Investigation of Academic Staff in Gastronomy in Terms of Their Satisfaction Level and Adverse Experience

This paper analysis was conducted to determine job satisfaction levels and problems of the instructors employed in gastronomy programs of the universities. The research was structured through qualitative research methods. The research population was constituted with the instructors teaching in gastronomy departments in Turkey and a purposeful sampling strategy was used to determine the research sample. Interview forms were used to collect data and resultant data were subjected to content analysis with the aid of NVIVO software. Kappa analysis was executed to test the data reliability. Present findings revealed that participants were mostly satisfied with the departments or programs, but experienced various problems at work place. Insufficient academic staff, improper curriculums, insufficient budgets, equipment and material supply and poor university-private sector cooperation were indicated as the primary problems experienced by the culinary instructors. The findings cannot be generalized to a larger population because the study is conducted with a case study approach.