Hospitality Industry is defined as service of providing accommodation, food, beverage and recreational services like health club, spa and lot more to the guest. Hospitality industry is not only limited to the hotels but it also include Airlines, Cruise lines, Restaurant etc. In this, career opportunities are not limited so many career options can be explored as loads of hotels and restaurants chains are linked with the industry. This is a one of the profession that has immense knowledge about food.

The hotel management students will learn to cook different cuisines of all the countries across the world. This course will even give you perfect information about all kinds of beverages present in this world. The best part of cooking school is ofcourse is “Food”. The growth of cooking careers & cooking schools that prepare such seasonal leaders is huge. Cooking teach important aspects of the field such as Sanitation, Food preparation, Food Processing etc. Here the students learn various types of cooking techniques, food safety, food storage, nutrition, presentation. If the student, handled this career properly it can be rewarded.

“International Cookery” is largely an invention of the multinational hotel chains. It is an assembly of dishes largely drawn from the classic French and Italian range. Nowadays, all over the world, different types of cuisines are available which reflects different culture as well as food habits of people from different nations.  International cuisine is cuisine that may be comprised upon global, continental, national, state or local regions.

This course is designed to instruct the students in the basic principles of sanitation and sanitary requirements, storing, pre-preparation and cooking and handling foods in commercial kitchen. Special emphasis is given to time/temperature control, cross-contamination, and personal hygiene. This qualification provides you with the practical skills and knowledge need to plan, supervise and control the operations of hospitality establishments. Students will learn skills in effective communication, leading and managing people, preparing and managing budgets, managing workplace relations and planning and establishing systems and procedure. This course provides the students with an explanation of the development of cuisines as well as a historical background and recipes from the cookery of Europe, Africa, the Middle East Asia, Australia and Latin America.

Career Opportunities

Many opportunities exist in hospitality and cookery related fields as a result of undertaking one of the study programs. The Students can work as a:

•             Kitchen Hand

•             Commercial Cook

•             Professional Cookery Apprentice

•             Supervisor/Manager in a venue with a food and beverages focus.

An international cooking school best suited to the needs is the important first step in a successful career in the food industry. An international cooking school offers training in professional cooking techniques, food-related business principles and preparing international and regional cuisine. Many of the schools also offer instruction in areas such as baking and pastry, wine, catering management and nutrition.

As the name implies, international cooking offers or require internship, externship that provide the opportunity to study the cuisine of another country while living and working there. Typically, these programs last two to four years and a lot for advanced study. Students who complete shorter, specialized programs at professional cooking schools often earn diplomas or certificates, generally within a year or two.

On the job training and career placement are the other areas to investigate when choosing an international cooking school. A school with a career office will usually help students find work after graduation and allow on-campus recruiting. Some cooking programs require students to work in an on-campus restaurant or professional kitchen prior to graduation. Diploma in Professional Cookery gain skills in food preparation, cooking and serving food along with training in bakery and patisserie skills.

The overall purpose of this programme is to prepare students for the reality of working in Catering and Hospitality Industry, including theory and practical components covering food preparation, cooking principles and practice and food and safety hygiene. Students are encouraged to seek part-time employment in hotel kitchens while studying. This contributes to gaining valuable “hands on” training and skill enhancement in this industry setting. Mission is to prepare chefs, employable in star category hotel kitchens. This course is designed as a 2years.

Diploma in Food preparation and cooking components of the course, where students gain basic and advanced levels of knowledge and practical skills in cookery. After teaching all the important things to their students, for few days Internship-full time work in a hotel kitchen.

Under this course students are taught many things. They are:

1.            Safety at work

2.            Food safety at work

3.            Food preparation methods

4.            Cost Control Operations

5.            Storage and Care of Materials

6.            Nutrition at work

7.            First Aid

8.            Cooking Methods

9.            Cold Food Preparations

10.          Basic Pastry Techniques

11.          Preparation, cooking and Service

12.          Kitchen Design & Budgeting

13.          Menu Planning

14.          Managing work place operations

15.          Prepare and bake cakes & paste products

Students will be qualified to undertake a range of operational activities within the hospitality industry, leading to employment as a cook or a career in professional cookery.  This course will provide skills for employment as a cook or may lead to a career in professional cookery in restaurant service, banquet and function preparation, club and hotel or in hospital meal preparation.

Mr. Hemant Kumar Kochar

The author is the Director of Madhuban Academy of Hospitality Administration and Research (MAHAR), one of the premier institutes in the country, offering comprehensive courses on Hospitality Administration backed up by live wire training in-house in five star luxury hotels. He can be reached at [email protected]