Stating that they are constantly taking new steps to contribute to the development of the food and beverage sector in our country, Metro Türkiye CEO David Antunes“With the investment we have made, we aim to accelerate the development of the gastronomy sector in Ankara and surrounding provinces by expanding our operations and increasing our competencies,” he said.

Operating in our country since 1990 with the vision of being the closest business partner of the food and beverage sector, Metro continues its investments in Turkey. Strengthening its presence in the food and beverage sector in recent years and focusing on expanding its operations in Ankara, Metro Turkey has made a new investment in order to best meet the needs of sector professionals.

With the investment made, the food shipment operation area of ​​Mamak Shipment Warehouse has tripled, thus becoming the second largest warehouse in Metro Turkey after Konyaaltı Warehouse. The Mamak Shipment Warehouse, which will assume the role of the center of the operation network in Central Anatolia, will ship to a total of seven cities in the region, including Ankara, Bolu, Kırıkkale, Karabük, Yozgat, Amasra, and Bartın.

High Product Availability, Wide Operation Network

Stating that they work to deliver the products and services their customers need in the best way possible, Metro Türkiye CEO David Antunes“When we look at Ankara and the surrounding provinces, we see that the potential of the sector is increasing and growing. Ankara, in particular, is hosting representatives of local and international cuisines as well as showing serious development in the field of gastronomy with its chef restaurants. While the food and beverage sector in the region is becoming more dynamic, we have signed a new investment that will strengthen our services and operations as the closest business partner of professionals in order to fully meet expectations. In order to provide better service to our customers and to maximize our product availability, we have increased our warehouse volume threefold with the 40 million TL investment we have made, and with this increase in space, we have also tripled our total number of pallets. In parallel with this growth, the number of our team working in the operation will also double as of next year. Our aim with higher product availability and our professional teams both in stores and in the field is to meet all the needs of the food and beverage sector in the surrounding provinces to which we make shipments, especially in Ankara, and to contribute to their development,” he said.

Investment Amount Exceeded 40 Million TL

With the investment made by Metro Turkey, the Food Shipment Operation area of ​​the Mamak warehouse, which was previously 1.063 square meters, has almost tripled to exceed 3.000 square meters. The dry food storage area has increased from 566 square meters to 1.014 square meters. The cold room areas, where the vegetable-fruit and fresh fish categories were added, have doubled to 263 square meters. The 124-pallet capacity of the frozen product storage area has increased significantly to 840. The total number of pallets in the warehouse area has also tripled to 2.750. Thus, the amount spent by Metro Turkey for this investment, which has an operational capacity of approximately 38 tons to 147 tons per day in the Mamak warehouse, has exceeded 40 million TL.

Metro Türkiye Has Been Serving in Ankara for 32 Years

Metro Turkey, which started its service in Ankara with the Etlik store opened in 1992, later strengthened its presence in Ankara with Mamak and Batıkent stores. In addition, it reaches more than 20 million customers in nearly 35 cities with its 250 stores in 70 cities and a storage area exceeding 2 thousand square meters, as well as food shipment service. The number of customers reached indirectly is exactly 20 million.

100% of its energy comes from the Sun

In addition to operational investments, Metro Turkey, which does not slow down in green energy investments, has implemented the Solar Energy System project as of 2023. The first phase of the project, which is planned to be completed in 49 in three phases on an area of ​​200 thousand square meters, equivalent to a total of 2025 football fields, covering 15 stores, has been put into operation. The first store where renewable energy systems were used was Ankara Batıkent. Afterwards, with the transition to renewable energy systems in the Etlik store, Metro Turkey meets all the electricity needs of its 2 stores in Ankara from the sun.

Source: HORECA TREND and Metro Türkiye

The “35 Chefs Under 3 Competition” is being organized for the third time to encourage young chefs to reduce food waste and adopt sustainable kitchen techniques. This year, within the scope of the theme “Local and Waste-Free Kitchen for the Future of Food”, young chefs are expected to create creative and inspiring recipes using local and Geographical Indication registered products within the framework of sustainability principles.

