Chef
Do you have an intrinsic interest in cooking? Are you fascinated with the exotic spices, colourful sights of food and like experimenting with different types of food items? Here is a perfect career choice for you i.e 'Career as a Chef'. The recent boom in the hospitality industry has completely changed the meaning of cooking. It is not just about preparing foods; now cooking is more than an activity which is confined to the traditional kitchen. Cooking can be defined as a specialised art which combines passion, creativity, hard work and is all about the techniques, ingredients, nutrition, recipes and flavours.
The word 'chef' has its origin from the French phrase chef de cuisine, which means the chief or head of a kitchen. A chef, in the contemporary sense of the term, is an artist who is equipped with specialized training to master the craft of cookery. The profession of a chef is one of the most demanding and backbreaking one, which demands a lot of hard work. Numerous well paying catering jobs are there in the hospitality industry for those who have a flair and talent for preparing mouth watering delicacies.
As it is commonly believed, the job of a chef is not just cooking a recipe. The chef has to know all aspects of food and beverages, including the art of vegetable and fruit sculptures and its presentation. He should have the knowledge of making wide variety of foods that include appetizers, salads, soups, main dishes, side orders and desserts. The chef has to be up to date with the managerial and administrative aspects of running the kitchen - from shopping, menu preparation and planning to nutrition analysis and inventory management.
The primary and major responsibility of the chef is to create recipes and prepare meals. As the chef, moves higher up the ladder they have to play varied roles like organizing the kitchen; planning the meals to be served; directing staff; supervising kitchen operations and so on. The work will keep you on your toes, a chef can be busy all day, may have to keep late hours regularly, work on weekends and even holidays. But the job of a Chef will never get you bored, if you have a passion for cooking along with innovation and dedication. Everyday there will be new excitement in your job, like preparing birthday delicacies, cooking for marriage parties, planning menu for special guests and so on. Apart from these, most chefs will have the opportunity to travel to a lot of places and meet all kinds of people.
Though culinary profession is suitable for both male and female, this field specially in the hotel and hospitality industry is considered a male dominated one. The reason for this may be that, the profession of a chef usually starts at the lower side of the spectrum and involves lot of hard work and needs tremendous physical fitness and toughness to survive.
Sanjeev Kapoor, Tarla Dalal, Atul Kochchar, Madhur Jaffrey, Rakesh Sethi are some of the celebrity chefs renowned not only in India but across the world for bringing Indian cooking and Indian cuisine to the top.
Eligibility & Course Areas
No formal education is needed in this field, but for securing a good job with a well established organisation, professional training from a reputed culinary academy is essential. Renowned restaurants prefer recruiting staff with formal training in fundamentals of cooking.
Varied courses are offered by different institutions in the field of food preparation & processing, catering technology and other relevant areas of catering field. To avoid being conned it is better to go for institutes registered under National Council of Hotel Management and Catering Technology (NCHMCT).
Educational
10+2 or its equivalent is the minimum educational qualification needed for joining any course in the culinary field. The field offers many certificate, diploma and graduate progammes. Bachelor of Hotel Management and Catering Technology which is of 4 year duration, and 3 year Diploma course in Hotel Management are the major graduation courses offered in most of the reputed culinary academy/ institutions. Admission to these courses are through an entrance examination conducted by the National Council of Hotel Management and Catering Technology (NCHMCT). The entrance test comprises of subjects like English, Reasoning, General Science and General Knowledge which is followed by group discussion and an interview.
There are certain private hotel management institutes who have foreign affiliations and approvals from the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE). Besides, several Food craft Institutes in the country also provide training in catering and food processing. One can join these food craft institutes after their 10th or 12th board examination. The duration of the courses in these institutes varies between 6-18 months.
Apprenticeship courses are offered by several professional culinary training institutes in Chef training. Specialisation in the areas such as cold kitchen, hot kitchen and Bakery & Confectionery are also offered in the catering field. One can also obtain admission in a renowned institute abroad for their culinary training.
