Spice Up Your Career: Steps to Becoming a Professional Chef in India

Do you want to know how you can become a chef in India? The good news is that formal courses would help you learn all the cooking skills you need and even specialize in Indian Cuisine. 

The culinary industry offers mid to high-paying jobs to people with specializations and a passion for cooking. It is a lucrative and rewarding career filled with different kinds of recipes, working in restaurants, and experimenting with different cuisines. 

If this is something that interests you and sparks joy in you, read ahead to find out how to make a fun and eventful career out of it.

Get Culinary Training

Professional culinary training can include degree courses, online and offline certification courses, specializations, and internships. It’s a really important step if you want to become a chef in India. Professional courses would 

• Provide an understanding of culinary arts
• Teach you about the food industry in India
• Help you understand the realm and explore different types of cuisines
• Let you master the related arts and sciences including F&B management, catering technology, Marketing, etcetera.
• Help you network and land your first job as a professional chef

Now, depending on your interests and skills, there are a bunch of courses that you can look into after completing school. These are offered by reputed institutes including IHM, AAFT, and the like. 

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You will be required to qualify in entrance tests like CUET, NCHM JEE, or independent tests and PIs conducted by institutes.

Course	Duration	Subjects Covered
Bachelor of Hotel Management	4 Years	Accommodation Management Science and NutritionF&B ManagementFront Desk ManagementUnderstanding the Food IndustryFood Safety Laws & Hotel LawsMenu Planning and Kitchen ToolsStrategic Management
B.Sc. in Hospitality & Hotel Administration	3 Years	Types of CateringFront Desk OperationsHotel OperationsF&B ManagementNutrition and Menu PlanningUnderstanding culinary artsKitchen Tools and placing baking and Pastry ArtsEntrepreneurship and Business Studies
BBA in Hotel Management	3 Years	Business StudiesHotel OperationsKitchen OrganizationNutrition and Balanced DietFood Adulteration and Food Safety LawsKitchen HygieneF&B ServicesAccounting and Finance
BA in Culinary Arts	3 Years	Culinary OperationsUnderstanding BakingFood ServicesFood Safety & Kitchen HygieneCulinary techniquesPresenting foodsPastry artsUnderstanding different cuisines and their evolutionMarketing & Entrepreneurship
Diploma in Hotel Management	1 – 2 Years	Types of CateringFront Desk OperationsHotel OperationsF&B ManagementNutrition and Menu PlanningUnderstanding culinary arts kitchen Tools and placing baking and Pastry ArtsEntrepreneurship and Business Studies
Diploma in Culinary Arts	6 Months – 1 Year	Understanding Kitchen ToolsBakery and ConfectionaryF&B ServicesNutrition and Food SafetyUnderstanding different cuisines & cooking techniquesGarnishing and PlatingUnderstanding Gourmet FoodExploring different spices and spice mixesIndian Cuisine and Its EvolutionEntrepreneurship and Portfolio development

Master the Art of Cooking

Before you go out into the professional world, you would need to master culinary skills. Most culinary schools in India include practical training as a part of their curriculum. This enables you to try your hands in different skills and techniques in the kitchen. You can also practice a variety of cuisines and explore the art in your free time. Go through coffee table books and vintage recipe books to try out new dishes. Trying out different recipes would help you build a strong foundation. 

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There’s more to becoming a chef than perfecting your cooking skills.

• You will be required to understand hygiene requirements in commercial kitchens.
• You will learn about food safety laws 
• You will explore different tools and learn their uses 
• As a professional chef, you will learn different methods of garnishing, plating, and styling your food, and understand gourmet food. 

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Adaptability is another key skill you will learn in the kitchen. As a chef, you will need to work in different kitchens and with different teams. This requires good communication skills, time management, and collaborative qualities. 

Gain Experience in the Kitchen

You would need lots of experience to become a chef, in India, and elsewhere. Apply for internships and assistance roles. You can reach out to your network or look for vacancies online.

