Are you Ready to Start an Amazing Career?

A wide range of bright career is waiting for aspirants with a certificate or degree in the arenas of culinary arts, baking, cooking, restaurant management or food preparation. No matter where individuals select to employ, their culinary certificate or degree will bring them to the eyes of hiring hotels or restaurant employers. It offers the aspirants with the great flexibility to move anywhere in the cuisine industry, whether small or big hotels or restaurants. The skills that they learn from culinary universities allow them to keep stable step into today’s fast growing business world.

Cooks, chefs and cookery personnel held above 2.8 million employments in the year 2000, mainly in hotels and other retail drinking and eating-places. To attain the expertise level of an executive cook or chef in a topmost restaurant, several years of practice and training is essential.

In the recent years, Hotel Management studies have become more popular among those aspirant students, who want to start an amazing career in culinary profession. Earlier, in most of the restaurants, managers were individuals who had skill in the job and the opportunities were only a few. Now, the tourism industry has opened out many avenues, especially in resorts and hotels, where maximum number of visitors visit to enjoy their holidays. Thus, there is a great demand from hotels and restaurants for skilled professionals to render service for their visitors.

Future Prospect of Culinary Arts:

Many colleges and universities offer BHM (Bachelor of Hotel Management) for aspirants to acquire skills in several areas of hotel management, such as food preparation, hotel administration and rendering pleasant customer-service. A few colleges offer diplomas, which have regional and international collaboration with topmost restaurants and hotels in the USA.

As per United States Department of Labor, there would be ample of employment opportunities for cooks, chefs and cookery professionals through 2010. Several current chefs and cooks have reached their retirement age, causing great demand for professional employees. In addition to the requirement of professional cooks and chefs to replace the retiring employees, jobs in the cuisine industry are likely to expand. Since, more numbers of Americans expend their spare time in hotels rather than preparing food by themselves.

The great demand for professional chefs and cooks is likely to come mainly from hotels or restaurants that offer different menus to their clients. Due to the increasing demand for higher-end services, the amount of openings for short order cooks and fast food cooks is likely to decline in the upcoming years. Moreover, schools and hospitals to make their service and menus more pretty, they outsource cooking and serving to third parities. This results in more employment opportunities for aspirant cooks in hotels and restaurants.

Remunerations and Other Incentives:

While the remuneration of cooks, chefs and cookery personnel differs depending on the geographical location, however employing in a topmost hotel or restaurant normally generates a high remuneration. As part of remuneration, hotel managers get performance-based incentives of up to 25%, laundry, lodging and meals.

Cuisine And Culture

One of the oldest civilizations known to man, India, is many worlds within one. From the alpine mountains up North, to the sultry, spicy lands down South, each region is as diverse as it gets. India has been visited by many races in the past – each bringing with it, its unique culture, tradition, sometimes religion, and without a doubt – its food!

One of the first races recorded to have invaded India was of the Aryans. They brought with them sugar, turmeric and black pepper and introduced domestication of cattle to obtain milk. They classified all foods into Satvik (easily digestible), Rajasik (heavy to digest) and Tamasik (dark foods leading to an unhealthy life), thereby teaching the native Indian to emphasize on the development of mind, body and soul through food.

The northern region of the country was highly influenced by Mughal or Persian cooking style. The Persians introduced the Indians to rich relishes, meats with cream and butter sauces, dates, nuts, and sweets. The essence of their native place was incorporated in the India Cuisine with dishes like the Biryani, Kebabs, Breads and Pulao. These dishes are a vital part of Indian food as we know it today and one simply cant seem to get enough of them!

When the Portugese started trading in India, they brought with them an assortment of ‘New World' vegetables such as tomatoes, potatoes, chillies, garlic and exotic fruits. They passed on their love for tangy and spicy delicacies with dishes such as Prawn Balchao and Pork Vindaloo which changed the face of Goan food as it was then known.

During the British invasion, Indians were introduced to Whisky and Tea. The British introduced salads, short eats and desserts to the Indian palate. By the time they left the country, dining tables had replaced kitchen floors as the place to eat and porcelain crockery had replaced the banana leaf as the utensil to eat out of.

In the midst of all these invasions and interventions, there were also the Chinese explorers who passed on the art of stir frying and the practice of adding a tinge of sweet to food items. Also, one cannot ignore the influence on the Mongolian invasion in Eastern India. They introduced rice production and Mustard to the East Indian populace. Their food preparation was simple, to suit their nomadic lifestyle, cooking meat to use in soups or in dumplings.

Once the invasions died down and life returned to normalcy, people in every region had the freedom to develop their own local cuisine. They began to be developed per climatic conditions of a particular region. At that time, the food distribution network wasn't as speedy as today, and people had to make do with what they had. For instance, South Indian food is representative of its tropical climate – it is hot, spicy and not very greasy. Dishes such as chettinadu, etc. send many a heart racing with their spiciness!

Rajasthani food, on the other hand, has evolved with the complexity of life in a desert. The region faces a water and fresh vegetable scarcity and hence its food is tougher, i.e. it does not require heating before consumption and can last longer. For instance, Bhati (eaten with Dal – Churma) is known for its long shelf life as well as the minimal quantity of water required in preparation. Then there are the coastal states that extensively use coconut oil in their cooking – Kerala's cuisine is full of coconut and it's by – products and West Bengal makes good use of its fish supply!

Over time, the food people eat defines them as a culture. In many ways it affects their lifestyles and temperaments. For example, our Gujarati forefathers began adding sweet to their food to counter the saltiness of their water. Over time, this became a practice and today, Gujarati food is sweet and known to be so, even though the quality of water may have changed.

Although foods alone do not represent a cuisine - it is the meaning and myths surrounding the ingredients, the preparation, the cooking, the combination of flavors and practices of eating, that determine the makings of a cuisine. Cuisine is often what sets a culture apart and provides a common insight into what it means to "belong" to that community. What's unique about Indian cuisine is that its recipes have been passed on over generations by word of mouth. Generations of grandmothers and mothers have spent hours toiling in the kitchen, passing their knowledge and wisdom to their daughters. This tradition has ensured some secrets stay with the community while defining the framework of a cuisine.

All in all, exploring India requires more than ample time, an over flowing appetite and most importantly, an open heart. Because if you are to experience the country, what better way than to do it through its food.