Career focus

Cooking up your career

Food production is one of the principal departments in the industry with restaurants playing a huge role in revenue generation. Rajesh Rodrigues finds out that becoming a chef is a lucrative career option, if one has the patience, dedication and willingness to learn.

'The way to a man's heart is through his stomach' is more often used to entice a handsome man. The tables are virtually turned in the hotel industry where men from the hotel kitchens have managed to enter many a woman's hearts and homes. But in the modern kitchen both sexes have an equal opportunity to make a successful career in the hospitality industry.

Cooking works fine as a hobby but when it comes down to a profession it is a completely different scenario. There has to be combination of creativity, shrewdness, knowledge and willingness to learn through mistakes to become a successful chef. Most of all, one should be willing to work long hours. As for remuneration, chefs get compensated according to their potential, experience and skill-sets. As far as a hotel goes, there are instances where an executive chef earns as much or a little less than the general manager.

The institute's curriculum will give you inputs that will help you gain a fine foundation for your career. During the length of the course, which is three years, the institute will give you an opportunity to study the various cuisines of the world, its origins, ingredients and the different methods of cooking. Good institutes have excellent kitchens which are at par with advanced kitchens of any leading hotel. Food production and bakery practicals are held once a week which emphasises on the correct method of food preparation. This enduring activity in the institute will give you an opportunity to judge whether you have an aptitude for the department or not.

Attitude and aptitude

Attitude and aptitude go hand in hand here, just as in every profession. The basic attitude that is required in hotel kitchens is patience, perseverance and dedication. The sparkling white chef coat, checkered trouser and chef cap may make the profession sound exciting but it takes years of hard work and dedication to make a successful career in the food production area.

The beginning of your career will see you working for different sections like saucier, pantry, main kitchen, bakery, specialist kitchens, etc. Training in different sections gives both the aspirant as well as the employer an opportunity to analyse the aptitude of the candidate. They are usually allotted a particular section or a kitchen after a period of six months. The beginning will demand long hours and often one would have to perform odd jobs like picking stores, cleaning store rooms and walk-in refrigerators and even filling in for any absentees. This is a period when dedication and perseverance is at test. The chaff from the wheat is separated here and those who brave this period have a greater chance to make a successful career in the industry.

Job opportunities

A common myth attached to the career of a successful chef is that they require an excellent hotel to make it big. But this is far from the truth. A hotel needs an excellent chef to run the property and not the other way round. There are many instances where the chefs have raised the standard of the property they are working at by innovating and producing excellent cuisine.

Diversification has opened many avenues for a chef. Though the hotel industry is a natural option, a prospective chef can be successful even in allied industries like in-flight catering, hospital catering, food styling, catering, restaurants, cruise liners, entrepreneurs, consultants, etc. The hotel industry often gives you a wider range of working activity and a chance to work with different cuisines of the world. Flight catering is mass cooking, where the food is cooked in bulk and then dished out in individual portions, packed, chilled and transported to the aircraft. This section of the industry demands a high level of hygiene and quality specified by the airline. The working hours are usually more stable than that of a hotel since the food requisition is received much in advance and the chef has ample time to plan and prepare the meals.

Hospital catering requires in-depth knowledge on dietetics and nutrition. This helps the chef to plan the menu for individual patients as per their medical needs. Of course, the hygiene levels here must be as high, or higher, as the airline catering. Entrepreneurship is everyone's dream and the trend of chefs owning restaurants, wholly or partially, is catching up in India. This career option demands not only culinary skills but business skills as well. It gives the chef ample opportunity and flexibility to experiment and introduce various cuisines, although it demands a lot of time and energy to be a successful proprietary chef.