And So It Begins…

There’s a reason I’ve been MIA from Chronicles for a while… it’s called formal education!

Through my gap year I learned so much about the food industry, and so much more about myself.

I wouldn’t not have been able to accomplish so much without some really wise and supportive mentors, teachers, advisors and professionals I was lucky enough to have had guide me. Thank you so much Mrs. Sarin, Rushina, Saee, Anandi, Mukund, Kunal, and everyone else that was a part of my gap year learning! I hope to be lucky enough to continue to have your guidance in the future. And of course, my eternally super-supportive parents, who encoursaged me to take the gap year in the first place!

As a result of my gap year, I arrived at very important conclusion. It was that no matter what I decided to do in the world of food, I needed to understand food behavior and the food industry; with these basics strongly in place I would be much better equipped to navigate my own path, be it food writing or research into food cultures.

So I have begun the next leg of my journey: the four-year Bachelors of Hotel Management program at Christ University, Bangalore.

With the boom in the hospitality industry and alternate food avenues in India, hotel management has become a widely offered course. But I chose the Christ University program because it is a year longer than other BHM courses, to allow for extra focus on culinary skills and F&B Management. It also offers the option to specialize in years three and four.

So my learning continues. But from being semi-structured and somewhat informal like it was this past year, it will now be formal and structured.

I’m barely two weeks into this new leg of my journey and I am already having a blast! And I’m so excited for the next few years to come! I’ve moved to a hostel, I do my own laundry and I feel so grown up!!

And everyday, when I tell my roommates and friends about my classes or my assignments or my day, they say, ‘Wow, you get to cook for your assessment?’, or ‘You have to go to a fish market for your homework? What fun!’… And I think it’s true – what fun and exciting years I have ahead of me! :D