<strong>How to become a food stylist in India after class 12?</strong>
A food stylist is a trained professional who has the responsibility of making food look good and presentable to human eyes. They work for food and beverage retail sectors and also target the visual presentation of food products and services in advertisements. Their work involves collaborating with professional photographers to capture appealing videos and images of food. Earlier, food styling was considered to be more of a personal hobby and a small part of hospitality industry. But with the increase of food connoisseurs worldwide, food styling has now emerged as an off-beat yet in-trend career option for youngsters. For these reasons, youngsters who are not only passionate about food and drinks that taste good but more about how they look should opt for a career as a food stylist after their higher secondary. Here’s everything aspiring food stylists need to know about this fascinating career prospect.
Eligibility criteria
To become a food stylist, candidates need to successfully pass their 10+2 curriculum under any stream with compulsory English with 50 percent or above as the qualifying marks.
Courses available
To become a food stylist in India, youngsters can pursue a number of undergraduate degree, diploma and certification courses.
3-year degree courses include:
- Bachelor of Hotel Management
- Bachelor of Hospitality Management and Catering Technology
- Bachelor of Culinary Arts
1-year diploma courses include:
- Diploma in Hotel Management
- Diploma in Culinary Arts
6-months certification courses include:
- Certificate in Hotel Management
- Certificate in Culinary Arts
- Certificate in Food and Beverage Services
- Certificate in Bakery and Confectionary
- Certificate in Food Production
As part of these courses, aspiring food stylists learn about types of cuisines, target demographics, types of food products and services, food photography, basic cooking and medium of advertising among others. Creativity and keen eye for details are the most important qualities that food stylists must acquire.
Institutes to pursue food styling related courses
Some of the most popular institutes to study food styling in India are: Institute of Hotel Management, Catering and Nutrition in New Delhi, Institute of Hotel Management, Catering Technology and Applied Nutrition in Mumbai and International Institute of Hotel Management in Kolkata.
Career options
After being trained as a food stylist, they are hired by industries that either produce, serve or market food products. Such sectors include: Hotels, restaurants, advertising agencies, fast food chains, food magazines, and online food portals. They need to work according to the needs and demands of the clients and consumers.