Personal Skills : Those who possess an inborn love for the art of cooking can have a bright future in the culinary career. The most required quality for a chef is a strong sense of smell and taste. The chefs must have an experimental bent of mind and the inquisitiveness to know the chemistry of different food ingredients. They should possess thorough knowledge about different variety of food and cuisine not only of ones own country but globally, and how they are cooked, prepared and finally presented to the guests. The chefs should be prepared to experiment and explore varied food ingredients.
The chef should posses an outgoing and friendly personality and have the ability to work as a team. An aspiring chef should be ready to work for extended hours; always stay prepared to work under intense pressure; develop a thick skin to stand criticism and be strong enough to work in a fiery environment amidst fumes & odors. One should keep oneself updated with knowledge and skills such as new cooking technologies and methods etc. One also needs to have an aptitude for service and hospitality.
Job Prospects & Career Options
Endless opportunities are available in the culinary sector for those interested in establishing a career in this field. With the upsurge in the hotel and hospitality sector, trained and experienced Chefs are in good demand to run food and beverages departments of industries ranging from restaurants, hotels, corporate catering, food processing companies, resorts, airlines, cruise liners etc. Day by day, specialty and multi cuisine restaurants are springing up in every nook and corner of major cities. The success of these restaurants depend on their unique dishes and its preparation and presentation by Chefs.
After completing hotel management course, one can start his career as an apprentice in any restaurant or hotel. From there he can climb up a slow ladder to the position of Sous Chef, Executive Sous Chef and finally Executive Chef. Executive chef is the top most designation in this field and to obtain this title it may take anywhere from 10-12 years.
Chefs can host television shows, as TV channels are hot places for running cookery shows. Chefs can write cookery books and can also become food Journalists, by writing in newspapers and magazines. Those with a post graduate degree in catering and food processing can join as a faculty member in government or private institutes offering hotel management courses. One can become an entrepreneur by setting up their own restaurant or catering business and can also find job openings abroad as Indian chefs.
Besides these, career avenues are open for chefs in the catering service departments of defence and railways. 10+2 candidates with diploma / certificate course (1 or more years) in Hotel Management and catering Technology which is recognized by AICTE can find openings in the catering department of Indian defence service. The recruitment for the post of Junior Commissioned Officer (Catering) is carried out round the year through an open rally system. The recruitment programme is published in local newspapers, two weeks prior to the conduct of the rally by the concerned ZROs (Zonal Recruiting Officers) and concerned BROs (Branch Recruitment Offices).
One could become stars and celebrities of their own in the culinary art over a period of time. Only hands-on experience over a time span will teach you the tricks of the trade and once your name gets established, then sky is the limit.
While planning to become a chef you need to know about different types of chefs who work in various positions in a restaurant. Generally three categories of staff are involved in food service establishments or hotels namely the Chefs, the cooks and the food preparation workers. Chefs and head cooks are in charge of directing other workers in the kitchen, estimating food necessities, and ordering materials. Their major responsibilities are creating recipes and preparing meals. The food preparation workers peel and cut vegetables, trim meat, prepare poultry and ensure cleanliness.
The terms chef and cook are often thought of as the same. A Chef is trained to master culinary forms, as well as provide creative innovation in menu, preparation and presentation. Whereas a cook is trained to master forms of food preparation, he usually takes close direction from a chef. Usually chefs have further training and higher skills than cooks.
Job titles in this field will tell you about a chef's specialty and level of seniority. Small restaurants employ one chef but larger establishments prefer to have separate chefs in charge of breads, vegetables, deserts etc. and in such cases there will be an executive chef to oversees works of other chefs.
The job titles in the food service establishments can be classified as :
- Executive Chef/ Head Chef- Also known as the Chef de cuisine, an executive chef is in charge of all the food service operations of a restaurant or hotel kitchen. Executive chef is in control of everything inside the kitchen and their responsibilities include planning menu, determining serving sizes, ordering supplies for food, management of kitchen staff and supervising kitchen operations to make sure that the food quality and presentation is consistent. Head chef / cook is often referred as someone with the same duties as an executive chef, but there is usually someone in charge of them, possibly making the larger executive decisions such as direction of menu, final authority in staff management decisions, etc. Executive Chef/ Head Chef has the overall responsibility for the food that comes out of the kitchen.
