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Hospitality industry is one of the most growing fields today. The growth of this industry has simply been phenomenal in last two decades. Factors like shrinking global distance, increased per capita income, life style demands etc have created huge space for skilled professionals in this field. One of the popular career choices in hospitality industry is of chef. The quality of a chef very much determines the success or failure of an eatery or culinary business. This is a well-paying job where you also get to win the hearts of thousands of people with your culinary skills. Chefs are trained professionals that prepare and cook a wide variety of foods such as entrees, soups, desserts, salads, side dishes and appetizers etc. All the restaurants, hotels and food services facilities have chefs.
Chefs create recipes to prepare meals. Many famous chefs create their own special ingredients. Apart from creating delicious foods with the help of different kitchen equipments such as blenders, pans, slicers, pots, grinders, ovens, grills and cutlery, chefs also perform other tasks. They order food supplies and plan menus. It is the responsibility of a chef to determine serving sizes and estimate food requirements. Chefs decide the most effective and safest way of cooking new foods. Chefs experiment with new flavors and ingredients and come out with their special recipes.
To become a chef, one must complete a high school diploma or preferably, a postsecondary training. Courses in nutrition, cooking, slicing and dicing, food safety etc are offered by quality vocational and trade school. However, to make a stable career as a chef, one should go for 2-4 years degree programs in culinary art or hospitality from a professional culinary institute or independent cooking school. These courses cover important aspects of cooking like international cooking styles, banquet cooking and advanced cooking methods etc. Many prestigious hotels and restaurants operate their own chef courses with job-placement facility.
In India, the interested candidates need to pass 10+2 or H.S or equivalent for taking up career as a chef. One has the option of going for a diploma course in food craft or a degree course in culinary arts or one-year certificate programmes in food production offered by several Hotel management institutes. However, many candidates prefer to opt for four-year degree and three year diploma courses in hotel management with specializations in cold kitchen, hot kitchen or bakery and confectionary. Some of the other courses available to interested candidates are diploma in food production; bakery and confectionery and food and beverage etc.
Institutes in India offering courses in hotel management and food processing are:-
Institute of Hotel Management, Catering Technology and Applied Nutrition, New Delhi and Goa
Indian Institute of Hotel Management, Aurangabad
The Welcome Group Graduate School of Hotel Administration, Manipal
The Oberoi Center of Learning and Development, New Delhi
Government Institutes of Hotel Management and Catering, Dehradun and Almora
National Council for Hotel Management and Catering Technology, New Delhi
Delhi Institute Of Hotel Management, New Delhi
Amity School Of Hospitality, Noida;
Corporate catering, hotels, food processing companies, cruise liner, restaurants, confectionaries, air catering and departmental catering services regularly require professional chefs. These professionals also have the choice of working as a food writer or entrepreneur.
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