What Does it Mean to Be a Chef

What Does it Mean to Be a Chef

Edited By Prerna Goel | Updated on Jun 18, 2020 06:14 PM IST | #NCHM JEE

What Does it Mean to Be a Chef- Cooking at present is a high flying career with a lot of challenges and enriching opportunities. But what does it mean to be a chef? Well, formal education is not necessary to follow the path of becoming a chef. However if you have a relevant degree or say diploma in addition to the industrial training and apprenticeship your way becomes quite smooth. To become a chef, most cooks start their career by learning the basic fundamentals of food preparation, spending years honing their skills and then finally stepping to that last step of the ladder. Although it does take years of hard work but in addition to that you should also possess a bucket of few high priority skills and training. So, let’s have a look on how to become a chef and the career path of a chef.

Requirements For Becoming A Chef: Essential Information

Eligibility Criteria

10+2 with a minimum aggregate of 60% / Entrance Test

Degree level

Diploma, certificate, associate and Bachelor's degree available

Degree Field

Culinary arts or related field

Duration of the course

Institutes under NCHM- 3 year diploma

Private institutions- 4 year diploma

Experience required to become a chef

Professional kitchen experience; apprenticeships after diploma course

Average Salary

2.5 lacs per annum( fresher)

How to Become a Chef – Method

There are a number of strategies and methods available for those who wish to pursue a career as a chef. These include the following -

  • The best choice would be to opt for a course in hotel management from the reputed hotel management institutions in India.

  • There are around 20 government run institutes across the country, which provide you with the best faculty and are registered under (NCHM) National Council of Hotel Management.

  • A number of hotel chains also conduct the program in collaboration with the institutes to help students.

  • Students can also enroll themselves in private institutions that are endorsed by the All India council for Technical Education( AICTE) and are affiliated with foreign institutions of hotel management.

  • The various number of food craft institutes across the country also offer diploma courses in catering and food processing. The minimum qualification requirement for them is class X with 60% percentage.

  • The food craft courses are conducted on a large scale in batches and they cover a number of aspects of food preparation and presentation.

  • As the duration of these courses is normally 6 to 18 months, on course completion students can find junior level employment in hotels and over a period of time and practice, they can reach the supervisory cadre.

Chef Courses in India

The chef courses in India are of different categories across many hotel management institutes in the country. There are many institutes which even offer such courses in collaboration with hotels. Here are some of the best chef courses that include a bachelor's degree or a diploma.

Courses for Becoming a Chef

Bachelor's degree in catering technology & culinary arts

BA (hons) culinary arts

Post Graduate Diploma in culinary arts

Diploma in food & beverage service

Diploma in bakery & confectionery

Diploma in kitchen management

Diploma in bakery & patisserie

Diploma in culinary arts

Craft certification course in food production

Craftsmanship course in food & beverage service

Craftsmanship course in food production & patisserie


Chef Job Prospects

There are different career roads you can take in the restaurant industry depending on your skills, interest zones and strengths. Once you complete a bachelor's degree, a certificate or a diploma course from an institute, you can join a hotel as an apprentice or intern. You can also go for an apprenticeship from the hotel after completion of your class 12.

A trained chef is even entitled to get placements into the air catering industries or the food processing companies, catering in confectionaries, clubs, cruise and corporate companies. Experienced chefs can open their own startups or businesses.

Chef Hierarchy

There is a high turnover rate in the industry of jobs in hotel management as head cooks and chefs. The competition for the highest paying positions in upscale establishments will be strong. Most of the chefs enter the hotel industry through entry-level positions and work their way up with experience and training. Here is the chef hierarchy that you can get aware of, which is mostly followed in the restaurants.

Executive Chef– An executive chef is superior to the group of chefs in the kitchen. This position is reached after one has worked in all the other positions as a chef and has gained quite enough experience in the field. With the position, also comes a great responsibility as an executive chef is the final authority in making any decision related to the hotel’s kitchen. The responsibilities may include from procuring the ingredients to deciding the menu.

Sous Chef– A Sous Chef is a position where one is in-charge of the kitchen. Minimum of 6 years are required in the job to reach this position. A sous chef must have the skills and talent of making new recipes. He/she must be an innovative person in his/her recipes’ presentation.

Chef- An employee can expect to be promoted to a chef generally after two years of finishing his training. Here the promotions are solely dependent on the candidate’s performance just like in any other sectors.

Trainee- When you complete your diploma or degree course, irrespective of what you have done you are first appointed as a trainee in the hotel kitchen. You can also be appointed for any specific section such as Chinese, Italian, French, Desserts and pastry or continental, etc.

Chef Salary in India

The salary of a chef solely and purely depends on their skills and expertise. With years of practice and experience, one can earn more than 6 lakhs per annum. For executive chefs, the sky's the limit. Here you can get a rough idea of the salary for the various job profiles of a chef.

