Chef

Planning menus, ordering and checking ingredients, preparing and cooking food, keeping the kitchen clean and safe, managing costs and wastage, and leading a team of cooks. You could work in hotels, restaurants, cruise ships, hospitals, airline and railway catering, cloud kitchens, or your own food business.

A day in the work
You reach the kitchen before service, check what has arrived, and plan the day's prep with your team. As lunch and dinner rush in, you cook, taste, plate and fix problems fast, often on your feet in heat and noise. Between rushes you clean down, label and store food safely, update orders and sometimes try new dishes. You usually finish late, often when others are relaxing.

1. Step 1 · Class 8–11Any stream works. Just make sure English is one of your subjects. Start cooking at home with an adult, and learn knife safety and kitchen hygiene. Check if you can handle hot, busy, standing-all-day work.
2. Step 2 · After Class 10 (optional early route)If you want to start in a kitchen sooner, the Craftsmanship Certificate in Food Production & Patisserie takes Class 10 pass students. It runs about 1.5 years, with a year of classes plus industrial training. Institutes say it leads to entry-level jobs such as cook, commis or kitchen assistant.
3. Step 3 · Class 12 (usually April–May)Take NCHM JEE through NTA if you want the B.Sc. Applications open months earlier. In 2026 the exam was on 25 April and the result came on 22 May (reported). You can apply while in Class 12 and give proof of passing later. (reported — check with the official body)
4. Step 4 · June (counselling)NCHMCT runs central online counselling. Seats in Central, State and private IHMs are given by your NCHM JEE rank, category and the choices you fill. In 2026 it began on 1 June (reported). (reported — check with the official body)
5. Step 5 · 3 years (B.Sc.) or about 18 months (diploma)Train at an IHM. The B.Sc. covers Food Production, Food & Beverage Service, Front Office and Housekeeping, plus management subjects. If you want to cook, pick a college where you will spend real time in the kitchens, or take the Diploma in Food Production instead.
6. Step 6 · First jobsMost people begin as a kitchen trainee or commis (junior cook) in a hotel, restaurant or cruise line. The work is hands-on and long. Pay and growth depend a lot on the kitchen you join and the people you learn from.
7. Step 7 · Years laterA common ladder is commis, then chef de partie, then sous chef, then head or executive chef. It usually takes many years. Some chefs open their own cafe, bakery, catering unit or cloud kitchen. Take FoSTaC food-safety training when you start supervising. (reported — check with the official body)

• B.Sc. Hospitality & Hotel Administration (NCHM JEE)Starts after: Class 12, any stream, with English The main degree route, awarded under JNU recognition. Broad: kitchen, service, front office and housekeeping. Good if you also want to move into hotel management later. Time: 3 years
• Diploma in Food ProductionStarts after: Class 12 with English Fully focused on the kitchen. Taught in the institute's kitchens and labs. Shorter and cheaper than the degree, but does not give a degree. Time: About 1.5 years
• Craftsmanship Certificate in Food Production & PatisserieStarts after: Class 10 with English A skill course for entry-level kitchen jobs. A quick start, but plan to keep learning on the job. Time: About 1.5 years (classes plus industrial training)
• Hunar Se Rozgar (Ministry of Tourism short programme)Starts after: Class 8 pass, age 18–28 A short hospitality training programme in food production offered by some IHMs (for example IHM CTAN). Dates are notified by the institute each time. Time: 8 weeks

Fees from: NCHM: B.Sc. HHA fee structure · IHM Panipat fee structure 2026-27 · Dr. Ambedkar IHM Chandigarh 5th semester fee notice (2026-27) · MAI Institute of Hotel Management fee structure (2025-26 batch). Fees change every year — check the college's own fee page before you pay.

Earnings usually start modest for trainees and commis, then rise with skill, years of experience, the city and the kind of employer (a five-star hotel, cruise line, standalone restaurant or your own business pay very differently).

Central IHMs reserve seats under central rules: SC 15%, ST 7.5%, OBC-NCL 27%, EWS 10%, and 5% for persons with 40% or more disability (reported). State IHMs follow their own state's rules. The NCHM JEE application fee is lower for SC, ST, PwD and transgender candidates (reported). Kitchens are physically demanding, so students with disabilities should ask each institute how it supports them.

• Class 7–9Cook one simple dish a week at home with an adult. Practise safe knife handling and hand washing, and write down the recipe and what the ingredients cost.
• Class 10–12Read the NCHM-JEE brochure to see the exam pattern and the courses. Ask a local hotel or Institute of Hotel Management if students can visit or if you can talk to a chef about their day.Open link ↗
• College or afterVolunteer in a community kitchen, canteen or event catering team for a few weekends. Notice if you like the pace and the clean-up as much as the cooking.

• The B.Sc. HHA is a hotel management degree, not a pure cooking degree. If cooking is all you want, look closely at how much kitchen time a college gives, or consider the diploma.
• Tuition at Institutes of Hotel Management varies by institute. NCHM says it can range from ₹3 lakh to ₹5 lakh for the whole B.Sc., so check each college's fee page.
• Private culinary schools outside the NCHMCT system also exist. Before paying, check the course's recognition and ask where past students actually work.
• Kitchen work means heat, long standing hours, weekends and festival rushes. Try it before you commit.