The young chefs who win the competition become Metro Turkey's sustainability ambassadors and will have the opportunity to take an important step in their careers with the global experience they will gain thanks to the international training opportunity to be provided.

Application Deadline is January 6th!

Candidates will submit their recipes prepared within the framework of waste-free kitchen principles between November 18, 2024 and January 6, 2025. www.35yasalti3sef.com Applications will be evaluated based on criteria such as gastronomy education, culinary experience, creativity, technical knowledge and its relationship with Turkish cuisine.

The 10 chefs to be selected from the applications will be announced on the website and social media on January 20, 2025. The top 10 candidates will present three dishes, a starter, main course and dessert, to the jury for tasting at Gastronometro on February 11. Two weeks before the competition, a mentoring session will be organized for the top 10 candidates with the participation of past winners and Gastronometro chefs.

The competition is open to all young chefs between the ages of 25 and 35, and is free to apply. Applicants must be actively working as professional chefs and have at least two years of professional cooking experience.

Three Winning Chefs Will Have the Right to Study in Portugal

With the “35 Chefs Under 3 Competition”, Metro Turkey aims to make waste-free kitchen practices a motivation for young chefs and will provide three young chefs who make it to the finals with the right to receive training on the Metro gastronomy platform in Portugal, with a focus on sustainable cuisine. With this training, young chefs will gain experience in the international arena and will also have the chance to meet foreign chefs who adopt sustainable restaurant principles and try out recipes.

Leading Names of the Gastronomy World in Their Fields in the Jury

Gastronometro Director Maximilian JW Thomae, Dude Table Gastronomy Marketing Agency Founder Funda Güzelmeriç İnansal, Journalist-Gastronomy Writer Ebru Erke will be in the jury seat of the competition this year as well, while Lokanta Limu Founding Partner and Chef Sara Tabrizi, Vino Locale Founding Chef Ozan Kumbasar, Wine Expert and Trainer Levon Bağış and Consultant Chef Mustafa Otar will be the names that will be sitting in the jury seat of the competition for the first time this year.

Metro Türkiye Corporate Communications and Public Relations Manager Dr. Asli Duran He made the following statement about the competition that inspires chefs to adopt sustainable restaurant principles at a young age; “In line with our mission to protect Turkish culinary culture and pass it on to future generations, we aim to increase young talents’ awareness of sustainability in the kitchen with the “35 Chefs Under 3” competition, which we are the main sponsor of. In addition to providing a professional competition area at Gastronometro, we also support our contestants in areas such as mentoring, preparation, and selection of local and Geographically Indicated ingredients. We are excited to come together with talented young chefs who will carry our cuisine to the future with the “35 Chefs Under 3” competition this year. We also aim for the education our winning chefs will receive abroad to make a significant contribution to their careers.”

Dude Table Strategy Director and Partner Merve Akgül said; “This competition is an important platform that can be a turning point in the careers of young chefs. The winning chefs of previous years took their vision and knowledge one step further with the education they received abroad and started to sign remarkable works in our country. Şafak Erten, one of the winners of the competition in 2022, served as the Executive Chef of JW Marriott Istanbul Bosphorus Hotel and Octo Restaurant, while Bahtiyar Büyükduman, one of our other chefs who made it to the top three in 2022, became the Executive Chef of Telezzüz, Turkey's first vegan fine dining restaurant. Özge Nur Yılmaz, one of our winners in 2023, is working as an intern at Mugaritz in Spain. Volkan Özkur started working at Chicago Peninsula. The “35 Chefs Under 3” competition is a door that allows young chefs to improve themselves and open up to the world within the framework of sustainability and waste-free kitchen principles.”

