Hello everyone, my name is Mukesh Singh & I belong to Delhi. Since I was a child, I used to help my mother with the household chores, & especially in the kitchen. I always helped her in cooking food for everyone at home which usually surprised my family members except my mother who was always happy & proud. It has been a stereotype in India that “Men don’t cook.” I just wanted to prove it wrong and show that “Men can cook”. As I grew up and passed class 12th, I decided to pursue my bachelor’s in Hotel Management.
After searching for a number of colleges, I decided to take admission at Quantum University, in Roorkee, Uttarakhand. As my interest was in cooking I got familiar with various aspects of Hotel Management like Food & Beverage Service, Kitchen Operations Management, Wines Fundamentals, Fundamentals of Management, & Marketing and Human Resource Management. During my 2nd year, I was offered a minor in Entrepreneurship which I was least interested to take but for the sake of a dual degree, I chose to complete it too.
It was my last semester where I got an opportunity to work as an intern at Radisson Blu Hotel in Delhi. I learned all the skills required in the hospitality industry and focused on how to improve my gaps. After my internship, I went to UP with my friends for a tour. There I got an opportunity to cook for them and being a pro at a few of my best dishes, I surprised them with excellent cooking which they savored to the full. Roaming at various places and food courts, got me to wonder why to work in a hotel when you can have your own restaurant.
After earning both degrees, I already received a bunch of attractive job opportunities which never lured me now because by then I had decided my path. The Hotel Management Industry is growing with leaps and bounds. Due to globalization not only Indian firms are growing but MNC’s are also establishing their chains in India. I witnessed that UP has a high demand in the hotel industry as it receives a huge influx of tourists. My minor degree in entrepreneurship helped me to understand demand and supply chain management and analyze the current market trends. The entrepreneurship degree has further helped me to understand the current trends in the hospitality industry and maximize profits.
Utilizing the knowledge, I took a 1.5 lac loan from my father & 1 lac from my best friend as a monthly rent for my restaurant in UP. Within 3 months of passing out, I founded The Spice Hub Restaurant. The next struggle for me was hiring the top chefs and cooks along with the hospitality team who would kick start the operations of my restaurant.
Today, it has been 3 years now & I am running a successful restaurant in partnership with Swiggy & Zomato. We are planning to open up our new branches in Delhi & Gurugram too. I feel proud that I took a minor during my college days otherwise establishing a restaurant wouldn’t be that easy for me. I would urge all undergraduate students to opt for a minor program during your college as it opens the doorway of countless opportunities. For me Hotel Management is one of the best career choices to make along with a Minor in Entrepreneurship.