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 Today, the phenomenon of change deeply affects the tourism industry, as it does in every field. Demand for tourism activities is increasing day by day with the effect of facilitating transportation opportunities due to the development of technology , increasing income and education levels of tourists, and the impulse of curiosity. This situation increases the competition among the countries that are trying to get a bigger share from tourism and causes a strong competitive market in today's tourism market. In this context, it can be said that tourists are strongly influenced by the phenomenon of innovation in the decision-making process of destination selection. In other words, countries that promise to offer themselves a different experience for tourists today have the advantage of staying competitive.

 

While many factors are effective in the decision-making process of tourists, experiencing the food and drink culture of the country to travel can also be a reason for preference. During their holidays, tourists can experience this experience both in the hotels they stay and in the food and beverage establishments outside the hotel. However, especially in countries such as Turkey where the all-inclusive hostel type is widely used, tourists spend most of their time in hotels and especially in food and beverage units. Thus, the experience of tourists at these points can be evaluated as a measure of destination satisfaction. As a matter of fact, Erdem (2010, p. 120),

 

The kitchen section, which meets the food and beverage needs of hotel guests, has a very important place among hotel departments (Şimşek, 2006, p. 18). As in every hotel department, the prerequisite for success in food and beverage services is to provide guest satisfaction. In this context, Özdemir (2001, p. 25) emphasizes the importance of the food and beverages offered to the guests in order to leave the hotel they came for a holiday in a satisfied manner. Derinalp (2012, p. 23), on the other hand, touches on the role of the food and beverage section and the kitchen operating in it in guest satisfaction and underlines the experiences these units give to the guests.

 

In this context, the traditional product and price competition between hotel businesses in recent years has left its place to the competition to offer differentiated products/services. Accordingly, it is stated that hotels that offer individual and differentiated products/services to their guests can remain more competitive (Coşkun, Mesci, & Kılınç, 2013, p. 102; Çakıcı, Çalhan, & Karamustafa, 2016, p. 12).

 

On the other hand, in the last 10 years in hotel businesses in Turkey, food and beverage services have become uniform in many hotels with the all-inclusive hostel system, and the quality of the products and services offered in these units has begun to receive serious criticism. As an alternative to solving this problem, it has been witnessed recently that some hotels are in search of innovation. Living kitchen practices, where cooking using natural and local products is transformed into a show in front of guests, has come to the fore as an innovative service in some hotel businesses in recent years. Thus, it is tried to meet the expectations of tourists to have fun and have a good time besides eating.

 

This study focuses on living kitchen applications as a new trend in hotel businesses. In this context, it has been tried to reveal what the living kitchen is, what applications it contains, and the perceptions of the cooks and food and beverage department managers who use these applications. At least two reasons can be suggested that make this research important. First, at least to the knowledge of the researchers, no empirical study could be found on the living cuisine in the relevant domestic and foreign literature. Secondly, although there are various Academic Articles in this direction, it has not been possible to come across any other research aiming to measure the perceptions of cooks and food and beverage department managers who use this application in hotel businesses. In this respect, it is thought that the research will contribute to the related tourism literature.