Food has had prime space in the ongoing debate over the purported ‘cultural revolution’ that, critics claim, is the BJP-led NDA government’s secret agenda. There has been periodic uproar over cow slaughter, the Madhya Pradesh government’s ban on eggs, and the under-reported ban on midday meals in Kerala during the holy month.
It is problematic when food goes from being an option to being regulated, tied up in the specific ideology of state governments. But why I bring this up is not because of the competitive politics that is being played out, but more specifically because of the recent appeal by textile minister Santosh Kumar Gangwar to the human resource development (HRD) and tourism ministers to make cooking non-vegetarian food optional for hotel management students. Because of the ongoing food wars, this issue will undoubtedly be wrapped up in political controversy, with every side taking positions and the students being all but forgotten.
So I write this from the perspective of a former hotel management student with dietary constraints. Most students do, indeed, have a clear idea of what aspect of the profession they would like to pursue: kitchen, management, housekeeping or the bar, to name a few. However, the curriculum is designed so as to include an arduous internship in the kitchen during the students’ on-the-job training. The logic behind this is to impart a holistic learning experience to a hospitality student, as the kitchen is the bedrock of any food and lodging establishment. All this is well and good. The intentions are based on academic soundness since our hospitality institutes follow the French classical approach to cookery—might I add, the textbooks and curriculum are very outdated, especially for a highly innovative profession. Nevertheless, this has been the way and it continues.
As the faculty on a management training programme in the past, I was often amazed at how out of touch young hospitality grads were in their learnings when it came to current trends in hospitality despite them having experienced on-the-job training. It was uncharitable, but the general consensus in hotels was that the curriculum and teaching methods, including those taught at institute kitchens, were fossilised and students had to unlearn everything before they could be integrated into a modern five-star hotel.
Now comes this appeal that non-vegetarian cooking should be optional for students at hotel institutes. The controversy-plagued HRD minister can give this a pass since this aspect comes under the purview of the tourism ministry, which is already taking ambitious steps in overhauling the curriculum in consultation with Lausanne University, Switzerland. However, with this appeal, a certain narrative is being drummed up of this being another case of culinary intolerance. But, in actuality, it is one of academic flexibility.
It is a fact that many students are unable to pursue a career in hotels because of this non-vegetarian cooking aspect.
Hence, to expect such students, who have no intention of pursuing a career in the kitchens, to learn non-vegetarian cooking is unfair. The argument for non-vegetarian cooking being compulsory for students can still be made—not entirely convincingly though—when it comes to opportunities in the global kitchen industry. But what remains unstated, and this is true, is that vegetarianism is on the rise globally. Take, for example, Britain. A recent survey showed an increase in vegetarianism at about 12% of the population—and this rising to 20% in the 16- to 24-year-old age group. These people will need chefs.
Another emerging trend is that of ‘flexitarians’, people who substantially cut back on meat for health and environment-related reasons. This is a growing demographic, which seeks innovation in vegetarian cuisine. So religious and cultural arguments aside, the ‘meat-alternative’ market is a growing one and at a stage when it can’t be ignored.
To assume that vegetarian chefs will have no opportunities in their careers is a faulty argument. As for those who want to be housekeepers, be in management or work behind a bar, why must they be compelled to give up on a career because they are vegetarian? Sadly, too many do.
Advaita Kala is a writer, most recently of the film Kahaani. She is also a former hotelier having worked in restaurants in India and abroad