Impressions
Yesterday at lunchtime there was a question-answer type meeting at MSA. Mehmet Gurs joined into the last part, and together we tried as much as possible to satisfy the inquiries of the young students. I believe it turned out to be quite a positive and pleasant meeting.
I had once visited MSA’s ex building but had never been at their new campus in Maslak. It has become an outstanding place. I truly admit that it has been designed better than the Johnson & Wales classrooms I had studied 10 years ago. As a chef, I was jealous of their equipments.
It is obvious that Mr Mehmet (Aksel) has devoted himself to this business. His eyes were shining while talking about his collections, the new laboratory he intends to build, and the legendary chef he hosts in his school. I believe these schools will found the basis of the values that will carry Turkey to where it really deserves to be in the Gastronomy world...
http://www.muratbozok.com/2010/07/msa.html#comments
Murat Bozok - 29 Temmuz 2010
Before joining in the course, I had many doubts in my mind. The pastry and bakery journey that started under the supervision of our dear lecturers Hasan Ünlü, Damla Kanmaz and Soner Göksu eliminated all my doubts. I also have to give merit to our indispensable course assistants Mr Ali and Ms Zehra because this journey would not be as pleasant without them.
For years, I had one hand on my computer the other on my phone and files. Now one of my hands is in flour, the other in sugar, but this flour and sugar include also technology. Researching, making homework, preparing projects, following the novelties, accessing to comprehensive new information, and looking for and finding available books on this subject require the assistance of a computer and network search. This course provided in a professional SCHOOL, helps you in making a career, enhancing your kitchen knowledge and experience, or can be just your hobby…..That is, this institution is successful in every aspect.
Following the knowledge I obtained from this school, I re-arranged my kitchen and mini cellar according to HACCP rules. After the safety and hygiene courses of our very dear lecturer Cüneyt, I felt like an HACCP controller, and efficiently arranged my mother and sister’s kitchens as well. Although our pastry and bakery courses is just 2 months old, our working environment is as though the entire classroom members have been cooking cakes and bread together for years.
I also consider that our esteemed lecturer Mete Alpay's impeccably accumulated knowledge he shared with us, together with the numerous subjects such as calculating cost in food and beverage administration, planning menus, calculations, as well as the responsibilities, procedures, storing, purchasing, personnel training, customer satisfaction, and work safety in opening a restaurant, patisserie or café, provided to us in this course is amazing.
This successful and professional environment makes you wish that cookery lessons could be provided immediately after the pastry and bakery courses.
I feel very lucky to be a part of such a professional and dedicated educating system.
I thank the entire MSA staff for their sincerity, familiarity, and patience.
İnci Alkan – October 2008, student in Pastry and Bakery course
I believe that coming here was one of the best decisions I have taken concerning my life. I am in a place where I have fun, study, rest, get tired, and smile after the end of each course. I hope everyone around is likewise happy to be with me...
Papatya Terzi – October 2008, Student in Cookery mid-day course
After starting in MSA, my point of view in life has changed. I felt much better. Primarily, I became a happy person. I enjoyed the pleasure of learning something new everyday. I found out how little I knew about cooking before starting school. The environment is pleasant, the lecturers are excellent; everyday I appreciate more my coming here. I sincerely thank MSA and all my lecturers.
Şükran Alıcı - October 2008, Student in Cookery mid-day course
I am extremely pleased with my lecturers who patiently explain to us the whole truth about this career. I am eagerly trying to apply everything I learn. Briefly, I am satisfied of everything. Learning through applicable courses is very beneficent.
Eti Samur - October 2008, Student in Cookery mid-day course
Before applying to MSA, I had doubts on whether I would be accepted to courses and whether I could be successful after being accepted. However, once I started in MSA, everything I observed around me, including my capacity in cooking, ended all my worries. Our lecturers, who welcome us with a smiling face everyday, create a warm and pleasant atmosphere of education.
In short, I am happy, we are happy, they are happy…
Hasan Rıza Erciğer - October 2008, Student in Cookery mid-day course
MSA is a place where we acquire our first steps on cookery in a pleasant environment, with extremely tolerant and skilled lecturers.
Thank you all.
M. Cansu Turunç - October 2008, Student in Cookery mid-day course
Everything I learned here convinced me that I took the right decision and made the correct first move. This is the exact place for everyone dedicated to food and beverage, and do not know where to start from.
Dilek Özenir - October 2008, Student in Cookery mid-day course
MSA is a warm educational home, which provides you a good schooling on professional cookery under the supervision of experienced and skilled lecturers, in European standards.
