Career as a Chef


A Spanish Proverb says that it is the belly that rules the mind. Yes, as and when you are hungry or crave for some delicious foods, the only thing that will occupy your mind at that time is food and more food. Every individual right from fitness enthusiasts to those with jaded palates, loves to pamper his/her taste buds with tickling flavours.

Cooking was seen as a daily chore or activity some years ago, but this trend is changing nowadays. 
Yes, it is now considered an art and many youngsters show interest towards mastering this art. Earlier, people had no other options other than waiting for wedding parties to taste their favourite foods. But, nowadays, they can relish their favourite food on any day, just by visiting their favourite restaurants.

You love the aroma of good food, enjoy experimenting with exotic ingredients and would do anything to give an aesthetic look to your culinary creations.Do you have an intrinsic interest in cooking? Are you fascinated with the exotic spices, colourful sights of food and like experimenting with different types of food items? Here is a perfect career choice for you i.e. 'Career as a Chef'.

Generally, the hierarchy of chefs is something like this

Executive Chef - Usually he is in control of everything inside the kitchen including menu creation, personal management and business aspects.

Sous Chef - He is the assistant chef and looks after menu-planning, costing and ordering.

Expeditor - They usually make sure that the food is plated in time for the waiters to serve orders.

Cooks and Assistants - They are assigned specific duties inside the kitchen. Usually a person starts from Commi3, then Commi 2, Commi 1, Demi-chef-de -partie and Chef-de-partie. As Chef-de-partie the person is usually made in charge of one section, like Chinese, French, Italian, Continental, Banquet, Pastry etc.

Some of the positions in which you can find job in India include
Ø  Recipe book writer
Ø  Base kitchen caterer
Ø  Cookery show host
Ø  Cuisine ship caterer/Railways/Airlines caterer
Ø  Event caterer
Ø  Wedding caterer
Ø  Restaurant manager
Ø  Deputy chef
Ø  Chief chef
Ø  Pub manager

Qualification
Ø  Minimum 10+2

Train to be a chef: Route I
The first option is to do a course in hotel management at a reputed professional institute.
Ø  The 19 institutes registered under the National Council of Hotel Management provide excellent training in the field.
Apart from these, there are institutes run by reputed hotel chains and some private institutes with foreign affiliations and approvals from the All India Council for Technical Education.
Ø  Institutes under the National Council offer a three-year diploma course while private institutes offer a four-year Bachelor's programme.

Train to be a chef: Route II
You could join a Foodcraft Institute after Class X or XII. Such institutes exist in many states and provide training in catering and food processing. Courses are generally 6-18 months long. Various craft-level courses are offered.
One can join a hotel at a junior level after such a course and reach a supervisory level in about six to seven years. This is a quicker option and is apt for those who are absolutely focused on becoming a chef and do not want to dabble in other fields of hotel management at all.

Course
Certificate
Ø  Craft Course Certificate in Food Production and patisserie
Diploma
Ø  Diploma in food production
Ø  Diploma in Chef's Management
Bachelor
Ø  B.sc in Hospitality and Hotel Administration
Ø  Bachelor of Catering Technology & Culinary Arts
Ø  Bachelor of Catering Technology & Culinary Arts
Ø  Bachelor of Science in Hotel and Catering Management
Ø  B.A in Culinary Management
Ø  Bachelor of Science in Culinary Arts

Subject/Syllabus
Ø  Foundation Course in Food Production
Ø  Foundation Course in Food & Beverage Service
Ø  Foundation Course in Front Office
Ø  Foundation Course in Accommodation Operations
Ø  Application of Computers
Ø  Hotel Engineering
Ø  Nutrition
Ø  Principles of food science
Ø  Food Production Operations
Ø  Food & Beverage Operations
Ø  Front Office Operations
Ø  Accommodation Operations
Ø  Food & Beverage Controls
Ø  Food Safety & Quality
Ø  Research Methodology
Ø  Advance Food Production Operations
Ø  Advance Food & Beverage Operations
Ø  Front Office Management

Institutes
Ø  Institute of Hotel Management and Catering Technology and Applied Nutrition at New Delhi, Ahmedabad and Goa
Ø  Indian Institute of Hotel Management, Aurangabad, Maharashtra
Ø  The Welcome Group Graduate School of Hotel Administration, Manipal
Ø  The Oberoi Centre of Learning and Development, New Delhi
Ø  Government Institute of Hotel Management and Catering, Dehradun and Almora
Ø  The Oriental School of Hotel Management at Mumbai, Delhi and Vadodara
Ø  National Council for Hotel Management and Catering Technology, New Delhi
Ø  Delhi Institute of Hotel Management, New Delhi
Ø  State Institute of Hotel Management and Catering Technology, Tamil Nadu
Ø  Amity School of Hospitality in Noida
Ø  LakshayBharthi International Institute of Hotel Management, New Delhi
Ø  Culinary Academy of India, Hyderabad
Ø  IAM Institute of Hotel Management, Kolkata
Ø  Academy of Culinary Education, Cidade de Goa
Ø  The Taj Group's Institute of Hotel Management at Aurangabad
Ø  Oberoi School of Hotel Management in New Delhi
Ø  WelcomeGroup Graduate School of Hotel Administration in Manipal
Ø  Army Institute of Hotel Management and Catering Technology in Bangalore
Ø  Oriental School of Hotel Management in Kozhikode
Ø  Merit Swiss Asian School of Hotel Management, Tamil Nadu
Ø  Cambay Institute of Hotel Management, Gandhinagar

Cost of the course
₹ 50,000 – ₹ 2,00,000

Career Prospects
Employment of chefs and head cooks is projected to grow 10 percent over the next ten years, faster than the average for all occupations.
Income growth will result in greater demand for high-quality dishes at a variety of dining venues. As a result, more restaurants and other dining places are expected to open to satisfy consumer desire for dining out.

Consumers are continuing to demand healthier meals made from scratch in restaurants, in cafeterias, in grocery stores, and by catering services. To ensure high-quality dishes, these establishments are increasingly hiring experienced chefs to oversee food preparation.

Employment Sector
Ø  Restaurants
Ø  Hotels
Ø  Cruise Ships
Ø  Cafes
Ø  Catering Operations/Institutions
Ø  Bars

Income
The amount of money a chef makes depends primarily on their level of experience, their job title and most importantly, where they work.
                  Ø Executive chefs working at 5-star restaurants receive the most money, while an                                     executive chef earns around ₹ 1,00,000 - ₹3,00,000 per month.
                  Ø  A kitchen management trainee makes about ₹15,000 - ₹20,000 a month.
                  Ø  A sous chef in a leading hotel can draw ₹30,000 - ₹70,000 a month.

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