Chef Salary Distribution

Job Position

Salary(INR)*

Executive chef

6,80,600

Sous chef

4,88,500

Food and Beverage Manager

5,65,800

Cafe Manager

5,42,800

Trainee

2,50,000

Chef

3,60,000

*- The salary values given are just the approximate figures. The salaries may depend from hotel to hotel.

Thus candidates will step towards the career they wish only if they pursue a course which benefits them in the direction of their specialization. These details for how to become a chef will help you in achieving your dream job.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

1. What is the minimum qualification required to become a chef?

The minimum qualification is 10+2 with a minimum aggregate of 60% / Entrance Test.

2. What is the fresher salary in chef profession?

The freshers earn near about 2.5 lakhs per annum. The salary increases as per the experience in a particular industry.

3. What are the job prospects in chef profession?

A trained chef is entitled to get placements into the air catering industries or the food processing companies, catering in confectionaries, clubs, cruise and corporate companies. Experienced chefs can open their own startups or businesses.

4. Please explain the chef hierarchy.

Well as soon as you complete your degree you cannot be placed at a level of head chef. There are various steps you need to go through. And that comes with years in the industry. The hierarchy is executive chef, sous chef, chef and trainee.

5. Which is the degree field one should opt for becoming a chef?

Candidates must opt culinary arts or related field to get into the profession of chef.

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Questions related to NCHM JEE

Have a question related to NCHM JEE ?

Hello John,

With an AIR of 586 in NCHM-JEE, you have a reasonable chance of getting into IHM Pusa, especially if the past cutoffs were around 200-400. Your rank is competitive, and while IHM Pusa is one of the top institutes, there might still be a possibility of admission depending on the final cutoffs and the number of seats available.

Keep an eye on the counseling process and cutoff updates to confirm your admission status.


I hope this answer helps you. If you have more queries then feel free to share your questions with us we will be happy to assist you.

Thank you and wishing you all the best for your bright future.




Hello Aspirant,

For different sections, books of NCHM JEE are enlisted below :-

@English Language

Arihant General English for all Competitive Examinations (English) by Hari Mohan Prashad

Pearson’s English

High School English Grammar & Composition Revised Edition (English) 1st Edition by Wren and Martin


@Numerical Ability & Scientific Aptitude

Quantitative Aptitude by RS Aggarwal

Quantitative Aptitude by N.K. Singh

Quantitative Aptitude by Arihant

S Chand’s 30 days wonder for Maths


@Reasoning & Logical Deduction

Verbal Reasoning Book by R S Agarwal

Quantitative Aptitude ebook (ALL Parts Solved) by R S Agarwal

Verbal and Non-Verbal Reasoning by RS Aggarwal

501 Challenging Logical reasoning Practice Book


@Service Sector Aptitude

Arihant - The ultimate guide for Hotel Management

R Gupta’s book for Hotel Management


@General Knowledge & Current affairs

Pratiyogita Darpan

Manorama Yearbook

Lucent’s GK

Pearson India Yearbook

Arihant General Knowledge


For more details kindly check out the link given below :-

NCHMCT JEE Books 2022- Subject-wise Best Books for NCHM JEE Preparation (careers360.com)


I hope this information helps you.

Good Luck!!

Dear Student ,

IHM Lucknow , better can say Institute of Hotel Management, Catering Technology and Applied Nutrition, Lucknow is a public college under Ministry of tourism , Govt of India .

It was established in 1969 . Total 19 faculty currently works here .

The following courses is offered here :

  • B.Sc Hospitality and Hotel Administration
  • Diploma in Bakery and Confectionery
  • Diploma in Food and Beverage Service
  • Diploma in Food Production
  • M.Sc Hospitality and Hotel Administration

Facilities : Hostel, Library, Guest Room etc. facilities are available there

To know more about the courses, refer this :

https://www.careers360.com/colleges/institute-of-hotel-management-catering-technology-and-applied-nutrition-lucknow

Hope this helps !

Hello,

National Testing Agency (NTA) will release the NCHM JEE 2022 admit card in online mode tentatively in the first week of June 2022 on the official website, nchmjee.nta.nic.in. Visit the official website of NCHM JEE, nchmjeenta.nic.in. Click on the ‘NCHM JEE 2022 admit card’ tab. Enter your application number and date of birth. NCHMCT JEE 2022 admit card will appear on the screen. Download the admit card and take multiple printouts of the same for future reference. Keep an eye on the official website for the latest information.

Hi aspirant....!

Hope you're doing great...!

So, in response to your question. NCHMCT (National Center for Health Metrics and Technology ( NATIONAL COUNCIL FOR HOTEL MANAGEMENT AND CATERING TECHNOLOGY). The examination must be completed in the month of May. However, due to unforeseen circumstances, it has been postponed till June 18th, 2022. The admission cards are expected to be released in May. They did not however, they will release them. They will create an account for you on their official website. Please keep yourself up to date.

Hope this will helps you...!

GOOD LUCK....!

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