Emre Öztürk - October 2008, Student in Cookery mid-day course
Cookery is a tiring but at the same time, a perfect and very amusing profession. MSA recompenses for everything you require more than expected. It is an ideal school that enables you to spend wonderful hours while cooking in a very enjoyable atmosphere.
Aysu Kara - October 2008, Student in Cookery mid-day course
This place is an exceptional school that enables you to move into a career which can change your planned course of life in one second. Actually, MSA cannot be told; it can only be lived!
Fırat Yanardağ - October 2008, Student in Cookery mid-day course
Registering to MSA was one of the best decisions I have taken in my life. Its warm environment, the teaching capacity of its lecturers, as well as their course of conduct is perfect and very correct. Although the courses are very intense, we also have time for amusement. Everybody should enjoy this experience.
Burcu Doğan - October 2008, Student in Cookery mid-day course
I sincerely thank the MSA family for its immaculate lecturing staff, and for providing and applying an education above the Turkish standards.
Mustafa Üçbilek - October 2008, Student in Cookery mid-day course
What I can briefly say about MSA is; it provides you the easiest way for learning the difficult, in a clean, skilled, and experienced approach…
Mert Özbayoğlu - October 2008, Student in Cookery mid-day course
A bunch of ginger!
April 18, 2008
I was not much interested in Chinese cuisine; actually I had almost no interest at all. I did not like the sweet and sour sauce, neither the fried rice nor the bamboo beans. All I knew was the tomato sauce, béchamel sauce, the barbecue sauce…Then one day I had a turning point in my life and joined the “Chinese Cuisine” workshop sponsored by Beck in Culinary Arts Academy (MSA - www.msa.tc). I tasted everything from oyster sauce to soy beans, from fried wanton to tofu! Actually my favourite dish at the moment is “Beef Noodle with Oyster Sauce”. If you are keen on joining a culinary course, I would suggest you not to delay your intention, because you will experience a very pleasant time while learning excellent recipes you can try at home. Moreover, due to the fact that you taste everything you cook, you expand the variety in your culinary knowledge. The system in MSA is as such; first of all you are guided towards the locker rooms to get rid of the extra clothes that would prevent you from cooking comfortably. You leave your bag, take out your jewellery and watch, and move towards the kitchen. In the kitchen, 2 people work at each station (each section that has a cutting board, a sink and a workbench is called a station). The chef is at the centre of the kitchen, actually once the lesson starts, he is not the chef anymore but your “personal instructor”! And you start cooking. Almost 3 hours later you have in front of you an assortment of delicious foods that include a Sour Soup with Chicken and Shiitake Mushrooms, Fried Wanton, Cauliflower with Chilli Peppers and Coconut, and Fried Ice Cream. Moreover, they are all prepared by you! (Now try to imagine that you are joining a course in Italian cuisine; I bet you will have difficulty in controlling your appetite thinking about the meals that you would prepare and taste!) You taste each and every meal you prepare; but in case you cannot finish them all, you can put the rest in takeaway boxes and bring them home with you. Whether you are interested in cooking or not, I suggest everyone should experience this amusing, stomach filling and educational activity.
Nevra Candaner
Timeout Magazine
http://www.timeoutistanbul.com/blog.php?m=detail_blog&blId=59
Dear Friends,
First I must make it clear that it is the first time I have ever written a letter of this sort. Why I have done this, is because I wanted to share my pleasure with you and to lead people with different pursuits. I participated in a very enjoyable workshop at the Academy of Culinary Arts on Thursday evening and wanted to share this with you. There may be people among you who have not heard of this academy, so let me mention a few things about it. The Academy of Culinary Arts is a very special cooking school. It has a curriculum of a very wide range, from making tea or coffee to opening a restaurant. They also have programmes for those who want to participate in workshops as a hobby. Thursday evening, I took part in an activity involving preparation of practical dishes. The workshop was in a glimmering hall, consisting of spectacular kitchen stations equipped with the latest technology. Nice music. Desirable drinks. We cooked delicious and practical dishes for about 3.5 hours with Ugur Bey, our chef and trainer who always makes his environment very pleasant and enjoyable. The participants were from different walks of life. Their aim was to get away from it all, learn new things and have fun. Some of us had never ventured into a kitchen before, nevertheless, under the orientation of our chef, we managed to cook some fantastic food. In short, we cooked, we ate and drank and we had a very good time. I advise everybody to participate in such activities. Furthermore, if you form your own group of friends and participate all together, believe me you will enjoy it very much. It is a very enjoyable activity that can be conducted in companies in order to strengthen team work and communication.
