial Intelligence.” The event offered participants the opportunity to reinterpret the cultural traces of Turkish and world cuisines with the language of artificial intelligence and the digital age.
Among the winners were students from the Faculty of Fine Arts at IGU.
Award-Winning Participants
Short Film Competition Winners:
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Metehan Özırmak
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Tolga Karakol
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İrem Kaplan
Poster Design Competition Winners:
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Ahmet Tavhid Kuzu
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Nihal Cemile Yıldız
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Rümeysa Kaya
In the competition directed by Visual Communication Design Department faculty member Asst. Prof. Büşra Kılıç, awards were given in different categories. The award winners were determined as a result of the evaluations made by expert juries according to the category. The evaluation processes were meticulously carried out by the jury boards.
GastroTech-2025 brought together gastronomy, art and technology, opening new areas of expression for young creative minds. It is expected that such interdisciplinary platforms that allow the reinterpretation of cultural heritage with digital tools will gain an even more important place in gastronomy education and creative industries in the future.
Following the results of the competition, MasterChef Competition 2022 champion Metin Yavuz came together with university students and shared his experiences and valuable advice with our young students. After his speech, Assoc. Prof. Serdar Egeli presented Metin Yavuz with a plaque.
In the second session, the chefs took their places under the moderation of Big Chef’s Restaurants Coordinator Executive Chef Murat Aslan to discuss “Success Stories of Restaurant Chefs”. In the session, Executive Chef Kemal Can Yurttaş (Aila Restaurant), Executive Chef Emrah Orak (Zuma Turkey Coordinator), Executive Chef Serhat Eliçora (CVK Bosphours Izaka Restaurant), Executive Chef Fırat Yakut (Ulus 29 Restaurant), Head Chef Umut Reçber (Migros) shared the success stories of their restaurants and their own businesses with the students.
After the Q&A, our festival continued with food presentations and career interviews from the companies participating in the event. Then, food presentations prepared by our students in IGU Gastronomy kitchens were served to the participants.
Special stands were also set up at the festival where many famous names and companies from the sector had the opportunity to come together with university students.
The festival, which opened its doors to approximately 1300 Gastronomy, Cooking and Pastry students studying at our institution at the associate and undergraduate level, as well as high school, associate and undergraduate level students outside our institution, offered the participants the opportunity to discover themselves, create awareness about their fields, meet with sector leaders and have a good time. It also provided the opportunity for high school students studying in this field to get to know undergraduate stud
