Hotel Management and Culinary Arts

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Associate Senior Executive

Updated on Dec 10, 2025 16:17 IST

Many young students wonder — should I study Hotel Management or Culinary Arts? The hospitality industry in India and worldwide is growing fast. Hotels, resorts, restaurants, cruise lines, and catering services all need trained professionals. Courses in Hotel Management and Culinary Arts give you the knowledge and skills to build a skills toa build

Hotel Management and Culinary Arts offers a variety of jobs to choose from: running a fancy hotel or making tasty food in big kitchens. Here, you can know what you might get after you study Hotel Management and Culinary Arts.

Many young students wonder — should I study Hotel Management or Culinary Arts? Or maybe both? The hospitality industry in India and worldwide is growing fast. Hotels, resorts, restaurants, cruise lines, and catering services all need trained professionals. Courses in Hotel Management and Culinary Arts give you the knowledge and skills to build a strong career in this dynamic industry.

In the following sections, we explain what exactly Hotel Management is, what Culinary Arts is, what courses exist, how they differ, and what kinds of jobs and salaries you might expect.

Also Read: Best Books for Hotel Management Entrance Exams

Table of contents

What is Hotel Management?
What is Culinary Arts?
Hotel Management and Culinary Arts Difference
Hotel Management and Culinary Arts Colleges
Hotel Management and Culinary Arts Course
Hotel Management and Culinary Arts Jobs
Which Is Better: Culinary Arts Or Hotel Management?

What is Hotel Management?

Hotel Management is a broad field of study that teaches how to run and manage hotels, resorts, restaurants, and other hospitality services. In a Hotel Management course, you learn about different departments of hospitality: front office, housekeeping, food & beverage service, administration, and overall operations. Aim is to prepare students to manage hotels, guest services, hospitality operations, customer service, and administrative tasks.

Hotel Management is about business and operations of hospitality, ensuring guests are happy, services run smoothly, and the hotel functions efficiently.

What is Culinary Arts?

Culinary Arts is more focused. It is the art and science of cooking, food production, kitchen operations and presentation of food. Students of Culinary Arts learn cooking techniques, food preparation, menu design, kitchen hygiene, food presentation, and often aspects of nutrition and food science. The focus is on food: how to prepare dishes, how to cook professionally, how to work in kitchen settings, and become a chef or kitchen expert.

Thus, Culinary Arts is about making and presenting food professionally, turning cooking into a career rather than just a hobby.

Hotel Management and Culinary Arts Difference

Here is a simple table summarising main differences:

Aspect	Culinary Arts	Hotel Management
Focus	Food production, cooking, kitchen skills, food presentation	Hotel operations, guest services, management, administration
What you learn	Cooking techniques, kitchen hygiene, menu planning, food safety, cuisine skills	Front office, housekeeping, food & beverage service, hotel admin, operations management
Typical career roles	Chef, cook, kitchen staff, pastry chef, food production staff	Hotel manager, front office manager, housekeeping manager, operations manager, F&B manager
Course type	B.Sc., Diploma, Certificate in Culinary / Catering (3 years / 1 year / shorter), check Certificate in Culinary Arts at IIHM Delhi	BHM, B.Sc Hospitality, Diploma in Hotel Management (usually 3 years, sometimes diploma)
Ideal for	People who love cooking, food and kitchen work	People who like guest service, management, broader hospitality roles

Hotel Management and Culinary Arts Colleges

There are many colleges in India offering courses in Hotel Management, Culinary Arts, or both. Here are some examples:

Top Hotel Management Colleges in India

IHM Pusa Ranking	IHM Chennai Ranking
Welcomgroup Graduate School of Hotel Administration Manipal Ranking	IHM Lucknow Ranking
IHM Mumbai Ranking	Banarsidas Chandiwala Institute of Hotel Management & Catering Technology Ranking
IHM Bangalore Ranking	Dr Ambedkar Institute of Hotel Management Catering & Nutrition, Chandigarh Ranking
IHM Hyderabad Ranking	IHM Gurdaspur Ranking

Culinary Arts Colleges in India

Public/Govt. Colleges	Private Colleges
IHM Delhi Admission	SRM Institute Admission
IHM Mumbai Admission	Symbiosis School Admission
IHM Bangalore Admission	M.S. Ramaiah University Admission
IHM Chennai Admission	School of Hospitality and Tourism Studies Admission
Dr. Ambedkar Institute of Hotel Management Admission	Welcomgroup Admission

Many colleges give students options: to study purely hotel management, purely culinary, or a mix (hotel + culinary), depending on what the student wants.

