Gauri Chabbra
“I believe in weaving magic with my five fingers and five senses”, smilingly says Ajay .K Pathak, Executive Chef, Radisson Hotel, Jalandhar, which he actually does, without adding much expense to the extravaganza…Out of all the sense organs that offer delicate delight, the palate has always been at the peak.
The way to a man’s heart is through his stomach, an age old adage holds good not only for a half of human race bit for everyone. Our mothers have always fed us with the Midas touch- turning ordinary dishes into lip smacking delights.The same magical touch has become an art; a science to be acquired and mastered.
Mastering this art, you can step into the exponentially growing culinary industry. If you nurture the desire to win a million hearts by serving people with good food, a career as a chef is the right answer. As a chef, you will escalate your way to successby spicing gourmets of sumptuous delight. Cooking, these days, hasundergone aparadigm shift,coming out of the soot and sleaze of kitchen and becoming a high flying career adding an important flavor to fine living. eating in style has become a signature not only with the high echelons but the ever increasing burgeoning middle class.
What does the chef do?
A chef is one who prepares food in at a hotel, restaurant, and fast food joint or catering establishment. Besides being the chief cook, a chef plans menus, orders foodstuff, oversees preparation and supervises the kitchen staff. As a chef, one ensures the good the good quality and palatable taste of the food prepared. The footfall of any hotel is primarily determined by its chef as it is the aroma and ambience that awes and draws the people towards it.
Course Cursor:
* Craft Course Certificate in Food
Production and patisserie
* Diploma in Chef’s Management
* Bachelor of Catering Technology & Culinary Arts
* CostaCrociere Cruise Chef Course
* Bachelor of Science in Hotel and Catering Management
Getting in:
There is a bi pronged pathway to become a chef. First through a degree, diploma or a certificate in Hospitality or secondly, throughan apprentice ship program. For the former route, you should have passed 10+2 or equivalent from any recognized board.You have to appear JEE NCHMCT- Joint Entrance Examination by National Council for Hotel Management and Catering Technology, CET (GGSIPU) BHMCT- Common Entrance Test by Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University, etc. entrance exams followed by group discussion and personal interview to seek for admission in these courses. However, required percentile for admission varies from course to course and college to college.
Besides, short duration certificate courses are also available in food and beverage service, food processing , bakery and confectionery and cookery science.
Another route to get into this field is through an Apprentice ship program, normally of 3 years duration through NCVT(National Council of Vocational Training) followed by a specialization. This program offers you a hands on training at the leading hotels like Maurya Sheraton, The Taj and the like where you are given an exposure of working in all sections of the kitchen.
Institute Scape:
There are various colleges in India providing training to young students in becoming a master chef. The institutes are registered the National Council of Hotel Management and provide training in hotel management and catering. Institutes under the National Council offer a three-year diploma course while private institutes offer a four-year Bachelor’s program. Some of the institutes are:
* National Council for Hotel Management and Catering Technology, New Delhi
* Welcom group Graduate School of Hotel Administration, Manipal
* Indian Institute of Hotel Management (Taj Group), Aurangabad.
* Oriental School of Hotel Management, Kozhikode
* Army Institute of Hotel Management and Catering Technology, Bangalore
* Amity School Of Hospitality, Noida
* Culinary Academy of India , Hyderabad.
* Goa College of Hospitality and Culinary Education.
The work day:
When asked about the typical work day, Ajay K, Pathak, Executive Chef, Radisson Hotel, Jalandhar,says,” The work is full of newness and excitement, the only challenge being the erratic work timings. At times the work day stretches from 12-14 hours a day leaving no room for personal life. However, he said, with immaculate planning and due delegation, one can strike a healthy balance between my personal and professional life”
The hierarchy of posts is Executive trainee, Junior chef, Senior Chef , and Executive Chef. In case there is a chain of hotels under one umbrella, all these are managed by a corporate chef”, Ajay K.Pathak adds.
A hotel management course will just give you the basics. To be an excellent chef you need to develop new recipes regularly. If you are catering to Indian clientele, you need to learn the recipes and mixing of spices that caters to the Indian taste buds.
Growth Trajectory:
As a professional chef, you may find jobs in hotels, restaurants, air catering, food processing companies, catering in confectioneries, cruise liner, corporate catering, and the like. Departmental catering services of Defence and railways departments are other avenues open to you. Besides, you can also work in canteens operated by universities, colleges and private schools. If you have a flair for writing, you can also strike a tangent by becoming food Journalists, writing for newspapers and magazines. With reality shows like Master Chef gaining popularity, TV channels are a hot place for both amateur and successful chefs. In case you have a post – graduation degree under your belt, you can join as faculty member in government or private institutions offering hotel management courses. And, of course, the field of entrepreneurship is always open to those who can venture into it.
For opening a new venture, you should find out what the tastes of the native people are and price the items in accordance to the budget of the people. The unit should be located at the heart of the city so that footfall is maximum. The initial infrastructure may be of low budget and with small space. The products you make depend on the clientele, climate of the place and what ingredients are easily available. You can bring about uniqueness in style to break free of the clutter.However, the catch is- never compromise on quality. Use the finest ingredients to meet the high standards. Target the health conscious customers keeping the food as delicious as ever. Also keep changing the décor on occasions like On Valentine’s Day, Rose Day, Friends Day and Christmas.
This is a tough industry in terms of working hours and remuneration, but Mr. Pathak sees a silver lining .He says,” with the increasing awareness about health, Organic Food seems to be the new mantra thatbrings about a marriage between health and extravaganza”.
Keeping all these factors in mind, you need to introspect and distinguish between authentic ardor for the field from illusionary infatuation towards its glamour and decide if you are willing to endure anything that may come your way. After all, it is these unadulterated passions which will help you extract the positives.
So, in case you are planning to tread along these grounds, let me assure you, there will never a dull moment in your life; it will be a ceaseless enriching experience that stretches you beyond time and space…
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