Thematic restaurants in gastronomy and culinary arts: A case of pasta-themed restaurants

In this study, it is aimed to reveal the perception of pasta and pasta themed restaurant in Gastronomy and Culinary Arts by examining the reasons for preference of pasta and the usability of pasta as a stand-alone product in restaurants. In the first part of the study, the concept of pasta varieties were examined. In the second part of the study, the concept of themed restaurants within the scope of Gastronomy and Culinary Arts has been examined. The sample group consists of 20 people working in pasta themed restaurants. In the research, MAXQDA 2020, one of the qualitative data analysis programs, was used for the analysis of the data obtained by the interview technique. As a result of data analysis, "(1) education, (2) products offered in the menu, (3) menu update, (4) customer profile, (5) supply, (6) promotion, (7) reason for preference, (8) suggestion", a total of 8 themes and 63 codes were determined. As a result of the analysis, the people working and managing the pasta-themed restaurants gain their knowledge about pasta with personal effort and experience. The customers prefer the fettuccine the most and they prefer the sauces with original content. On the other side, they add various sauces and products to their menu periodically and their customer profile consists of students in general. It has been concluded that the products are obtained from the contracted producers and chain markets, they have difficulty in obtaining imported products, they promote them through social media, and they prefer pasta themed restaurants because of the customers' search for different tastes. In addition, it was emphasized that more investment in decoration and various activities should be carried out for the promotion of pasta-themed restaurants, that the pasta sauce culture should become widespread and developed in our country, and that the pasta theme should be reflected more holistically.