Chef Careers: Training Courses, Schools, Jobs & Salary
Everyone can cook and it is not a myth anymore. With the advancement of culinary education, there are more than needful numbers of cooking courses or modern-day Chef Career degrees to become an elegant kitchen administrator.
Cooking is not a fancy topic anymore. The food and beverages industry is flourishing all over the world at an astonishing rate which is same here in India. The demand for quality and professional chefs in the industry is also increasing day by day. To meet the growing demand, institutes have started providing a number of courses in food processing, food technology, and other related areas.
Training Courses
Bachelor’s Dual Degree in Culinary Arts and Hospitality Management – Bangalore Culinary Institute integrates a dual degree in Bachelor of Arts in Culinary Arts and Bachelor of Science in Hospitality Management. After completion of this course, students get placed in five-star hotel kitchens or cruise liners. As an independent performer, chefs can also open their own restaurants or hotels.
The course content includes – Advanced Culinary Arts, Advanced Bakery and Pastry Arts, Vegetable Carving, Ice Carving and Butter Carving, Plating Styles and Molecular Gastronomy, Hospitality Management, Business Communication, French and Culinary Terminology, International Cuisines, Indian Regional Cuisines, Afghan Cuisine & Tandoor, Pan Asian and Oriental Cuisine, Continental Cuisine, HACCP – Food Hygiene, Personal Hygiene and Kitchen Hygiene, Kitchen Management, Menu Engineering, Hospitality Entrepreneurship, Strategic Management, Human Resource Management, Revenue Management, Food and Beverage Management, Food Festival and Industrial Training.
This is a three years course that provides hands-on training on cookery skills and hospitality management and later provides six months on-field training in industries.
Career Prospect
In general, a chef performs the following duties –
- Managing Kitchen Staff
- Creating Innovative Recipes
- Crafting Menu
- Planning Events Menus
- Directing Subordinates and designing food and kitchen regulations
- Deciding expenditure and Creating Budgets
- Preparing Meals
A professional chef works in restaurants, hotels, resorts, private residences, and other food servicing organizations. Chefs can also continue learning after completing graduation.
Depending on its responsibilities, a chef spends time managing employees and makes sure that everyday culinary operations are happening efficiently.
The work of a head chef differs from others as they are mainly required to experiment with cooking and food presentations. Sous chefs (second-in-command chefs) are required to focus on the daily food preparation processes and they look after all the kitchen staffs.
Furthermore, chefs and all the cooks are required to follow food safety regulations and make sure that a kitchen is fit to prepare and store food.
The different areas in which a chef can work are – Recipe book writing, Base Kitchen Catering, Cookery Show Hosting, Cuisine Ship/Railway/Airline Catering, Event Catering, Wedding Catering, Restaurant Catering, Restaurant Managing and Pub Managing.
Salary Outlook
Chefs need to be utterly confident about their specializations and personal skills. After completing education, trainee chefs earn around INR 10K to INR 15K monthly. With experience they gain as a trainee, chefs earn around INR 40K and INR 50K. The salaries vary and it can go up to INR 1L to 2L per month. The salary range is more for luxury and high-class hotels. Bar, Night Clubs, Food Service Sector are some of the sectors that pay more.