• Start working under a chef to learn how the kitchen works in a professional setting
• Take on different responsibilities in the kitchen. It would help you understand different roles and gain expertise in them
• Start working in commercial kitchens as a commis chef 

Working in the kitchen lets you try out different techniques of cooking and helps you learn the basics more effectively. It will act as the foundational basis for picking a niche for yourself and specializing in it. 

Develop your Style 

Like most creative professionals, you will need to develop a unique style if you want to become a chef in India. Once you have completed your formal training and gained some industry experience, you can work towards finding a niche you would like to specialize in. 

• Study and explore different cuisines
• Work with chefs who have different specialties for versatility
• Find out an area that truly interests you and start looking for opportunities in that niche
• You might get an additional certificate or specialization in your chosen niche. Work with chefs who are experts in your chosen niche.
• Build a portfolio according to your style. Make sure your culinary portfolio has photographs, recipes, testimonials, and reviews. You can also include the title of awards that your food has won you with the picture.
• As a chef, you will also need to stay updated on any industry trends. Learn how you can use the trend to further develop your style. 
• Use social media platforms to reach more people, promote your cooking skills, and build a personal brand.

Build your Personal Brand

There are two major things that you need to consider before developing your brand as a professional chef. The first is to understand why you need to develop a personal brand and the second is how to go about it. 

you should focus on building your brand from the start of your career.

• It will help you decide on a goal you want to work towards as a chef. 
• It allows you to position yourself as a professional and find better work opportunities, collaborate with acclaimed professionals, and increase your earnings. 

But how do you achieve that? You will need to optimize the available resources, learn some quick skills, and stay relevant. To develop your brand, it’s important to engage your audience and make sure they feel a connection with your content.

• Start with creating a business account on social media.
• You can also create a website for yourself. Stay consistent on all the online platforms.
• You can focus on your selected niche and share content related to that.
• Include recipes, suggest healthy alternatives, mention calories, and provide options to your audience.
• You can also make your profiles look organic by posting BTS videos or bloopers.
• Script your reels/videos, and write down, and edit your ideas thoroughly before you put them online.

Network with Industry Professionals

Networking is an important part of the process of becoming a chef in India. It means connecting with people from the industry and building healthy professional relationships.

• It keeps you informed about what’s going on in the Industry
• It helps expand your horizons and find out about more job opportunities that fit your profile
• If you are a freelancer or an entrepreneur, you can reach out to critics, food bloggers, and food photographers for some exciting collaborations
• You can find out about professional events and competitions you can participate in which would benefit your chef career.

Explore the Different Career Opportunities

As someone who is just starting their professional journey, you can choose different career paths. There are a variety of jobs for chefs in India. Build an impactful portfolio and keep an eye on the vacancies. The more you learn about the industry and develop new skills, the better opportunities you will get. 

• Look for positions in restaurants, hotel kitchens, and the catering industry
• Assist Pastry chefs to learn the craft of making and decorating pastries
• You can also go freelance and work solo
• Collaborate with bloggers, critics, and other professionals to develop your portfolio and website
• If you are an aspiring entrepreneur, prepare a business plan and approach investors

Conclusion

To pursue your culinary dreams and become a chef in India, you will need a degree, some training in the kitchen, and a lot of passion for cooking. Find out old recipes and try them in your kitchen. Explore traditional cooking techniques and experiment with cuisines as much as you like. Practice will make you perfect. Learn about the history and culture behind a dish to add more meaning to your craft. You can also participate in cooking competitions or food festivals to showcase your talent. And, don’t forget to click good-quality pictures of the food that you are preparing.

If you are looking for a degree/diploma course or a certificate course to develop your culinary skills, check out AAFT website. The courses offered by AAFT are designed to provide you with the necessary skills and knowledge you will need to become a chef. They meet industry standards and focus on hands-on training to help you navigate the food industry with ease.