The Institute of Hotel Management, Catering Technology and Applied Nutrition, Kolkata is sponsored by the Ministry of Tourism, Government of India. The Institute is pledged to train promising men and women in hotel management, general food management and catering technology, and in specific fields such as cookery bakery, food & beverage service, reception, accountancy, house-keeping management and allied topics, depending on the branch of the industry which the trainee desires to take up. Practical presentation and emphasis on nutritional values will be significant aspects of the technical training given to the students. The institute has all modern facilities for practical training. There are five fully equipped kitchens and two laboratories for bakery and confectionary: A well equipped restaurant to learn the classical style of Food and Beverage service. A well-stacked library with over 8000 books. A huge House Keeping practical laboratory with heavy-duty machinery and three mock guest rooms for practical. The computer laboratory is well equipped for individual practice sessions.
Front Office department is also equipped with a well furnished Fidelio Lab and audio-visual equipment. The training to be imparted at the institute fully equips the trainee to take up a position of responsibility in the various branches of the industry: There are in this country a number of luxury hotels and many medium catering establishments, snack bars, restaurants, ice cream bars, coffee bars and other forms of institutional catering and feeding.
With urbanization and industrialization, catering establishments are increasing in large numbers. The development of adequate services for feeding the large and increasing number of workers engaged in industrial production poses a special challenge of considerable importance. Apart from these there is urgent need to provide tastier and nutritive meals on a large scale in hospitals, catering establishment attached to railways, shipping lines, government offices, undertakings, rest houses, dak bungalows etc. Further, there are new projects such as the Mid-day Meal Programmes that are being launched. Large number of trained men and women are necessary to meet the high standards to be maintained in all such feeding programmes and in the hotel industry.
IHM, Kolkata was founded way back in 1963 with its temporary campus located at 21, Convent Road. The founder principal was Mr. P. A. Koshy: It started with a total number of 16 students only: Gradually it gained in popularity and the number of students also grew in leaps and bounds. In the year 1980 the institute was shifted to the new building with a campus at P-16, Taratala Road which is the present address. Within the campus, quarters for principal, faculty and staff are located along with separate hostels for boys and girls. Both the hostels have been extended recently. At present IHM, Kolkata is doing a great job by producing a large number of professionals every year. Apart from producing professionals there are activities, which are regularly held like Gourmet Nite (Food Festival), Blood Donation Camps, Annual Sports Meet etc.
