Öz
Purpose: With this study, it is aimed to determine the exact stages of the food waste problem occurring in the first class restaurants and reduce the waste generation accordingly.
Methodology: The field of application of the research consists of 13 first-class restaurant establishments in Ankara-Çankaya region. Qualitative research method was used in the study, and the data obtained as a result of the interviews were analyzed with the MAXQDA qualitative data analysis program. In order to interpret the collected data, the interview forms were first transferred to the MAXQDA qualitative data analysis program. While analyzing the data, the main code was determined first, and simplified sub-codes were added under this main code.
Results: In the research, it was determined that the process in which the most waste and loss occurred was the production stage. During production; It has been determined that food waste has occurred due to over production, wrong portioning and processing methods that are not suitable for food.
Conclusion: It is thought that the results obtained from the study are similar to the results of the current literature and support the basic idea existing in the literature with this aspect. For the practical field, various applications regarding the utilization methods of food waste were mentioned and suggestions were made.