India needs at least 500 culinary schools

Mangalore Today News Network

Udupi, Nov 11, 2016: Speaking to presspersons on the sidelines of the International Chef’s Day Conference organised by the Welcomgroup Graduate School of Hotel Administration (WGSHA) and the Department of Culinary Arts, Manipal University, Manjit Singh Gill, president of the IFCA Indian Federation of Culinary Associations and senior corporate chef, ITC Hotels, said that the country needs at least 500 schools imparting quality education in the culinary arts.

Gill said the country will be the source of chefs in the world in the future, as India is a multi-cultural country with a variety of cuisines.

The objective of the conference was to bridge the gap between senior and junior chefs. Culinary arts are a vast subject and to cook, one has to understand the culture of the region. Cooking good food requires experience as there are no shortcuts to cooking. Experience makes young chefs better cooks, and hence IFCA is holding workshops and conferences across the country, he said.

To a query,  Gill said that being a chef is now a lucrative deal. Chefs get good salaries and perks, and there are always good job opportunities, both in India and abroad. Culinary arts now also have a touch of glamour as many chefs appear on television shows, he added.

He also opined that cooking makes one happy and good cooks are rarely stressed. Soundararajan, general secretary, IFCA, said that students and parents should check the antecedents of any hotel management school or institute before joining it.