Catering Facilities Department
In accordance with Article 47 of Law No. 2547 on Higher Education, our University's Health, Culture, and Sports Directorate provides accommodation, health, sports, culture, and scholarship services to our students while also meeting the nutritional needs of our students, academic and administrative staff. To this end, lunch is served in 10 dining halls and dinner is served in 4 dining halls.
Our Mission
The mission of ITU Catering Facilities Department is to ensure the healthy, balanced, delicious, and high-quality nutrition of ITU students, academic and administrative staff in environments where food safety is ensured in compliance with legal regulations.
Our Vision
The vision of ITU Catering Facilities Department is to be a leading and reference dining facility among university dining halls, constantly improving the quality of service according to guest requests, and increasing guest demand and satisfaction.
Kitchens
- ITU Ayazağa Campus 75th Year Student Social Center Kitchen
- ITU Gümüşsuyu Campus Mechanical Engineering Faculty Kitchen
- ITU Maçka Campus Atrium Kitchen
- ITU Tuzla Campus Maritime Faculty Kitchen
Dining Halls
- ITU Ayazağa Campus 75th Year Student Social Center Student Dining Hall
- ITU Ayazağa Campus 75th Year Student Social Center Academic and Administrative Staff Dining Hall
- ITU Ayazağa Campus IMKB Vadi Male Student Dormitory Dining Hall
- ITU Gümüşsuyu Campus Mechanical Engineering Faculty Student Dining Hall
- ITU Gümüşsuyu Campus Mechanical Engineering Faculty Gümüşsuyu Academic and Administrative Staff Dining Hall
- ITU Maçka Campus Atrium Student Dining Hall
- ITU Maçka Campus Atrium Academic and Administrative Staff Dining Hall
- ITU Taşkışla Campus Faculty of Architecture Student Dining Hall
- ITU Taşkışla Campus Faculty of Architecture Academic and Administrative Staff Dining Hall
- ITU Tuzla Campus Maritime Faculty Student, Academic and Administrative Staff Dining Hall
You can find meal times and prices at this link.
In accordance with legislation, a portion of the meal cost is covered by the meal fees collected from our students and university staff, and a significant portion is subsidized from our university's own revenues. Our students and academic and administrative staff can use their ID cards (automation system) to have their meals. The automation system is implemented in all dining halls.
During the academic year, daily meal service is provided to an average of 14,000 people. Our Directorate grants unconditional meal scholarships to a total of 2,000 students every year.
Food Safety
- Quality in mass catering is a combination of many parameters.
- Our staff consists of experienced chefs who receive annual training.
- In our dining halls, samples of ready-to-consume food, drinking water, ambient air, equipment culture, and hand culture are taken by an accredited laboratory every month, transported to the laboratory without breaking the cold chain, and subjected to microbiological analysis.
- Witness samples of all types of meals produced daily are kept in a cold room for 72 hours.
- Our kitchens, dining halls, and suppliers are regularly inspected for quality and hygiene.
- The cleaning and disinfection of our kitchens and dining halls are carried out regularly and in accordance with the rules.
- Drinking water is taken in polycarbonate packaging, and modern dispensers and disposable plastic cups are used for meals.
- Organic and recyclable waste is collected separately in our kitchens and dining halls and taken by the municipality using different vehicles.
- Waste oils are delivered to a licensed recycling company.
- Our kitchens and dining halls receive pest control services from a company with service competency certificates every month.
- The premises where meals are prepared at Istanbul Technical University comply with food safety requirements. In 2013, we obtained an Operating Registration Certificate from the Ministry of Food, Agriculture, and Livestock for all our kitchens. All our kitchens and dining halls are regularly inspected by food engineers from the Ministry of Food, Agriculture, and Livestock.
Menus
Menus are prepared monthly by a team consisting of a food engineer, a food technician, and a head chef under the supervision of our manager, taking into account the nutritional content of the foods offered. Monthly and daily menus are announced on our website. The basic nutrients and calorie values of the foods in the menu can be seen on the ITU Mobile application.
In our student dining halls, 4 types of meals are served in one meal. They are:
1st Type: Soup/Salad/Yogurt/Cacık/Fresh Vegetables and similar items,
2nd Type: Main course with meat,
3rd Type: Rice/Pasta/Pastry/Olive Oil Dishes and similar items,
4th Type: Fruit/Salad/Yogurt/Cacık/Dessert (with milk/pastry) and similar items.
In addition, as an alternative to the main course, vegetarian main courses are provided for our vegan and vegetarian students during lunch. Vegetarian main courses are prepared by removing ingredients such as wheat, bulgur, flour, etc., from their recipes to make them suitable for consumption by guests with celiac disease or gluten sensitivity.
Procurement
The raw materials, equipment, and supplies needed by ITU Catering Facilities Department are determined based on monthly menus and needs. Raw materials and supplies are purchased through tender or negotiation by ITU Health, Culture, and Sports Directorate Procurement Department, using technical specifications. Our technical specifications for goods and service purchases are prepared by our food engineers in accordance with the current laws, regulations, communiqués, standards, and other national and international legislation, and they are constantly revised. Contractor companies are required to have a Food, Agriculture, and Livestock Ministry Operating Registration or Approval Certificate and comply with ISO 22000 Food Safety Management System Standard or HACCP (Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points) Food Safety System in terms of hygiene and product safety. In addition, contractor companies are periodically inspected by our manager, food engineers, and food technicians for hygiene and product safety. The received goods are inspected by our inspection commissions, and the necessary raw material analyses are conducted at an accredited laboratory in terms of the specifications stated in the technical specifications.
Technical Service
Kitchens, storage areas, dining halls, and other units are regularly inspected and maintenance and repair works are carried out by authorized service teams of contractor companies and our technical teams.
Infrastructure
Natural gas is used in all our kitchens.
The water used must be in compliance with regulations, continuous, and sufficient. For this reason, we have water storage tanks with purification systems that meet these conditions in 75th Year Student Social Center, Gümüşsuyu, and Maçka Dining Halls. In our Tuzla Campus, there is also a water tank belonging to ITU Maritime Faculty.
To prevent the risk of power outages, 75th Year Student Social Center Dining Hall, Maçka Atrium Building Student and Staff Dining Hall, and Gümüşsuyu Student and Staff Dining Hall are equipped with generators.
Records
Statistical information about storage, stock control, costs, etc., is kept as daily, monthly, and annual records. Monthly meal cost calculations are made based on the costs of goods and services and the number of diners.