I would again like to thank dear Mehmet Bey, founder of the Academy and Tulin Hanim, who directed me to this activity and all the members of the crew of this workshop who enabled us to have many memorable and enjoyable moments.
Zerrin Toker
Hello!
Imagine a course that would teach you to earn money, not to lose money, time or customers while handling vital issues in the business that you are already in or want to enter. Imagine a course that would take into consideration every detail one by one that should be contemplated and everything that should be done.
A course in which you study all relevant information in separate subjects. A course which will bring you close to indisputable experts in their subject. What do you think?
That’s the way “Metro Food and Beverage Management Course” operates. A terrific composition which is composed of 18 theoretical, 18 applied subjects and 3 trips.
You are fantastic people!
Students of the 21st term.
Maybe your friends insist that you open a cafe because you cook very well. Maybe you are very bored with your job. Maybe you aspire to open a French restaurant yourself, because there isn’t a good enough one in town. Maybe being a housewife is no longer satisfying or enough for you, so you would like to spend some time baking pastry in your boutique pastry shop.
It does not matter which.
If you are going to learn anything at all on this course, it is the fact that opening a cafe is a very serious matter, quite different from your “I wish I had a cafe” fantasy.
If you aren’t going to be able to show up at your business at 7:00 am at the latest…If you aren’t able to reconcile your cash box before you leave your shop in the evening…If you can’t be able to estimate what your inventory should be, and simultaneously arrange a given week’s orders and days and hours of delivery, give instructions to your cook to poach the salmon and julienne the sauteed vegetables on the side and serve them with hollandaise sauce. If you don’t know what “to blanch” means, how you should arrange your fridge or how you can sustain hygiene, just forget about this kind of business.
But be sure that at the end of the course, even if you are discouraged to set up your own business, your food and wine culture as well as your general culture will have advanced immensely.
Even people who cannot crack an egg like me will come to such advanced levels that they will astonish their friends with all the delicious food, sauces, kinds of bread and pastries that they will make on Saturdays. And on top of that, you will begin the weekend by devouring the exquisite food made by masters Mete, Sefer and particularly Fatih. What more can you expect?
The only disadvantage of the course, wherever you go to eat, you will find something imperfect about the location, decoration, the things you eat, the waiters or the service.
Banu K.Yelkovan
Soccer Commentator, Radikal Newspaper
All the staff of the Academy of the Culinary Arts:
We are in such a rush within the triangle of children-work-home. Having a break, (going places/resting/reading) proves so soothing and indispensable. Now I am enjoying the happiness of discovering a new kind of break. Honestly, when I was on my way to the chocolate course on 12.02.2005, Saturday, I did not imagine that I’d be having so much fun.
Usually you attend such courses and what you learn remains there. If you want to apply at home, what you have learned on the course you need to buy a lot of kitchen utensils and foodstuffs that are difficult to find. But our chef, Sefer, has taught us how to make those truffles at home. We did not just watch, have a nice time and come back home. We really learned. When my daughters finished the chocolates, they said they no longer wanted commercial chocolate. That made me very happy; it meant they were able to tell the difference in taste.
Thank you very much, particularly for those 4 hours. I want to continue with this learning spree. So, I wish you can scatter these workshops throughout different days of the week. For instance, you can have the sushi course on a weekday one month and on a weekend the other month. The same goes for bread making. It is difficult for me to attend the weekday courses.
I wish you my best for the continuation of your courses.
Ayşem Başoğlu
When I said “Goodbye” to corporate life and began working in a cafe, I was thinking to myself how I could transform this into a professional kind of life. The discipline in corporate life had taught us to research and experiment first, and then to analyze the results and make a report of them. Then to turn expectations into figures and eventually to put them into practice. Right? How could we exist without this process? I was at the stage of researching and experimenting, but what was to follow it? Was I going to consult my friends, or say to myself “Let’s see what happens” and put my capital at risk so easily? That was when I became aware of the existence of the Academy of Culinary Arts and its Certificate Program of Food and Beverage Management.
I had a feeling, cafe management was a lot more complex than how it seemed on the surface. I just wanted to tidy up everything I had learned in my head. I found every subject and detail at the ACA. Gradually, I am putting all the details in order.
The grip I have on my job is growing firmer. The ACA has been so very satisfactory and wonderful for me. Mehmet Bey and his crew have instilled a strong sense of self confidence in me with their determination, hard work, interest and courtesy. I know I can always refer to them in the future.
