More than a decade into operation, Kohinoor College of Hotel and Tourism Management Studies, Mumbai has succeeded in churning out future leaders of the hospitality industry. Chef Kaviraj Khialani, head of academics of the institute talks about what makes his institute unique
Started in 2002, the Kohinoor College of Hotel and Tourism Management Studies in Dadar, Mumbai has a simple objective – to churn out educated and skilled hospitality professionals. Educated professionals through a comprehensive and rigorous course structure, and skilled manpower through extensive practical based learning. “Our focus is to bring students out of the desk and into a practical environment to enable them to showcase their talent and help them develop their confidence. This is mainly because chefs have become the front line staff of the hotel, they want to see the guests and the guests want to interact with their chefs. Hence we do many live events,” states Chef Kaviraj Khialani, head of academics, Kohinoor College of Hotel and Tourism Management Studies adding that these live events are theme based cooking competitions held during different seasons in a year and is part of the three-year bachelor degree courses they offer – BSc in Hospitality Studies, affiliated to Mumbai University and BSc in Hospitality Studies and Catering Services, affiliated to Yashvantrao Chavan Maharashtra Open University.
“Every second month we have a competition in the college. For instance, we have the sweet and chaat competition during Diwali, chai and pakora competition during monsoons, a three course meal competition during Christmas,” opines Chef Khialani. Each competition witnesses a participation of around 80-90 students and is judged by industry professionals, some of whom are alumni members.
Apart from these theme based competitions, the college also has its annual food festival called the ‘Theme Dinner’ which is part of the event management curriculum in the final semester of the bachelor degree courses. This festival is held in January every year and is organised and hosted by the final year students. “This is also theme based wherein every final year batch is made to choose a particular theme – around the world, Malaysian cuisine, etc. The preparation starts three months prior to the actual competition. The students are involved in marketing, getting sponsorships and menu trails,” mentions Chef Khialani adding that this competition helps in opening several placements opportunities for the students since it is judged by industry professionals.
The competition is judged under different categories like Best Food, Best Cultural, Best Decorative Design and the winner is awarded with a rotating trophy called the Annual Theme Dinner Award. “After the completion of this festival, the students are required to prepare a report on it. This event gives them a practical exposure of preparing food for large numbers and also gives them the opportunity to showcase their skills and be judged. This helps them to enhance their resume and gives them an extra edge during placements,” assures Chef Khialani.
Short-term courses
The brand Kohinoor had an outset with the inception of the Kohinoor Technical Institute, a vocational training institute operational for around 43 years with 39 branches across the state including Dadar, Andheri, Ghatkopar, Kalyan, Sangli, Ratnagiri, Nagpur, Akola, Amrawati, etc.
The head office is the Kohinoor College of Hotel and Tourism Management Studies. Apart from its regular three year courses, the college also offers craftsmanship courses like Craft Course in Hotel Management & Catering Technology, Craft Course in Cookery and Craft Course in F&B Service, which are affiliated to Maharashtra State Board of Vocational Education.
The vocational courses are of a duration of six months to a year. The college also provides certificate courses in bakery, communication skills, fruit carving and personality development. To give global exposure to its students, the college also has a tie-up with the Swiss Hotel Management School in Switzerland.
With more than a decade into operation, the college has witnessed good growth in terms of student enrollment and placements offered. “In 2014 we admitted around 300 plus students for the first year batch. We have grown exponentially from 45 students in our first batch to 600 students in 2014 in the degree courses. While in the vocational courses we have around 150 students,” boasts Chef Khialani adding that they have also been getting students who are unable to continue their education in expensive hospitality colleges and often enroll with them because of the affordability factor. “Our bachelor courses are affordable – Rs one lakh per year. Hence, we get many students from smaller cities like Agra, Udaipur, Dehradun, Chandigarh, Uttaranchal, Goa apart from the metros,” he adds.
As for the recent trends in choosing a career, Chef Khialani states, “70 per cent join hotels, 10 per cent opt for the family business, 10 per cent go abroad for further education and the remaining are a mix of students who enter the travel industry and the retail sector.”
