A tasting program on olive oil at USLA shows that a great kitchen is built not on recipes alone, but on learning how to read the character of the ingredients themselves.
Last week, I was invited to the academy to observe a special program that forms part of the International Culinary and Hospitality Academy’s (USLA) four-month professional chef training curriculum. Alongside sensory analysis expert and writer Elvan Uysal Botton, two notable guests from Italy were also in Istanbul: Marco Rizzo, a well-known figure in Italian olive oil production, and Nerio Baratta from SlowFood Campania. Both had come on behalf of Oleum, the International Tasting Association, and at the end of the three-day program, the students were awarded the association’s first-level certification.
In the first part of the program, Nerio Baratta approached olive oil from a technical perspective. Marco Rizzo then defined the three core sensory characteristics at the heart of tasting — fruitiness, bitterness and pungency — through a series of examples. One of the most instructive parts of the training was tasting defective oils. We tried to understand which flaw originated from which stage of production. Understanding why an olive oil is not good is, in fact, just as important as recognizing a good one.
We then moved on to local varieties. Elvan Uysal led a comparative tasting session in which olives grown in Türkiye were evaluated alongside their counterparts in Italy, where they have been studied in depth. It was striking to see how the same olive family can yield completely different results under different production cultures. On the one hand, you see Türkiye’s potential; on the other, you notice the differences in production discipline and technique. We also explored pairings between local olives, different olive oils and various dishes. At one point, the students even made mayonnaise with each of the oils at hand — including the defective ones — and witnessed how immediately the character of the oil reveals itself within an emulsion. This small exercise proved remarkably instructive in understanding how olive oil behaves in the kitchen.
I learned that USLA plans to continue developing such modules around different product categories. I find this approach extremely valuable. Without understanding the aromatic character of a product — its production process, its flaws and its potential — it is impossible to build a truly creative kitchen or to show the ingredient the respect it deserves. In gastronomy, true mastery often begins with understanding the ingredient long before technique comes into play.
One of the contributors to the realization of this training program was Fayton Olive Oils, a producer based in Ayvalık. A young brand now in only its second season, they work with remarkably old trees. During the training, we tasted not only their oils but also oils from different producers in Türkiye and Italy. The aim of the program, after all, was not to highlight a single brand but to understand olive oil in a holistic way. When Elvan Uysal first heard that the program was sponsored, she admitted that her first thought was, “I suppose we will be expected to praise the sponsor.” Yet during the organization we encountered quite the opposite approach, and all of us were impressed by the brand’s attitude. Fayton’s willingness to invest in the sector and to sit confidently at the same table with other brands felt constructive in a way that we are not always accustomed to seeing. I should also note that their oils received very good scores during the tasting.
In fact, this training was not only about olive oil; it felt like an important reminder about the foundations of a good kitchen. In Türkiye, there are still very few institutions that treat gastronomy not as a temporary interest or a fashionable experience, but as a serious profession and a long-term career path. This is precisely where USLA’s approach distinguishes itself. The academy does not treat the kitchen as a hobbyist domain but as a field of production that requires discipline, continuity and a professional mindset. This philosophy begins at the admissions stage. If candidates are not considered suited to the profession, they are simply not admitted to the program. It is not an approach often encountered in private institutions.
USLA’s aim is not merely to train good cooks, but to ensure that the gastronomic professionals raised in Türkiye become chefs who understand the global language of gastronomy and are able to work according to international standards. For this reason, the curriculum does not focus solely on teaching recipes. Food safety, operational sustainability, resource management and a responsible kitchen culture are all integral parts of the program. Because today a good kitchen is defined not only by cooking well, but by the ability to build systems and to read ingredients correctly.
Another important dimension of this approach is the academy’s connections with the industry. Following its acquisition last summer by Akkomarka — a group operating in five countries and encompassing more than 150 restaurants — USLA’s professional network has expanded even further. Under the leadership of Chef Çiğdem Alagök, students are not limited to classroom instruction; they gain access to active internship opportunities, work in real kitchens and establish direct contact with the industry upon graduation. The fact that USLA is the first and only institution providing gastronomy education in Türkiye to offer job guarantees to its graduates is also the result of this ecosystem.
Observing this training at USLA made me reflect not only on olive oil but also on how gastronomy itself can evolve. Taking ingredients seriously, sharing knowledge and building a culture of quality based on collaboration rather than competition… The real progress of gastronomy often begins precisely where these three elements intersect.