Hotel Management and Culinary Arts Course

Here we discuss what different courses look like, what you study, how long courses are, etc.

Hotel Management Course

Hotel Management courses cover various specializations: front office, housekeeping, food & beverage service, kitchen, etc.
Course fees vary widely: generally courses cost between INR 1 lakh to INR 15 lakh (depending on institute and specialization) for the full course.
After completion, students can work in hotels, resorts, cruise lines, restaurants, airlines, etc. Job options include Hotel Manager, Front Office Manager, Housekeeping Manager, Food & Beverage Manager, and more.

Culinary Arts Course

Culinary courses focus on kitchen operations, cooking skills, food production, food presentation, hygiene, nutrition — preparing students to work as chefs or in food service.
Duration depends on course type: e.g., B.Sc. Culinary Arts (UG degree typically 3 years) as offered by MGM Institute.
Some institutes also offer Diploma in Culinary Arts — for example, a 1-year Diploma is offered by MGM Institute with fee INR 52,000.
After course completion, students can work as chefs, kitchen staff, bakers, cuisine specialists, etc., in hotels, restaurants, catering services, bakeries, cruise ships, etc.

Hotel Management vs Culinary Arts Courses

Hotel Management Courses	Culinary Arts Courses
BSc in Hospitality and Hotel Administration	BSc
Bachelor of Hotel Management (BHM)	BVoc
Bachelor's in Hotel Management and Catering Technology (BHMCT)	BA
BBA in Hospitality, Travel and Tourism	BHM
BA in Hospitality and Travel	BCT & CA
MBA in Hotel Management/ MBA in Hospitality and Tourism Management	BBA
MSc in Hospitality and Hotel Administration	BHMCT
UG Diploma in Hotel Management	MSc
Certificate Courses	MA
	After 10th Diploma
	UG/PG Diploma

Hotel Management and Culinary Arts Jobs

What kinds of jobs can you get after studying these courses — and what about salary?

After Hotel Management, you can work as Hotel Manager, Front Office Manager, Housekeeping Manager, Food & Beverage Manager, Restaurant Manager, Staff Coordinator, etc.

After Culinary Arts, you can work as Chef, Cook, Kitchen Staff, Baker, Pastry Chef, Food Production Executive, etc. in hotels, restaurants, bakeries, cruise ships, catering services.

Many hospitality courses also allow internships, which help students gain real-world experience before final placement.

Hotel Management and Culinary Arts Salary

Salary depends on institute, experience, hotel/restaurant quality, and role. According to data, salary range for Hotel Management graduates is about INR 3 LPA to INR 10 LPA.

As per an example college (School of Hotel Management, Ajeenkya DY Patil), for B.Sc in Hospitality & Hotel Administration (Culinary Arts), average package was reported INR 6.50 LPA. Highest salary can go up to INR 1.20 Crore.

For culinary courses, some sources quote possible salary of around INR 4 LPA for Hotel Manager jobs in India.

In more specialized tracks like “Culinary Management”, some reports mention average salary for Catering Manager as around INR 7.2 LPA.

Salary will increase with experience, skill level, type of hotel/restaurant (budget vs luxury), and specialization.

Which Is Better: Culinary Arts Or Hotel Management?

There is no single answer, “better” depends on what you like and want to do. Check the below comparison to help decide:

Both Hotel Management and Culinary Arts are promising fields, but each suits different interests and strengths.

If you love cooking, experimenting with food, and want to become a chef, go for Culinary Arts.
If you prefer a broader role: managing hotel operations, dealing with guests, administration, and want flexibility to choose among many departments, go for Hotel Management.
If you can’t decide, a combined course (Hotel + Culinary) is a good choice: it keeps both options open, you get training in kitchen as well as hotel operations.

Popular Hotel Management Entrance Exams in India
NCHMCT JEE	Oberoi STEP
MAH HM CET	IHM Aurangabad Admissions
IIHM eCHAT	NCHM MSc JEE
GNIHM JET