CERTIFY
I s the public aware of the existing certifications for cooks, chefs, and all food service establishments? New York City has enacted a grading program for foodservice establishments, which entails a scale from A-F depending on the establishment’s operation services, sanitary conditions, and equipment deficiencies. Foodservice operations with an “F” grade from a health inspector requires a reinspection, forcing the operation to take corrective action or face potential fines or even a permanent shut-down. This
nice and very similar in price, size, and offerings. Perhaps the “D” rated restaurant has better food, better service, and more offerings, but the less informed customer will choose the higher-rated restaurant since they lack any other reference to judge by. I was once inmy final interviewing stage for the executive chef position at Saint Andrew’s Golf Club, the country’s oldest-running golf course, in Westchester, N.Y. The president of the club asked me if I was a certified chef.
Ouch—my heart sank, and I felt I made a career error not getting certified. Here I was with a lifetime opportunity, and I was not certified. My response was an honest, “No, Sir,” followed by a commitment to become certified. Over the 10 years in this job, I earned most of the certifications available from the ACF, the NRA, and the Culinary Institute of America, the Pro-Chef levels I, II, and III. As a certified lead Approved Culinary Evaluator (ACE-2), I have had the pleasure to participate in and judge the practical exams for certifications. I built a commercial kitchen in my garage at home to bring candidates to practice, and I was practicing to take the Master Chef Exam.
public information may influence decisions made by consumers on where to dine, resulting in an inherent reason to maintain a clean, well-run, and profitable food operation. The certification process for a sought-after title of Certified Executive Chef (CEC) includes sanitation, and many CEC’s have passed the ServSafe exam administered by the National Restaurant Association (NRA). The American Culinary Federation (ACF) is the governing body in place to administer the certification process. There are entry-level culinary certifications, all the way up to Certified Culinary Administrator (CCA). The certifications include a separate designation for baking and pastry.
Chef Patrick Wilson
Few chefs have learned the same way. The ACF has set the standard for their program, the Pro-Chef Program. I am honored to say I took and passed all three levels of the program. All chefs learn differently, as they have different strengths and culinary interests. If the publicwere educated about these training programs, would they demand chefs be better trained and educated, with a higher level of culinary skills? The ACF has established the standards, requirements and progression to become certified. Certified executive chefs must display fundamental knowledge about cooking, similar to other professions’ requirements. The successful chef ’s resulting accomplishments can be part of the operations marketing plan, along with a great DOH grade. n
These certifications help customers decide on where to dine. Faced with the knowledge of two similar foodservice operations with Department of Health grades of an “A” and “D,” consumers are likely to choose option “A.” Let’s look at the certification of the chef from a customer’s perspective. Letter grades are issued to all food outlets and are mandated to be posted where the public can see them. Consider a couple from out of town who wants to dine in Little Italy, but they are not familiar with the area’s restaurants. They find themselves looking into two side-by-side restaurants’ windows, and both have the inspection grades posted where customers can easily view them. One restaurant has an “A” grade, and the other has a “D” grade. Both restaurants are very
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