The Higher Diploma in International Culinary Arts (DICA) at Silver Mountain School of Hotel Management (SMSH), Lainchaur, Kathmandu, is a three-year culinary program focused on practical kitchen knowledge, advanced culinary techniques, and international cuisines.
DICA is structured for students who want to specialise in culinary arts and develop their education through substantial practical work. The three-year course includes a one-year hotel internship, giving students a period of workplace-based learning alongside their culinary studies. Applicants are eligible after completing SEE. The program is also identified as a pathway through which students may continue their education toward bachelor's-level hospitality study.
| Particular | Details |
|---|---|
| Course | Higher Diploma in International Culinary Arts (DICA) |
| Institution | Silver Mountain School of Hotel Management |
| Location | Lainchaur, Kathmandu, Nepal |
| Duration | 3 years |
| Eligibility | SEE completed |
| Main area | Culinary Arts |
| Academic focus | Advanced culinary techniques and international cuisines |
| Internship | One-year hotel internship |
| Study direction | Kitchen specialisation |
| Further academic pathway | Progression toward BHM study |
DICA is a culinary-focused program rather than a general hotel-management course. Its purpose is to develop students' kitchen knowledge and practical ability while giving them sustained exposure to culinary work.
The course gives particular attention to advanced culinary techniques and international cuisines. This makes its focus different from hospitality programs that divide study across front office, housekeeping, food and beverage service, tourism, and general hotel management.
Students on the DICA route concentrate more directly on the kitchen. Practical training is therefore an important part of the learning process, supported by the culinary facilities available at Silver Mountain School of Hotel Management.
The three-year structure also distinguishes DICA from shorter culinary training. It includes an extended internship period and provides an academic progression option for students who later want to continue their education.
Eligibility: Applicants must have completed the Secondary Education Examination (SEE).
This entry requirement makes DICA different from Silver Mountain's bachelor's programs, which begin after +2 or an equivalent qualification.
For students who already know that they want to concentrate on culinary training after SEE, DICA provides a longer study route combining academic and practical culinary learning rather than requiring them to begin with a general hotel-management program.
Duration: DICA runs for three years.
The course combines culinary education with practical knowledge and includes one year of internship. The length of the program allows culinary learning to continue beyond introductory cooking techniques and places greater attention on specialisation in kitchen work.
The program is described as developing knowledge and skills in areas such as:
The emphasis remains on culinary work rather than covering every hotel department equally.
Practical learning is central to DICA.
Culinary education requires students to work directly with ingredients, kitchen equipment, preparation methods, cooking processes, and organised kitchen routines. Silver Mountain supports this type of study through dedicated culinary training spaces.
The campus includes an International Culinary Arts Kitchen as well as a BHM Kitchen. Culinary students study within a school where restaurants, food and beverage facilities, and other hospitality training spaces are also available.
Practical kitchen work gives students the opportunity to develop their abilities through repeated application rather than relying only on classroom instruction. This is particularly relevant to DICA because the program is intended for kitchen specialisation.
The wider teaching approach at SMSH also incorporates presentations, assignments, internal assessments, seminars, guest lectures, and interaction with hospitality professionals.
A major component of the three-year DICA is its one-year internship.
The internship allows students to move from supervised culinary training into an operating hospitality workplace. During this period, students can encounter the routines, organisation, and working expectations of professional hotel operations.
This industry period is important because kitchen work involves more than individual cooking techniques. Professional kitchens require students to work within schedules, assigned responsibilities, production routines, and coordinated teams.
Silver Mountain's broader internship activities include opportunities within Nepal and internationally. The institution also uses industrial visits and hospitality-industry interaction as parts of its practical teaching approach.
For DICA students, the one-year internship forms an integral part of the course rather than a short supplementary activity.
DICA students study within the culinary and hospitality facilities of Silver Mountain School of Hotel Management, which was established in 2002 in Lainchaur, Kathmandu.
Facilities relevant to practical culinary study include:
The Silver Mountain Training Hotel contains nine accommodation units, two restaurants, a bar, and a rooftop beer garden. It operates with paying guests and is used for practical hospitality training.
For DICA students, the kitchens remain the most directly relevant facilities. The restaurant and training-hotel operations also place culinary work alongside food service and other hospitality activities.
Silver Mountain distinguishes DICA from BHM by the area each program emphasises.
BHM is designed to prepare students for management responsibilities across different hotel departments, while DICA concentrates on culinary education and kitchen specialisation.
This distinction is useful for students deciding whether they want broad hotel-management study or a course centred more directly on food production and professional kitchen work.
DICA is identified as a pathway leading toward BHM study. Students completing the course also have the option to continue their education at a college or university.
Students considering further hospitality study can separately review the BA in International Hospitality and Tourism Management (BHM).
The three-year DICA is different from Silver Mountain's shorter one-year culinary training.
DICA combines practical culinary knowledge with a one-year internship and provides an option for further academic progression. The shorter one-year culinary program is identified as a separate culinary course with an American Hospitality Academy certificate.
The distinction is therefore not simply a difference in course length.
DICA is the longer route, with:
The one-year culinary program is a shorter professional training route.
Students comparing these programs should therefore consider whether they want shorter skills training or a longer culinary course that incorporates internship experience and further-study possibilities.
Although kitchen specialisation is the main purpose of DICA, students study within a wider hospitality school.
Silver Mountain regularly uses guest lectures and seminars, and its faculty members combine academic qualifications with practical experience in their respective teaching areas. Industrial visits also form part of the institution's broader approach to hospitality education.
The library provides books, recipes, magazines, and journals that can support culinary study outside practical sessions.
This combination allows students to work with practical cooking while also taking part in academic activities and industry exposure connected with hospitality education.
DICA may be relevant to students who have completed SEE and want to concentrate on culinary arts through a longer practical program.
It is particularly aligned with students who prefer:
The program's three-year length and one-year internship make it substantially different from a short culinary training course.
DICA is the Higher Diploma in International Culinary Arts offered at Silver Mountain School of Hotel Management. It focuses on culinary skills, advanced techniques, international cuisines, and kitchen specialisation.
Duration: The DICA program runs for three years.
Eligibility: Applicants must have completed SEE.
Yes. The three-year DICA includes a one-year hotel internship.
The course is primarily focused on culinary arts and prepares students for kitchen specialisation. It differs from BHM, which covers management responsibilities across multiple hotel departments.
Yes. DICA is identified as a pathway toward BHM study, and students also have the option to continue their education at a college or university.
Silver Mountain has an International Culinary Arts Kitchen and BHM Kitchen, along with restaurants, food and beverage facilities, a library, and the Silver Mountain Training Hotel.
No. DICA is a three-year program that includes a one-year internship and an academic progression option. The one-year culinary program is a shorter course associated with an AHA certificate.
