Hotelier & Caterer Publication

Upgradation Courses For Faculty

Dear sir/madam,
I am presently working as a lecturer in SAMS Institute of Hotel Management at Varanasi. I wish to know the different educational upgradation courses which I can take up in order to strengthen my teaching profession and the long-term career prospects in the related field.

A response from your side shall be highly acknowledged.

Thanking you in anticipation
Nisheeth Srivastava

Hi Nisheeth,
Feels really great to see you taking interest in upgrading yourself. This attempt will not only help you in long run but also your students. Besides they will get to know various latest developments in the hospitality industry which you can share after upgrading yourself.

Coming to upgradation courses, the Educational Institute of American Hotel & Lodging Association (EI-AH&LA) offers a few courses that you can take. For that you can get in touch with K V Simon, regional vice-president, EI-AH&LA. You can contact him at eiahma@vsnl.com. If you need more details about the courses offered please check their website www.ei-ahla.org.

Course In North Indian Cuisine

Dear Sir,
I am interested in north Indian cuisine. Could you advise on a good food craft course for the same.

Regards,

Steffi Etherington
By e-mail

Hi Steffi,
You have not given any details about yourself. It would have been easier to advice you keeping that in mind. As requested by you, we would suggest you to get in touch with the National Council for Hotel Management Catering Technology and Applied Nutrition (NCHMCT), Library Avenue, Pusa Complex, New Delhi. They would be able to provide you details on institutes offering courses in regional cuisine. You can also contact chef Sanjeev Kapoor in Mumbai, his address is Khana Khazana (I) Pvt Ltd, 2-B Sheetal Apts, Opp Chandan Theatre, Juhu Church Road, Juhu, Mumbai - 400 049. E-mail: cook@indiancookery.com. You can visit his website www.indiancookery.com as well.

We hope this piece of information proves helpful.

Online Courses

Dear Sir,
I am 24 years old and have completed bachelors degree in commerce. I have been working with a three-star hotel at Worli (Mumbai) as a receptionist, for the past six years. With the exposure gathered so far, I am keen on pursuing a career in hotel management.

I would like to know about universities/ institutions in Mumbai or in India offering online hotel management courses. Mainly online because I will be able to complete the course through this medium owing to my job timings. I shall highly appreciate if you could furnish me this information.

Thanking you in anticipation
Yours faithfully,
Francis Fernandes
By e-mail

Hi Francis,
It seems you are a very ambitious person, and were quite pleased to know that you are looking at upgrading your qualification as far as hospitality industry is concerned.

If you have gone through our previous issues you must have come across an article on Courseline by the Educational Institute of American Hotel & Lodging Association (EI-AH&LA).

This is considered to be a very well-received course in the hospitality industry across the world. For further details get in touch with K V Simon, regional vice-president, EI-AH&LA, Shop no 7, Leela Apts, Yari Road, Versova, PO Mumbai- 40 061. PH: 636 1868, 634 8829. www.ei-ahla.org e-mail: eiahma@vsnl.com.

Hope you find it useful.

Work Or Pursue Further Studies

Dear Sir,
We are catering students doing our BSC in catering science from a recognised university from Tamil Nadu. We use el&bs publishers books of UK for our course. We would like to work abroad or pursue our masters abroad or work for top class hotels of India. After doing my degree where will we be placed in the hotel industry. Will doing MBA help us any further?

Dear Friends,
This is for your information that any course that you do (or any one else) will initially make you eligible only for entry-level positions or hotel operations trainees (HOT) depending on your performance in the written tests, group discussions and personal interviews. This at large across the hospitality industry stands true because individual hotels have their own agendas. This is very much true even with candidates with a degree or a post graduation or masters programme, unless it is done from very reputed institutions for example OCLD (the Oberoi centre in Delhi).

Regarding working abroad or pursuing masters abroad, I believe working would be a better option. If you can get an opportunity to go abroad and work, nothing like it. This is because, the kind of exposure you can gain working there will give you a broader outlook to the industry. And if you are lucky enough to join a good hotel/chain, your further training requirements will also be taken care of by that particular hotel/chain.

You have not specified the area of interest that you would like to pursue your MBA in. It is very essential to identify that, as it will make you focus on a particular aspect of the industry. MBAs in hotels are preferred only in the administrative departments and at higher level management positions. If you come across a programme that offers you a perfect mix with at least 10 to 12 months of industrial training, it would be a good deal. But, if you are interested more in the operational part it would not prove that helpful.

If you haven’t been able to decide the area that interests you, it is better to join the industry after the completion of the course programme. As the industry being a touch and feel kind, will definitely help you in arriving at the right decision.

Bartending Institutes

Dear Sir,
I am working in this industry since the last four years. I would like to pursue a career in the barservice/ cocktail related field. Could you please provide more details of the courses available in India in bar tending (also institute names and course fee).

Is shifting from my current job profile (presently working as an administrative executive), a wise decision. Please guide me.

