• Enterprise resource planning (ERP) supports process efficiency in teaching-kitchen workflows. • ERP improves scheduling, traceability, and resource coordination. • ERP enhances education quality through real-time data integration. • Stakeholders highlight ERP’s role in supply, planning, and communication. • ERP is viewed as a strategic tool for sustainable gastronomy education. The primary aim of this research is to examine whether the use of ERP software in specific administrative domains namely communication, coordination, process management, and purchasing within institutions providing gastronomy education can contribute to the improvement of the effectiveness and quality of educational processes. Specifically, the research addresses the following question: To what extent can the implementation of ERP software in administrative domains such as communication, coordination, process management, and procurement improve the operational efficiency and educational quality in gastronomy education institutions?. In this context, the study also examines the potential of ERP systems to support process optimization in practice‑based culinary environments, where time, resource allocation, and workflow management are critical to educational outcomes. To explore this question, the study adopts a qualitative case study approach, enabling an in-depth examination of ERP system integration within a specific educational context. The research framework is grounded in the innovation diffusion model, which informed the development of semi-structured interview questions designed to assess the applicability and impact of ERP systems in gastronomy education. The research population comprises institutions providing gastronomy education in Turkey, with the sample focusing on foundation universities located in Istanbul. Data were collected through face-to-face and online interviews conducted with department heads responsible for academic and administrative operations. In total, ten interviews were conducted, recorded, and transcribed for analysis. The collected data were analysed using a systematic coding process and organized through thematic analysis. The findings were categorized under six principal themes: management, procurement, training, motivation, software, and institutional dynamics. Taken together, these themes point to the ways ERP systems influence organizational and educational practices. The results indicate that the integration of ERP systems in gastronomy education institutions facilitates technological transformation, improves administrative coordination, and supports sustainable educational development. The findings also show that ERP systems can contribute to process optimization in teaching kitchens by enhancing scheduling precision, reducing material waste, improving traceability, and aligning operational workflows with pedagogical requirements. The study concludes that ERP implementation can serve as a strategic tool for enhancing institutional performance and educational quality in the field of gastronomy. Overall, the findings suggest that ERP‑enabled process optimization has the potential to strengthen both operational efficiency and experiential learning processes in culinary education. Beyond administrative integration, the study frames ERP as a “process layer” that enables measurable improvements in teaching‑kitchen workflows through quantifiable KPIs (e.g., yield, waste rate, cycle time, HACCP non‑conformities, on‑time practical starts, energy intensity). This process‑oriented perspective aligns the manuscript with current trends in food technologies and process optimization.
Turkmen et al. (Sun,) studied this question.