My new job has created a huge world for me; it is no longer limited to the four walls of my former job. I am more aware of everything. I am within the dynamism of this sector. I owe all this to ACA. It is a very important step on one’s way to this sector. Istanbul is still undiscovered when it comes to opening cafes and restaurants. It is a city that does not sleep. It has a very young population. How can a person restrain oneself from diving into this immense potential and action? Each and every trainer at the ACA is a huge opportunity for us. I think this institution shows that this sector has to strive for more quality in order to have healthier establishments.
Each time I walk into this nice place, located in Alkent, I see that they have walked one more step towards perfection. They have come up with something novel. I go home and sleep. Does the ACA not sleep at all?
A thousand thanks to Mehmet Bey and his sincere and nice staff.
Best regards and much love,
Neslihan Akman, from Mangerie
Hello,
I am one of the first students of the Food & Beverage Management Certificate Programme. Before enrolling in this programme, my aim was to set up a food and beverage business, built on sound knowledge relating to this sector. Somebody had to lead me. This was why I chose your school. Of course, I had some worries before I began. What if I was discontented? What if the time I would spend would not be worth it?
But because all the staff involved in this programme was so enthusiastic and because they gave very net answers to all the questions, the question marks in my mind cleared up. At least I learned not to look at the sector over optimistically. I learned about the sector with all its negative and positive aspects on this programme. The best side was to learn about everything in theory and in practice. The staff is interested in the students outside the school as well, which is definitely a positive point.
I thank everybody in this programme, who enabled us to get to know the sector in a better way, particularly Mehmet Aksel and Osman Serim.
Hayriye Öztürk
We are the first graduates of the Food and Beverage Management course which began on 4 January 2005 and lasted 3,5 months. We had a fantastic time. We made very good friends. And we learned about conducting business. For me it was a very fruitful and pleasant course.
I’ll feel lonely on Tuesdays and Saturdays. Many thanks to Mehmet, Osman Bey, Fatih, Mete Bey and everybody who helped. Hope to meet all my course mates somewhere in the future.
Ali Güven
I had a wonderful 3.5 months here, which I had not expected. Fatih, I surely enjoyed your nice conversations and your nice food. Thanks for everything.
Hayriye Öztürk
First I’d like to thank you for everything. Many thanks for having to cope with us, for sharing your recipes, for your patience. We had lessons in a very warm, sincere and professional environment and enjoyed it very much. Let’s hope we’ll maintain the bonds we have and hope we’ll meet again.
Arzu Hürdoğan Özmen
Dear Fatih,
I want to thank you for everything. You were so nice to teach us the delicate points of this business, which is not easy to find on other courses. Thank you for your humbleness. No need to wish you success, because I know you’ll have lots of it. I wish you a peaceful, healthy and prosperous life.
Figen Canbaz
The course which I started with so much curiosity is drawing to a close, leaving us with many nice friends and a lot of knowledge. I think I am very lucky to have come to Academy of Culinary Arts. I hope the course turns out to be the beginning of long lasting friendships, and the beginning of new enterprises, new successes. I hope everyone achieves what they want.
Birgül Ünal
Thanks so much for such a good time which was far beyond my expectations; for everything you have taught us, for all your experience and recipes that you shared with us, for the delicious dishes and good wine we had…many thanks for everything.
Banu K. Kelkovan
He who isn’t here, is nowhere!
Metin Ramayana
Thank you for everything you taught me. I am very happy to have come here from Antakya and to have met you. While I think about setting up my own business, thinking of you as role models will give me strength.
Sabriye Çiper from Antakya
So despite my having been a housewife for 25 years, there were still so many things to learn. I’ve learned this from our chefs, each of them a jewel. I come here each time with great curiosity and I leave in a very happy mood. May everything work out well for all of you. It was very nice to have met new friends. I wish everyone success.
Zeynep Dönmez
When I first applied for the “Food & Beverage Management” course, I was hoping the course would answer my questions. We had our last lesson today. I’d like to thank you people, Mr.Osman Serim and the chefs we worked with. For all the knowledge Mr.Serim taught us and his experience which he shared with us. All my questions were answered. He taught us to plan well, think clearly and tread carefully before we started handling any kind of business.
From the chefs we learned about many practical, necessary and tasty dishes. I had always felt that what I really needed in life was a course like this one. It was good that you introduced this course and I enrolled. It was good that professional architects, accountants and hygiene experts were on the teaching staff.
Thanks so much to all of you.
Ayşe Sümer
You are the tastiest flavor I have ever had. Nothing is going to be the same.
Vanessa Susar
The studies I started on 22 March 2005, I completed today 3 May 2005. I learned about the existence of very nice flavors at the end of my studies, which was very enjoyable. Thank you very much.
Hale Çulha
