Chef Serhan Metehan Ayhan

I am always hungry for self-development, research, and learning, and I take care to look at every work and subject from different perspectives. Together with the teams I have been in for many years, I have improved both my creativity and crisis management by taking the initiative in both teamwork and team leadership at the same time in my work. Since 2010, I developed my skills by working in various places and teams in the professional kitchen life I participated.

During my high school years, I went to England and did my internship, while improving myself in culture and language, I also improved my skills. Of the various places I've worked in England, the most important was Chef Jamie Oliver's culinary academy, where I interned after completing my studies.

When I returned to Turkey, I started to gain experience in education by entering the culinary classes of the 1st and 2nd grades at the high school I attended as an instructor chef. After graduating from high school, I started the Department of Tourism and Hospitality Management at Istanbul Bilgi University with a high scholarship, and the next year, I started to study Gastronomy and Culinary Arts with a double major program, in which 1 person in 4 years was entitled, due to my high average. At the same time, I started to study Advertising with a minor program.

I started as a breakfast service cook in 2019 and finished as a VIP Lounge Restaurant chef at Le Meridien Hotel and managed both the service and kitchen team. I also contributed greatly to the award by the Marriott Group by increasing the monthly score from 6.3 to 9.2 by managing the restaurant's daily menu and budgeting.

With my goal of working abroad in 2019-2020, I applied to various Michelin Starred restaurants in the UK. I was accepted by Club Gascon in London as Garde Manger / Saucier Chef de Partie, but I could not go to England due to COVID-19. During the pandemic period, I started Occupational Health and Safety associate degree program (IU) and Brand Management associate degree program (AU). Meanwhile, I received the offer of Istanbul Bilgi University Gastronomy Club Presidency and also the Bilgi Alumni Association Gastronomy Board Chairman and started my duties.

While I was the head of the Gastronomy Club, I established my own team, and we completed our first term by giving various online kitchen trainings. At the end of the year, I started the Istanbul Okan University Institute of Graduate Education, Gastronomy Master's program with a 100% success scholarship, and now I started my thesis period by choosing a thesis topic related to both psychology and the gastronomy sector on "The Effect of Gastronomy and Culinary Sector on Romantic Relationships". At the end of the 2020 – 2021 period, I completed the Tourism and Hotel Management Department of Istanbul Bilgi University, with an average of 3.43, and 3rd place as an Honor Student.

During my 2021-2022 presidential term, we became one of the country's largest student societies and the country's largest gastronomy club. With my club, I have voluntarily given more than 100 face-to-face culinary trainings to more than 3000 students. For these trainings, I tried to develop myself as an instructor and professional by establishing a kitchen team of 50 people from the preparatory and first year students from the gastronomy department. At the same time, I supported my team in developing their own skills about professionalism and kitchen techniques, discipline, and team management. In my school's summer festival called Summer.101, I also voluntarily trained more than 1500 students in 8 hours, under the sponsorship of RedBull.

In the last year of my school term, with the elections held at the school, first I was elected for the Gastronomy and Culinary Arts department representative, then the faculty representative. After that with the new elections, I became board member of Students’ Council and Director of Education. During these tasks, I dealt with the various problems and concerns of students about education, came up with solutions and worked with the school administration. At the end of 2021-2022, I was selected as an Honor student again and completed the Department of Gastronomy and Culinary Arts with an average of 3.04.

While I was finishing school, I started to work as an Executive Chef at a club called Hermes Country Club. I have been in the management and consultancy of restaurant kitchen installation and design, menu planning, event organization and management, setting up and hiring the kitchen team, budgeting, service, and presentation. Due to my effective speaking, bargaining and sales skills, I also took part in the planning of the events with various guests who wanted to hold events, and also in the negotiations of the purchases. While working in this position, I have worked about menu consultancy, budgeting, kitchen shootings, recipe writing, food photography consultancy and I wrote articles about food cultures of countries as Executive Chef and consultant at a German ready-to-eat food company called Just Yummy. I still voluntarily attend Istanbul Bilgi University Gastronomy Club as Instructor Chef and consultant.