Yours sincerely
Gopa Kumar
By e-mail

Dear Gopa,
As far as bar tending as a career option is concerned, we have already published a detailed story earlier (most probably September/October last year) in the AVENUES section of the publication. If you have a copy of the same please go through the details and get the necessary information.

Regarding bartending institute and the fees structure of the course please get in touch with Shatbi Basu, she runs the STIR Academy of Bartending in Mumbai. Her e-mail address is stir@vsnl.com and stirindia@yahoo.com.

Coming to your last question, it would be really difficult to comment on the same as a lot of things depend on the individual itself. If you like your present profile and see a long-term future in it, we would suggest that you should concentrate in you work and upgrade yourself so that you can attain higher post in the future. But if you see your future in bar tending and are committed for all the hard work associated with this profession, just go ahead with it and ‘tend’ your own future. All the best.

OCLD Fees Structure

Dear Sir,
I am a second year student of the three year diploma in hotel management programme. I wish to join the Oberoi Centre of Learning and Development (OCLD). I came to know about it through the article published by your magazine some time back.

There was no mention about the fees structure and other related details. I would be grateful to you if you could make available to me the desired information for the two year GSM programme.

Yours faithfully
Sharath Vatsa
By e-mail

Dear Sharath,
The Oberoi Centre of Learning and Development (OCLD) is owned and managed by one of India’s leading hotel chain - Oberoi Hotels & Resorts. The centre offers specialised courses in kitchen, guest service etc and they do not charge any fees for the same. Instead, they pay monthly stipend of about Rs 9,000 per participant for the courses offered besides all the other facilities.

The selection procedure adopted is very stringent and only the best of candidates can qualify it. So if you are interested in applying for the course, you will have to prepare yourself accordingly and see to it that you qualify. For more details please go through the interview of David Longworth, director and vice-president, OCLD, which was published about eight to nine months back.

Job Opportunities In Call Centres

Dear Sir,
I am a regular reader of your magazine Express Hotelier and Caterer. I have already completed my three-year diploma in hotel management and catering technology from IHM, Bhubaneswar and I am presently working in the front office department as senior front office assistant in a reputed five-star hotel in Hyderabad.

A number of multinational companies have established their call centres in the vicinity and are offering really good salaries to their Customer Service Executives, besides other perks. How’s working in a call centre in terms of long term career. Please let me know about the same as soon as possible.

Looking forward to your response.

Thanking you in anticipation

G Jagannadh
By e-mail

Dear Jagannadh,
Call centres have really become talk of the town. This is because, as you rightly said, the compensation package besides various other perks are very attractive. From, details that we have managed to gather so far, we feel the job profile involves a lot of stress and real hard work. The working does sound very similar to the hotel industry in terms of working in shifts and interacting with customers and making available the desired information, just like what you must be doing in your current job profile with only difference lying in the compensation package which is far better as compared to the hospitality (especially in the initial stages). Even the turnover in this industry on par with the hospitality industry or may be more.

Coming to the growth prospects, it is strictly performance based just like in the hotels. You may start as an executive, move on to be a supervisor and then a manager based on how good you perform and targets achieved.

So, if you are very inclined to working in call centres and making a career in it, and think that you can deal with all the hardships associated with this profession, take your own ‘call’. Wishing you all the best for your future.

Men In Housekeeping

Dear Sir,
Housekeeping department in most of the hotels are handled by females. I would like to know what are the prospects in housekeeping for men. I am employed in a hotel in Hyderabad and wish to get into the housekeeping department and make a career in it. Will I be making a right decision by entering into this department. You reply at the earliest will be highly appreciated.

Thanking you
Prasanna Kasturi
By e-mail

Dear Prasanna,
There is no hard and fast rule in the industry that the housekeeping department in a hotel should always be handled by women only. It is just any other department where people with the desired qualities and qualifications and expertise are handed the responsibility to head the department.

If you look carefully, there are a number of properties in the country wherein the housekeeping department is headed by men and similar is the case with any other department viz food and beverage etc where women head the department.

It is just a matter of having the right attitude toward the department of your choice. If you are already working in the housekeeping department, try and get as much insight in to the operations of the same and gain valuable experience in it. You can also attend various housekeeping seminars and workshops held from time to time. This would help in upgrading your skills as well as learning the latest techniques.

Hope the information provided serves the purpose.

The Indian Culinary Forum

Dear Sir,
I read about the Indian Culinary Forum (ICF) in your publication. I am very much interested in joining the forum and request you to provide me with further details about eligibility criteria, membership fees and related information.

Thanks
Amitava Nandi
By e-mail

Dear Amitava,
Please get in touch with Chef Davinder Kumar, president, Indian Culinary Forum (ICF) at avalika icf@hotmail.com. They also have a quarterly newsletter by the name AVALIKA which also has a membership form in it. The next issue should be out in a fortnight or so. It would be distributed to all the existing members besides subscribers of Express Hotelier & Caterer. For further details about the forum please write to The General Secretary, Indian Culinary Forum, E-28, Naraina Vihar, New Delhi - 110028. Ph: 5792080, 5792394.

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