Our Team

We are Turkey's first multidisciplinary and multinational gastro-strategy consultancy company.

OUR TEAM

Dinç Yıldız

Founder - Gastro + Strategy Management

The founder-gastronomy strategist of Efenbiworks, Turkey's first strategic consultancy company in the gastronomy vertical, provided strategic consultancy to many projects with the aim of developing, transforming and activating gastronomy-oriented business ideas, brands and commercial assets. Read More Dinç, an expert in strategy planning, brand and asset development in the field of gastronomy, teaches gastronomy strategies and branding as a visiting lecturer at Izmir University of Economics. He is also a speaker on sustainable gastronomy entrepreneurship, gastronomy trend analysis, gastronomy consumer behavior and gastro-branding. English and French.

Estafania Simon Sasyk

Food Innovation + Global Strategy Planning

The founder of the Spain-based global gastronomy network and consultancy company Mycelium Gastronomy Network, food innovator, foresight strategist for public and private organizations in Europe and Latin America. After many years of experience as a chef in Michelin-starred restaurants , She worked as a lead consultant in Basque Culinary Center Innovation(BCCInnovation). Read More Estafania, with 15+ years of experience, passionate and obsessed with food, specializes in food innovation, strategic planning, gastro-event planning, as a connector and leader, bringing together experts and practitioners from various disciplines and geographies in fruitful collaboration. She is also a keynote speaker specializing in the future of food.Proficient in Spanish, English, French intermediate in Italian, Hungarian, Indonesian.

Chef Ece Şener

Gastronomy Marketing + Consumer Behavior

Yeditepe University Gastronomy and Culinary Arts graduate Ece, after her culinary and managerial experiences in hotels, restaurants and catering companies, she turned to academia in her career due to her passion for learning and teaching. Read More After completing the Production Management and Marketing Master's program at Galatasaray University with his thesis on consumer behavior in the field of food and beverage, She gave Food and Beverage Marketing courses at many universities. Ece, who has more than 15 years of sectoral experience and still continues her Ph.D. studies in Gastronomy Marketing at Marmara University, is a lecturer at Istanbul Bilgi University, consumer behavior, global food marketing, marketing strategies and measurements. Proficient in English and French.

Işıl Bulutsuz

Wine Management + Communication

She graduated from Galatasaray University Industrial Engineering in MSc degree. After completing her Marketing Master’s in Lille and professional cookery training at MSA, she studied a comprehensive wine and management education in the “Wine and Management” program at Le Cordon Bleu Paris and experienced in different areas of the wine industry in France.Read More Işıl, who has 10+ years of industry experience and is an expert in winemaking, winery management, product development, wine brand communication and event management, is the founding-managing partner of Uçmakdere Winery and the product and brand creator of Firuze wines. She currently teaches onology at universities and is proficient in English and French.

Chef Ercan Yılmaz

Culinary Management + R&D

Born in Mengen / Bolu for over 27 years; He managed the opening and kitchen operations of national and international hotels such as Hillside Su Antalya, Royal Grand Azure Sharm El Sheikh, Premier Le Reve Hurghada, Mövenpick Bodrum, IC Hotel Sa, Sheraton Samsun as Executive Chef. Devamı In 2017, he established the Black Sea's first Kitchen Academy, Gastroart Kitchen Academy, and provided consultancy to many projects. Ercan, who is also a lecturer at the academy and taking part in the management of TAFED; He is an expert in hotel and restaurant kitchen setup, menu planning, event management, team building and culinary training and is proficient in English.

Chef Semen Öner

Culinary Communication + Event Management

After graduating from Boğaziçi University, Semen studied Pastry at Cordon Bleu Paris in 2000. She established Turkey's first cooking course Mutfaktayız, Turkey's first artisanal chocolate business in 2005. Read More For 30 years, She managed the events of national and international companies with her own-SMN brand and provided consultancy on culinary education (bakery, pastry, catering, etc.), corporate event planning, and brand-specific recipe development. Lecturer, author of the cookbook "Bakır Pot" and TV kitchen programmer, expert in marketing, communication, creativity and leadership Semen, has a master degree in "Food Design”, is proficient in English and French.

Çiğdem Aksoy

Gastro-Location Development + Data Analysis

She graduated from METU City and Regional Planning, completed her Master's Degree in Economics at METU. She gained experience as a Real Estate Appraiser in different sectors as a Real Estate Appraiser with a Real Estate License. She continued her career at Tesco Kipa following the rapid upward trend in the retail sector. Read More Experienced in country growth strategies, network optimization, field studies, shopping malls, competitive analysis and revenue forecasting modeling in multinational companies mainly in the retail sector. In 2014, she founded Geoinsight Research, Software and Consultancy Company. Çiğdem has 23+ years of industry experience, is an expert in real estate valuation, geographic information systems software development, geographic data production, data analytics, location-based analysis and strategy development. She is still working on city intelligence and sustainability issues, is proficient in English.

Harun Polatdemir

F&B Operations + Restaurant Management

He has more than 20 years of experience in different positions in the food and beverage industry, and has managed global and local brands such as Sakhalin, Novikov, Vakko, Sushico, Od Urla in the last 10 years.Read More He managed 'Pre-opening' operations in many concepts from Brasserie to Fine Dining. He is an expert in restaurant setup and pre-opening process management, operational planning, team planning and training, purchasing, cost control, efficiency, performance measurement, corporate culture development and is proficient in English.

İpek Çakmak

Digital Marketing + Social Media Management

After graduating from Yeditepe University Business Administration (scholarship), she worked in the marketing department of corporate companies such as AvivaSA and Hillside Beach Club; in all marketing functions Read More ncluding product management, digital marketing and PR. In 2017, she founded the Istanbul-based “İpek Çakmak Agency” company and provided consultancy in the digital marketing and brand communication processes of many food and beverage companies such as D.ream, Doğuş Holding F&B Group. İpek has 11+ years of sectoral experience, is an expert in gastronomy brand design, digital marketing, end-to-end social media management and is proficient in English.