What is it that makes you go back to the one restaurant time and again? It’s the delicious food on their menu, of course! As a Chef, setting the food menu is one aspect of the job. One should to be involved in the preparation of food, ensure that the restaurant/pub/bakery kitchen is stocked with the necessary ingredients, manage a whole kitchen staff and encourage them to work professionally without compromising on food quality.
While this may sound an interesting career path, it requires many training and a great deal of professional experience to become a Chef at a hotel or a restaurant. Additionally, strong interpersonal and leadership skills are some of the qualities that one needs to become a successful Chef.
From what we have seen in recent times, some of India’s most famous Chefs have evolved into glamorous personalities who are travelling across the globe and putting our country on the world map. Actually, many of these celebrity chefs are running their own restaurants and hosting their own shows on television.
If this appears an exciting career option to you, then you may go through our following guide on career as a Chef & what diploma do you need to be a chef.
Eligibility to Become Chef
To pursue a career as a Chef, getting a degree in the related field is a must. If you are pursuing a degree in hotel management and catering technology from a reputed institution, then it will surely increase your chances of getting better placements. An individual interested in this career option can also adopt diploma as well as certificate courses offered by various institutes across the country. All such hotel management institutes focus on brining the best out of all students and provide the right skills and knowledge to make them suitable for industry.
While the educational process to become a chef may be different for each one of you, aspirants often take up two-year or four culinary degree courses. Apprenticeships are available to help students get the necessary training.
As part of the training process, chefs are learning to operate a business, which can involve maintenance of kitchen inventory, purchasing kitchen supplies & account management. While training is an important part in this career, a trained and professional chef should exhibit strong leadership and interpersonal skills.
Skill to Become a Chef
Apart from the education qualifications provided above, candidates must also have several of the skills provided below:
Time Management | Willingness To Learn |
Ability to Skillfully Multitask | Organizational Skills |
Creativity | Teamwork |
Leadership Skills | Resilience |
How to Become a Chef
1. Mental Preparation
Applicants should prepare themselves by exploring the pros and cons of a career as a chef. The Chef’s Job may look glamorous, as many of the top Chefs end up being celebrities; it requires great hard work, professional expertise, and years of experience.
2. School Level Preparation
If you want to make a career as a Chef, be sure to develop excellent communication skills by participating in discussions and other cultural activities. It can help if you took English as a major subject; this will help your education & professional growth.
3. UG Level Preparation
Ensure you score well in your 10+2 exams most top institutes have minimum. Eligibility of 50% scores for application. In addition, every year the level of competition is increasing at national & state level entrance exams.
4. PG Level Preparation
Candidates planning to do a mater course such as an MBA in hotel Management should score well in their graduate degree course. The entrance exams like CAT, GMAT are very competitive, and cut-offs are high.
Course to Become a Chef
The good thing about choosing a Chef’s career is there is no limitation in courses & education. There are certification courses, Undergraduate Degree Programs, Short Term diplomas, Post Graduate Specialization, as well as doctoral-level degrees offered by different institutes and colleges.
#1: BA in Culinary Art
3 year full time degree program, Minimum Eligibility is 10+2 or equivalent with 50% marks in qualifying exams.
#2: Bachelor of Hotel Management (BHM) in Culinary
Three year full time graduate course, eligibility is 10+2 with Science subjects. Admissions are based on merit & entrance examinations.
#3: B. Sc in Catering Science & Hotel Management
Three year, semester-based undergraduate course; minimum eligibility is SSC or 10th with English.
#4: PG Diploma in Culinary Arts
The One year full-time post-graduate diploma course is offered by different Culinary and Hotel Management Colleges. Candidates should have a bachelor’s degree and must go through an entrance exam to get admissions.
Dedication, diligence, as well as devotion have pushed FIHM, to become the Best Hotel Management Colleges in Noida. On the grounds of the state-of-the-art approach, the college remains the remains the first option for students seeking high-quality education in Hospitality.
Being a professional training institute, the School Of Hospitality And Hotel Management at FIHM trains and groom the students, who seek exciting & challenging career opportunities.