- Sous Chef - Sous Chef also known as sub chef is the assistant of Executive chef. They are responsible for the safe running of kitchen in the absence of executive chef. They are in charge of inventory, cleanliness of the kitchen, organization and constant training of all employees. The sous chef may also do some actual cooking, for instance, stepping in to replace one of the line cooks if necessary.
- Station Chef/ Chef de Partie - Known by various names, these people are in charge of a particular area of the kitchen like Chinese, French, Italian, Continental, Banquet, Pastry etc. They works at an assigned station which is supplied with the ingredients and equipment needed for grilling, cooking vegetables, making sauces, etc. In small restaurants, station chef is the only worker in that department. But in large establishment, there will be several station chefs and each station chef might have several cooks or assistants.
- Line Cooks (Commis) - Commis / Line cooks is the entry level position in larger kitchen who works under Station Chef or Chef de Partie to learn the station's responsibilities and operation. A person who has recently completed formal culinary training or undergoing training can join as a commis. They are assigned specific duties inside the kitchen and are further classified as :- Pastry Chef / Patissier : They oversee the production of baked goods like pastries, breads, cakes, chocolates, biscuits, desserts etc.- Pantry Chef / Garde Manger : These cooks are responsible for cold food preparation, such as salads, cold appetizers and other dishes- Sauté Chef / Saucier : These cooks are responsible for all sautéed items and their sauce.- Fish Chef / Poissonnier : They prepare varieties of fish dishes and their sauces- Roast Chef / Rotisseur : They are in charge of preparing roasted and braised meats and their appropriate sauce.- Grill Chef / Grillardin : Prepares all types of grilled foods.- Fry Chef / Friturier : Prepares all types of fried foods.- Vegetable Chef / Entremetier : They are in charge of all types of hot appetizers like soups and starches such as pastas and potatoes and other vegetable items.
- Expediter - Expediter, the bridge between the kitchen and the wait staff, is the person in charge of organizing orders by table. They should be familiar with the menu and know what the dishes should look like before being served to guests.
Job Prospects & Career Options
Endless opportunities are available in the culinary sector for those interested in establishing a career in this field. With the upsurge in the hotel and hospitality sector, trained and experienced Chefs are in good demand to run food and beverages departments of industries ranging from restaurants, hotels, corporate catering, food processing companies, resorts, airlines, cruise liners etc. Day by day, specialty and multi cuisine restaurants are springing up in every nook and corner of major cities. The success of these restaurants depend on their unique dishes and its preparation and presentation by Chefs.
After completing hotel management course, one can start his career as an apprentice in any restaurant or hotel. From there he can climb up a slow ladder to the position of Sous Chef, Executive Sous Chef and finally Executive Chef. Executive chef is the top most designation in this field and to obtain this title it may take anywhere from 10-12 years.
Chefs can host television shows, as TV channels are hot places for running cookery shows. Chefs can write cookery books and can also become food Journalists, by writing in newspapers and magazines. Those with a post graduate degree in catering and food processing can join as a faculty member in government or private institutes offering hotel management courses. One can become an entrepreneur by setting up their own restaurant or catering business and can also find job openings abroad as Indian chefs.
Besides these, career avenues are open for chefs in the catering service departments of defence and railways. 10+2 candidates with diploma / certificate course (1 or more years) in Hotel Management and catering Technology which is recognized by AICTE can find openings in the catering department of Indian defence service. The recruitment for the post of Junior Commissioned Officer (Catering) is carried out round the year through an open rally system. The recruitment programme is published in local newspapers, two weeks prior to the conduct of the rally by the concerned ZROs (Zonal Recruiting Officers) and concerned BROs (Branch Recruitment Offices).
One could become stars and celebrities of their own in the culinary art over a period of time. Only hands-on experience over a time span will teach you the tricks of the trade and once your name gets established, then sky is the limit.
