Chef

The minimum qualification for becoming a chef is a bachelor’s degree or diploma in Hotel Management or culinary. Kitchen management training adds value to an inspiring Chef.

In India both Degree and Diploma courses are available in Culinary Art and Hotel Management. The basic qualification for both degree and diploma levels is 10+2. Some institutes offer advanced diploma in Culinary art and for that the minimum eligibility is graduation. There are a few short term courses available as well. These short term courses are meant for usually of 1½ Years duration and the eligibility criterion is 10+2 with English as one of the major subjects. These courses are: Diploma in Food Production, Diploma in Food and Beverage Services, and Diploma in Bakery and Confectionery

Institutes coming under the National Council now offer a 3-year degree course B Sc Hospitality and Hotel Administration, while some private institutes offer a 4-year Bachelor's programme in Hotel Management. 

To get admission in the institutes one has to take the entrance test consisting of English, Reasoning, General Science and General Knowledge. The test is of 2-hour duration and is held around April every year. The test is followed by a group discussion and interview, in which a person's personality and confidence is seen. Private institutes have their tests at different times in April/May and the pattern of the paper is roughly the same. Academic sessions usually start by July/August every year.

You can know more about the entrance exams from the following link Entrance Exams after 12th  

IHM Aurangabad charges a fee of 16 lakhs for 4 year course if you take up Indian Internship.
IHM Pusa, New Delhi takes a fee Rs 47,000 per semester and the course duration is 3 years.

There are many colleges in India that offer courses and culinary art.

List of Institutes offering B Sc In Hospitality and Hotel Administration with specialization are as follows

• Institute of Hotel Management, Catering Technology and Applied Nutrition, Pusa Road, New Delhi.
• Institute of Hotel Management, Catering Technology and Applied Nutrition, Bangalore.
• Institute of Hotel Management, Mumbai.
• Institute of Hotel Management, Chennai .
• Institute of Hotel Management, Goa.
• Institute of Hotel Management, Hyderabad.
• Institute of Hotel Management,Kolkata .

List of Institutes offering B Sc In Hospitality and Hotel Administration General Course are as follows

• Institute of Hotel Management, Bhopal
• Institute of Hotel Management, Bhubaneshwar
• Institute of Hotel Management, Chandigarh
• Institute of Hotel Management, Gandhi Nagar
• Institute of Hotel Management, Guwahati
• Institute of Hotel Management, Gwalior
• Institute of Hotel Management, Jaipur
• Institute of Hotel Management, Lucknow
• Institute of Hotel Management, Kufri Shimla
• Institute of Hotel Management, Srinagar

Courses offered B Sc, M.Sc. Hospitality Administration , Post Graduate Diploma in Accommodation, Operation and, Management, Post Graduate Diploma in Dietetics and Hospital Food Service, B. Sc. In Hospitality and Hotel Administration, Craftsmanship Course in Food Production, Craftsmanship Course in Food and Beverage Service, Certificate Course in Hotel and Catering Management, Diploma in Food Production, Diploma in Food and Beverage Service, Diploma in Front Office. Total no. of seats are more than 3000. The admission is through JEE conducted by NCHMCT. 

• Institute of Hotel Management (run by the Taj Group of Hotels), Aurangabad. The institute offers 4 years BA Hons in Culinary Arts and Masters in International Hospitality management. IHM Aurangabad takes its own profiling test and selects students through GD and Interview. 
• Army Institute of Hotel Management and Catering Technology Bangalore, Courses Offered: 4 years - Bachelor of Hotel and Restaurant Management
• Indian Culinary Institute, Tirupati has been set up ministry of tourism (Degree will be awarded with IGNOU ) and offers B Sc Culinary Art from 2016.
• Systematic Training and Education Programme at The Oberoi group (STEP). This is a three year programme where students get trained in 4 operational departments and prepare for degree from IGNOU. The Oberoi group bears the cost of training and also provides stipend, accomodation, uniform and medical insurance. There are two programmes.  The Kitchen Operations Programme (Involves training in Western and Indian kitchens and specialist sections such as bakery, pastry and cold kitchen ). The program is conducted at The Oberoi Amarvilas, Agra; The Oberoi, Bengaluru; The Oberoi Cecil, Shimla; The Oberoi, Gurgaon; The Oberoi Rajvilas, Jaipur; The Oberoi Udaivilas, Udaipur; Trident, Agra; Trident, Chennai; Trident, Gurgaon; Trident, Jaipur; Trident, Udaipur. On successful completion of the programme you will be awarded a Bachelor of Tourism Studies (BTS) degree from IGNOU. You will also receive a Certificate of Proficiency from The Oberoi Group for the training you will undergo during the three-year STEP programme. The admission process begins in the month of february every year.
• If you are a Hotel Management graduate you can join the The Oberoi Centre of Learning and Development. OCLD programmes commence in July each year with the selection process beginning in September of the previous year. OCLD is based in Maidens Hotel, Delhi. OCLD offers a two year post graduate management programme in Kitchen Management.

Study Abroad

• If you are passionate about Hotel Management and want to go for higher studies you can also consider MBA in Hotel and Restaurant management offered by Le Cordon Bleu ( Australia) and Master of Business ( Hospitality Management ) offered by Victoria University, Australia. Besides this there are many leading universities and colleges that offer this course at UG Level
• University college of Birmingham offers culinart Art course at gradaute level.