Next generation of Hospitality Professionals: Webinar with Chef Maneet Chauhan

On the 19th of May 2020, students of the Hotel Management and Culinary Arts courses at WGSHA participated in a webinar "Next generation of Hospitality Professionals", addressed by WGSHA’s own alumni Chef Maneet Chauhan, President of Morph Hospitality Group, with numerous accolades and years of experience to her name.

The program began with an introduction to the FAST (Faculty Assisted Study & Training) training implemented by WGSHA to prepare its final year students for campus placements by bringing renowned members of the hospitality industries together to offer their advice and experiences.

Our Principal, Chef K. Thiru then introduced the participants to Chef Maneet Chauhan, detailing her experience and accolades in the industry. Chef Maneet then started the webinar by telling the students about her mantra ‘nothing ventured, nothing gained’. She also told the students about how important it is to take risks and seize every opportunity take risks.

 Chef Maneet had recalled some of her fondest memories from WGSHA. She also told the students about how everything she has learnt at WGSHA has had a huge impact on her life as well as her career. Chef also reflected on her time at The Culinary Institute of America and how it had shaped her work ethic. She spoke about how she participated in every activity and event and how she stayed true to her mantra.

Chef Maneet told us about how her time spent in America made her realise how she wanted to become the voice of Indian cuisine on a global scale. She had realised the latest food trends such as local food and farmer’s markets were concepts that were very common in India and she wanted to do the same in the United states. She spoke about her time working at her uncle’s Indian restaurant for 4 years and how it shaped her love for her own cuisine.

Chef Maneet gave the students a lot of words to live by, she had told the students about how attitude plays a key role in their life, she told them about how life will give them various opportunities and it was up to them to make the best of it. She told the students that they should be generous to themselves and learn from their failures.

Chef Maneet also briefly spoke about her journey as a celebrity chef and urged students to learn everything and become great chefs before trying to become a tv personality, she emphasised on how students should get into this industry to become good hoteliers and not celebrities. She also spoke about her various ventures in the food and beverage industry in the United States of America and how she has used her fame and her credibility to change the culinary world and showcase Indian cuisine as much as possible.

 Chef Maneet spoke briefly about the current COVID-19 situation, and the importance of using this time to become the best version of themselves. Chef concluded the session by wishing the students all the best in their endeavours and was then followed by a short Q&A session with the students.