While planning to become a chef you need to know about different types of chefs who work in various positions in a restaurant. Generally three categories of staff are involved in food service establishments or hotels namely the Chefs, the cooks and the food preparation workers. Chefs and head cooks are in charge of directing other workers in the kitchen, estimating food necessities, and ordering materials. Their major responsibilities are creating recipes and preparing meals. The food preparation workers peel and cut vegetables, trim meat, prepare poultry and ensure cleanliness.
The terms chef and cook are often thought of as the same. A Chef is trained to master culinary forms, as well as provide creative innovation in menu, preparation and presentation. Whereas a cook is trained to master forms of food preparation, he usually takes close direction from a chef. Usually chefs have further training and higher skills than cooks.
Job titles in this field will tell you about a chef's specialty and level of seniority. Small restaurants employ one chef but larger establishments prefer to have separate chefs in charge of breads, vegetables, deserts etc. and in such cases there will be an executive chef to oversees works of other chefs.
The job titles in the food service establishments can be classified as :
- Executive Chef/ Head Chef- Also known as the Chef de cuisine, an executive chef is in charge of all the food service operations of a restaurant or hotel kitchen. Executive chef is in control of everything inside the kitchen and their responsibilities include planning menu, determining serving sizes, ordering supplies for food, management of kitchen staff and supervising kitchen operations to make sure that the food quality and presentation is consistent. Head chef / cook is often referred as someone with the same duties as an executive chef, but there is usually someone in charge of them, possibly making the larger executive decisions such as direction of menu, final authority in staff management decisions, etc. Executive Chef/ Head Chef has the overall responsibility for the food that comes out of the kitchen.
- Sous Chef - Sous Chef also known as sub chef is the assistant of Executive chef. They are responsible for the safe running of kitchen in the absence of executive chef. They are in charge of inventory, cleanliness of the kitchen, organization and constant training of all employees. The sous chef may also do some actual cooking, for instance, stepping in to replace one of the line cooks if necessary.
- Station Chef/ Chef de Partie - Known by various names, these people are in charge of a particular area of the kitchen like Chinese, French, Italian, Continental, Banquet, Pastry etc. They works at an assigned station which is supplied with the ingredients and equipment needed for grilling, cooking vegetables, making sauces, etc. In small restaurants, station chef is the only worker in that department. But in large establishment, there will be several station chefs and each station chef might have several cooks or assistants.
- Line Cooks (Commis) - Commis / Line cooks is the entry level position in larger kitchen who works under Station Chef or Chef de Partie to learn the station's responsibilities and operation. A person who has recently completed formal culinary training or undergoing training can join as a commis. They are assigned specific duties inside the kitchen and are further classified as :- Pastry Chef / Patissier : They oversee the production of baked goods like pastries, breads, cakes, chocolates, biscuits, desserts etc.- Pantry Chef / Garde Manger : These cooks are responsible for cold food preparation, such as salads, cold appetizers and other dishes- Sauté Chef / Saucier : These cooks are responsible for all sautéed items and their sauce.- Fish Chef / Poissonnier : They prepare varieties of fish dishes and their sauces- Roast Chef / Rotisseur : They are in charge of preparing roasted and braised meats and their appropriate sauce.- Grill Chef / Grillardin : Prepares all types of grilled foods.- Fry Chef / Friturier : Prepares all types of fried foods.- Vegetable Chef / Entremetier : They are in charge of all types of hot appetizers like soups and starches such as pastas and potatoes and other vegetable items.
- Expediter - Expediter, the bridge between the kitchen and the wait staff, is the person in charge of organizing orders by table. They should be familiar with the menu and know what the dishes should look like before being served to guests.
Institutes
There are a several culinary schools everywhere, but different countries have different systems. The courses may range anywhere from 2 to 3 years. While the course may acquaint you with the basic skills to become a chef, the training truly begins after schooling. The Culinary Academy of India located at Hyderabad is the India's first professional training school for culinary arts. Varied courses are being offered by different institutions in the field of food processing, catering technology and other relevant areas of catering field. To avoid being conned it is better to go for institutes registered under National Council of Hotel Management.
Some of the courses in culinary arts are given below. Click on the following link for the details of Institutes conducting courses in catering technology:
Overs seas Institutes :
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