Otel İşletmelerinde Gıda İsraf Boyutunu Belirlemeye Yönelik Bir Araştırma (A Research on Determination of Food Waste in Hotel Enterprises)

Abstract

While food waste continues to increase its severeness day by day, hotel businesses are one of the businesses where food waste is most intense, as the all-inclusive concept and buffet service system in hotels offer numerous food and beverage options to the consumer at the same time. In this study, it was aimed to determine the size of food waste and the reasons for its occurrence in food and beverage units by taking advantage of the opinions of kitchen chefs working in hotels. In the study, 16 kitchen chefs who gained experience in hotels with all-inclusive/ultra-inclusive concept in Antalya were included and a semi-structured interview form was used to collect the data. The replies received for each question asked in the interview form were categorized and subjected to descriptive analysis. According to the findings, unconscious consumption has been found to be the main factor leading to food waste in hotels. It has been determined that the lack of knowledge and experience of the personnel during production with faulty cooking methods are the main factors leading to food waste. In the interviews, it was stated that the restaurant is the area where food waste occurs the most, and that the preliminary preparation process is the main application stage leading to food waste. Various solution suggestions of kitchen chefs to reduce and prevent food waste are included in the study in order to gain practical popularity in hotels.