THE CONSUMPTION OF LOCAL FOOD IN RESTAURANTS: A STUDY IN KAS

Gastronomy is an element to promote the sustainability of the destination. Some destinations in Turkey managed to reach the needed sustainability by promoting their cuisines with their local products. Alacati, Ayvalik, or Hatay are some destinations that are popular with their cuisines and local products, apart from classical 3S tourism activities. Even though other destinations such as; Kas or Datca have almost the same artisanal products, their cuisines are definitely not popular. This research aims to find out the reasons behind the gastronomy tourism sustainability by searching the local food usage among chefs in Kaş-Antalya. Semi-structured interviews are conducted with 10 chefs to argue the barriers to the local food usage. The findings suggest that there is a lack of information on products and communication among chefs and the local suppliers, the supply side within the local producers are weak and the relationships among retail stakeholders are not very active