Source: HORECA TREND and Metro Türkiye

Seeing sustainability as the most important force that will change tomorrow, Metro Turkey asks, 'Can a Plate Change Tomorrow?' The answer is undoubtedly, 'Yes.' A plate prepared by gastronomy industry professionals can change our future by using local, geographically indicated products and fresh seasonal ingredients, including fish caught under the right conditions, and adopting a waste-free kitchen approach. Metro Turkey, which has been a pioneer in the sector with its sustainability efforts for nearly 35 years, took an important step in sea bass and sea bream farming on an industrial scale for the first time with the 'Eats in Front, What Not Eats in Tomorrow' project, which was implemented in cooperation with Hatko Fisheries and Skretting in 2021.

Metro Turkey, which uses feed with reduced sea fish content and algae oil in the cultivation of sea bass and sea bream, contributes to ecological sustainability by saving tons of sea fish with this new feed model. This new feed model also allows the cultivation of fish that are much richer in Omega 3 and offers a delicious and healthy alternative for consumers.

The Most Delicious Form of Sustainability

Metro Turkey, which reflects its sustainability approach not only in its own operations but also in the food and beverage sector, where it is the number one business partner, plays an important role in making restaurant menus both sustainable and delicious with Premium Sea Bass and Sea Bream. Metro Turkey, positioned as the solution partner of chefs and operators, launched the new season fish harvest at Alaçatı Amavi restaurant. Chef Can Aras's tasting menu, which combines sustainable fish with geographically indicated products, inspired us that a plate can change the future.

The chef underlined that the 'What He Eats, What He Doesn't Eat, In Tomorrow' project coincides with Amavi's philosophy and stated that they are happy to raise awareness with such a dinner. Can Aras; “In this age of consumption we live in, we feel responsible for our future. We should not spend our resources and what nature gives us without thinking. We said that we should start the change from ourselves first and we founded Amavi with this thought. That's why we support and work only with producers who know the value of our land and seas. As Amavi, we are very pleased to include these fish in our menu, which coincide with our perspective. "Together with my chef friends, we discovered how a plate can change the future with the inspiration and products provided by Metro Turkey," he said.

“Seafood is a value that should be passed on to future generations.”

Within the scope of the project, which is a first in Turkey, fish is not only used as a commercial product; Emphasizing that they see it as a value that should be left to future generations Metro Türkiye Corporate Communications and Public Relations Manager Dr. Asli Duran He stated the following; “While we continue our investments with the vision of becoming the number one business partner of the food and beverage industry, we have been carrying out pioneering projects to popularize sustainable fishing since 2010. Of course, such projects are very valuable so that future generations can taste fish, which is one of the most valuable products of the Aegean region. The 'What You Eat, What You Don't Eat in the Tomorrow' project, which we implemented in 2021, is one of our most important works in this context. Metro Premium Sea Bass and Sea Bream, grown on an industrial scale for the first time, are fed with special feed containing algae oil. These fish, which have a very high Omega 3 value, provide restaurants with the opportunity to offer both healthy and delicious fish to their customers. We wanted to announce the new harvest of this important project, which we started 3 years ago, in the Aegean Region, which has a very important place in terms of tourism and gastronomy. Because, as Metro Turkey, we know the importance and density of this region with all our teams, and we are working hard to supply products with Metro quality to all chefs and operators in the region with the investments we make. The tasting menu prepared by Chef Can Aras, which we think is inspiring; "It has demonstrated in its most delicious way that a plate with geographical indication registered ingredients, local Aegean herbs, and sustainably caught fish can change the future."

Increased Its Domination in the Aegean

Metro Turkey, which improves day by day the service network it offers to its business partners in the food and beverage sector in the field of shipment, increased its Izmir warehouse structure fivefold last year. In this way, expanded warehouses for both dry food, fresh food and frozen products were created, as well as separated storage areas for fresh fish processing. The number of pallets that can be stored at the same time increased from 5 to approximately 650, and the number of different products whose operations are managed increased from 1.600 to approximately 500. The operational capacity, which was 1.400 tons per day, was increased to 60 tons. With the increase in capacity provided by the expansion of the Izmir warehouse, both the number and competence of the teams in the region have increased.

Source: HORECA Trend and Metro Turkey