A Study on the Change of Menu Lists with the Effect of Pandemic in the Gastronomy Sector: Istanbul Province Fine-Dining Restaurant Examples

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic, which is one of the most influential events of today, has a great impact on the gastronomy sector as well as making its impact felt in many sectors. Despite the current pandemic conditions, human being as a social being needs to eat out for physiological, psychological, economic and social reasons. In order to meet this need, individuals of all ages and demographics who are active, retired, not working, family with children or living alone, especially on weekends, become customers of eating and drinking places suitable for their budget. At this point, chefs of eating and drinking places, which is described as fine-dining in Istanbul, which has many alternative restaurants, feel the need to include healthier and immune-boosting foods and beverages on their menu lists. Fine-dining restaurants are a type of restaurant where the ambiance of the place is extremely important, where there are creative, world cuisine-influenced, mostly small portions of tasting menus, mostly made using seasonal and local products. Fine-dining restaurants in Istanbul comprise the main subject of the study. In this study, pre-pandemic and post-pandemic menus of fine-dining restaurants in Istanbul were examined to reveal the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the Turkish gastronomy sector. In addition, the effects of the pandemic on the food and beverage sector and the changes made in the menu lists were determined. The content of the study is based on the semi-structured interview technique. The obtained data were evaluated with content analysis and the findings were interpreted.