Vocational School of Justice
TASTY PASTRIES BY IUE CHEF
Rıfat Yurttaş, a senior at Izmir University of Economics-Department of Culinary Arts and Management, is creating the most delicious pastries in Çeşme by combining the training he received at IUE with his dad’s 17 year experience in the sector. Yurttaş, in his ISO 22000 and ISO 9001 certified pastry store, gives priority to customer satisfaction and hygiene.
Yurttaş, who is a student at IUE and Chef at his “Alçe Ekmekçilik Patisserie Entegre Tesisleri” titled family business, stated that his only desire program was gastronomy. He said, “Hygiene was the first thing we learned about when I started the program. We were taught about cutting techniques, and how each food item should be stored. Our hands on training began after we learned the basics. We are given both theoretical and practical training on courses such as pastry, hot kitchen, and world cuisines. The education I received allowed me to see the drawbacks and shortages of employees in the kitchen when I performed my first internship. I promised myself not to have any of those drawbacks in my own kitchen. I started pastry in addition to bakery with the support of my family. I kept my promise to myself and received ISO 22000 and ISO 9001 certificates awarded for hygiene and customer satisfaction.”
‘Happy Customers, Big Goals’
Yurttaş pointed that they did not use any hydrogenated oils, margarines, whipped cream powders, and cocoa in their pastries. “We use all natural, high quality ingredients in our pastries and cookies. Customer satisfaction is very important for us. People may come to the store out of necessity for one time but if they are satisfied with the service, they will keep coming back. My family trusted me and the education I received, and we expanded the family business by adding breakfasts and other catering services,” said Yurttaş. He said that they worked with İŞKUR (Turkish Labor Agency) supported Expert Pastry Chefs Association, and they employed youth who completed the training courses provided by the Association. Yurttaş said that they have total of 55 working for them, and sometimes they ran short of staff ran in meeting customer demands. Yurttaş indicated that his education made him realize kitchen meant not only cooking but running and managing it at the same time, and he wanted to open up more stores including in Izmir after he graduated.