Procedures can be taught. Attitude can’t: Arun Kumar Singh, The Institute of Hotel Management, Catering Technology and Applied Nutrition

Procedures can be taught. Attitude can’t: Arun Kumar Singh, The Institute of Hotel Management, Catering Technology and Applied Nutrition

Shraddha KamdarUpdated: Saturday, June 01, 2019, 12:16 AM IST
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Arun Kumar Singh, Principal of The Institute of Hotel Management, Catering Technology and Applied Nutrition, Dadar, talks to Shraddha Kamdar about certain basic personality traits needed for a career in hospitality, among other things

Once looked upon as a niche career, hotel management has drastically changed in the opinions of aspirants and their parents, owing to a lot of media exposure and the number of new eateries opening up in town. With other careers, this one too has now its fair share of attention and most deservedly so.

One afternoon, when the rain gods had taken a break from the showers, I went down to the Institute of Hotel Management, Catering Technology and Applied Nutrition, Dadar, (formerly popularly known as Dadar Catering College) to meet principal Arun Kumar Singh. One for punctuality and neatness, he welcomed me into his office and answered all the questions that I had patiently, even if some of them were basic. A few of our reader students had questions about a career in hotel management and they needed answers! Excerpts:

What are the basic personality traits and qualities that are needed to build a career in hotel management?

It is the personality that makes a person, everything else is secondary. So first, an attitude for service is a must. You see, procedures and other things can be taught. But attitude cannot. Based on this attitude, the candidate can acquire the right skills and knowledge. Only with the attitude of service can one enter the hospitality industry, since the person needs to keep is calm at all times.

Since the programmes offered by the institute are all more practice-oriented, how do you keep the students engaged in the theory classes?

Ours is a well-researched system. In the first year, the practical to theory ratio is about 40% to 60%, which changes to 50-50 in the second year and then 60-40 in the third and final year. With this as the basis, we introduce the theory in such a manner that students gain the confidence to work on their practical element. We are also trying to impart the latest learning, since the Institutes of Hotel Management (IHMs) in the country have tied up with Ecole Hoteliere de Lausanne (EHL), Switzerland to help upgrade the curriculum as well as enable faculty to upgrade their teaching techniques. To prevent students from losing interest in the classroom and involve them better in the process, modern teaching techniques and aides are used.

In the BSc degree programme, students are expected to learn cooking. Do you face any problems with vegetarian students who are not willing to handle meat?

The students are aware that they have to work with both, vegetarian as well as non-vegetarian dishes. For the most part, we have students who agree to cook the meats, even if they don’t taste or eat it. That is fine. In fact, today’s papers report that there are requests for making non-vegetarian optional, but I feel it is not a question of personal choice. It is a question of career. In the long run, these students will find it difficult to land good opportunities since they are limited to one set of foods. Many top chefs are also of the opinion that the options in the industry will considerably go down if the chef is not willing to work with non-vegetarian food. I feel that without adequate market research, this idea should not be implemented.

Do you think specialty shows like ‘Masterchef’ have influenced a whole new lot of aspirants towards a career in hospitality?

The shows may create interest, but students need to realise that life is not a television show. There is a lot of hard work that goes on behind the scenes. Working in the kitchen for at least eight to 10 hours every day is not easy, especially with the pressure as well as the heat.

On an average, every year we have about 25% to 30% students who are interested in becoming chefs and these students are very focussed from the beginning. They work hard in picking up techniques and seldom complain about the conditions in which chefs have to work, and mature accordingly. Most of the others are interested in white-collar jobs like food and beverage, front office, managerial and so on.

How do students analyse which area of hospitality management they finally want to work in?

In the second year, the BSc students go for 20-week internships, which groom them for jobs in different areas, sometimes even jobs outside of the hospitality industry. They spend three weeks in each area, and after the internship ends, they have the space of five weeks to specify the area that they want to work in. That way, their capability improves, and they are also focussed for campus placements. In the final year, they sit for campus placements between October and February.

Plus, we are not rigid about our placement rules. We allow students to sit for multiple interviews depending on their capability and the company they want to interview for. They are free to spread out and diversify their options.

You mentioned that the internships train them for jobs other than hospitality? How is that?

Not just the internship, even the programme is such that students can work in other areas. Since they are groomed in a way to handle front office responsibilities, they can not only handle any area is hospitality but also work for banks, retail outlets and in areas such as marketing and so on.

Considering the market today, how important is it for students to have a strong command over the English language?

Well, in hotels and restaurants today, the clientele is such that English is essential. You need to know how to communicate in the language if you want to do well. Like I said, these skills can be picked up. Students can learn and improve upon their English skills during their years at the institute. We have a few students in every batch who work so hard towards it that they learn well enough to survive properly in the industry.

Many of the institute’s students have done very well for themselves in the country and abroad, and they are also happy to come and talk to our students about the needs of the market and the necessities of skills building. Students listen and learn eagerly from such speakers.

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