Cooking up a Storm | Career

If one was to ask who Michelangelo, Leonardo Da Vinci and Kiran Manandhar are anyone would be able to answer the question. But if we were to ask who Anthony Bourdain, Jamie Oliver or Rachel Ray was many would have a blank look. They are artiste too but the difference between them and the famous names we can identify is that the latter use a plate as their canvas and edible ingredients to create their art. What are we talking about- professional chefs of course!

One of the most important sectors of Hotel Management (HM), being chef might not be as glamorous as catering to guests at the front desk but it shoulders the maximum amount of responsibility. "Hotel rooms all look the same, it's the food that keeps the customers coming back for more," says Kamal Pant, the principal of Nepal Tourism and Hotel Management College (NTHMC) in Pokhara. Even though 70-75% of the profits come from the rooms in a hotel, it takes equivalent amount of money to add more rooms, "but with food and beverage there is always 100% profit along with quick return," stresses Pant. The memory of what we eat and how it tasted stays in our mind longer than where we slept and how the sheets smelled. And if the current trend seen in the Hospitality Management studies were to go by culinary art management is equally popular among the students.

The travel and tourism industry is increasing at rapid pace these days and more so in the past decade in Nepal. "This growth has resulted in growth in large numbers in sectors that cater to the need of travellers such as hotels, motels, airlines and cruises," says Narendra. Moreover, he adds, "The hospitality industry and especially chefs focuses more on individual skill rather than relevant degrees like in other sectors." This is also a popular option for students in Nepal because of its tourism industry and easy access to go abroad. An interested student can enrol in a HM school in Plus Two level for a diploma and then take up Bachelor of Science (Hons) in Culinary Art Management or Bachelor in Hotel Management in their undergraduate years.

An interesting mix of art and science, a chef's job requires him/her to be at the top of the game with the basic knowledge and equally inventive in creating new dishes. "All surgeons learn the same steps to surgery world wide but how each one implements those steps differ, in the same way a chef will use the same knowledge and implement it in his/her own style," says Raj Kumar Karki, the food preparation instructor at NTHMC. A chef might do most of the things our mothers do in the kitchen but along with that they also have to be good managers so that they can guide and control their team during extremely pressurising and chaotic situations. "A good chef doesn't just prepare the food but works on cost control, replacement of ingredients without compromising on the taste along with being equally good in mathematics which is taught only in Hotel Management schools," says Narendra Bajracharya, the CEO of International School of Tourism and Hotel Management.

Though most of the chefs abroad go to special culinary school where they learn how to be a chef, this service is yet to be available in Nepal. But that doesn't mean budding Nepali chefs have to satisfy themselves with jobs outside the kitchen after a HM degree. Most of the schools that offer Food and Beverage Service as one of their subjects mostly focus on students who want to be chefs in the future.

Like all profession, a chef's job too has a downside. "Long working hours, strenuous work and almost no social life," says Pant. This is also the reason that it's mostly men who work as professional chefs in most of the restaurants and hotels nationally and internationally. "However, in present time there are lot of female chefs as well in the industry and they are doing a good job," says Narendra. But the positive side of this job overshadows the negatives as a chef is the 2nd highest earning employee in a hotel. "A manager in other department of the hotel will have to work twice as hard and longer to enjoy the perks as a celebrated chef would," says Pant. And moreover many international hotels choose to change their chefs after a period of time to show the alteration in their menu in order to attract a wide range of clientele. Thus, allowing a chef to travel and gain experience in different environment.

So, if you think you have the talent to cook up a plate of lip smacking food and don't mind getting paid for playing with food, give donning a white cap for a career a thought.