The Ideathon on “Innovative Practices for Zero-Waste Kitchens in the Food and Gastronomy Sector”, organised with Hasan Kalyoncu University (HKU) as host and in cooperation with the Gaziantep Chamber of Commerce (GTO), the Food Rescue Association and FAZLA, has begun.
Held under the leadership of the HKU Faculty of Tourism, Department of Gastronomy and Culinary Arts, and with the support of the GTO Gaziantep Gastronomy Academy, the event will last two days. On the first day, students, academics and industry representatives came together to develop innovative solutions to combat food waste.
In his opening speech, HKU Rector Prof. Dr. Türkay Dereli drew attention to the importance of sustainability, saying: “As Hasan Kalyoncu University, we are an institution that acts with a zero-waste awareness, embraces the green campus approach and offers innovation-oriented education in every field. With this Ideathon, our Department of Gastronomy and Culinary Arts is not merely producing technical knowledge; it is also producing value, awareness and transformation. Through this event, we bring industry representatives and students together around the same table, and we aim for ideas to turn into projects, projects into solutions, and solutions into a sustainable future.”
Speaking at the opening, Chair of the Gaziantep Chamber of Commerce Tuncay Yıldırım said: “The food sector is not just a chain of production and consumption; it is also a culture and a responsibility. As Gaziantep, we should not be content with keeping the cuisine of the past alive; we must also write the recipe of the future.”
Chair of the Food Rescue Association and FAZLA Deputy General Manager Berat İnci said: “Every year, approximately 1 billion tonnes of food goes to waste. This is not just a figure; it means wasted hope and resources. For this reason, it is extremely valuable for young people to raise awareness on this issue.”
The first session of the event, the panel titled “ZeroBite: Innovative Practices for Zero-Waste Kitchens”, was moderated by Assoc. Prof. Dr. Furkan Baltacı, Head of the Department of Gastronomy and Culinary Arts at the HKU Faculty of Tourism. The speakers on the panel were Asst. Prof. Dr. Fulya Harp Çelik from HKU, Asst. Prof. Dr. Kamuran Öztop, Head of the Catering Services and Cookery Programme at Toros University Vocational School, Devrim Barçak Potok, Secretary General of the Food Rescue Association, and Uğur Acıoğlu, Accounting Member of the GTO Board of Directors.
The event will continue tomorrow with idea development and presentation sessions.
