Indian Culinary Institute in Tirupati is all set to open

​Tirupati: With the prestigious Indian Culinary Institute (ICI) to function with its full capacity from this academic year, Tirupati is all set to produce international standard chefs. 

Tirupati institute was one of the two institutes set up in the country by the Union Ministry of Tourism while the other one was located in Noida. The Institute at Tirupati and Noida offer Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) in Culinary Art under collaborative scheme with the Indira Gandhi National Tribal University (IGNTU). The last date for admissions into 2018-19 academic year will end on June 22, said ICI Academic Incharge at Tirupati, M Trilok Chander.

A decision to set up ICIs at Noida and Tirupati was taken by the UPA government when film star Chiranjeevi was the Minister of Tourism. The foundation stone for the construction of the campus was laid on September 2, 2014 after AP government allocated 14.21 acres for the institute at Kurukalwa village near Tirupati airport. The National Buildings Construction Corporation Ltd (NBCC) got the contract to construct both the campuses and the Ministry has allotted Rs 100 crore to each campus. 

Meanwhile, the classes were started in 2016 at a temporary facility located at State Institute of Hotel Management near Alipiri and 25 students were admitted initially who were pursuing their education. The admissions in the subsequent year were not made due to lack of facilities as the building construction was delayed due to demonetisation effect.    

Academic incharge Trilok Chander opined that the new building may be handed over to them by July end facilitating them to start fresh academic year from August.

As the construction work is completed, inauguration of the building can happen any time from now. It was proposed to admit 60 students this year and from next academic year full strength of 120 students will be admitted. The existing 25 students will also move to the new campus once it is inaugurated, said Trilok Chander. 

It may be noted that the all the 25 students from State Institute of Hotel Management, Catering Technology and Applied Nutrition who took admission in 2015 have got placements in reputed hotels like Oberoi, Leela Palace, Tag Gateway, The park, Marasa Sarovar and other institutions. 

The institute will have administrative and academic blocks, different types of kitchens and restaurants, VIP guest house, guest houses for parents of the students and hostels. A restaurant with international standards was built in the shape of a pyramid. 

District Collector PS Pradyumna recently reviewed the progress of the works and asked the concerned to expedite all the pending works without any delay. Experts in the hotel industry were see a big demand for experienced chefs with formal knowledge feel that the graduates from ICI will definitely have bright prospects.