Restaurants Licensing/Certification

Restaurant Industry: Licensing and Certification

General Business License
Restaurant Industry: Training and Continuing Education

Stepping up to a challenge usually is no problem for professionals in the restaurant industry. In many ways, they do it every day - whether serving as a cook on the line, a bartender faced with dozens of thirsty patrons, a manager addressing a customer's concerns, or a wait staff member serving a 30-top. For some, these pressure-cooker situations stir up a hunger for an even greater task: overseeing and even owning a business. Operating a successful restaurant, bar or catering service does present some potential hurdles. However, with the proper licensing and certification, professionals eyeing such career advancement come to the table with a full plate of potential.

General Business License^⇑: A business license allows prospective restaurateurs to conduct business within a particular location. Without one, the local government can fine or even close the operation. Requirements vary by location, but, in most instances, the restaurant entrepreneur will need to obtain a business license from the state, county and city. The United States Small Business Administration provides in-depth information and links regarding obtaining a business license. Applicants also should check with their local and state Chamber or Department of Commerce for specific regulations.
A business license allows the aspiring food service to officially establish their business, on paper at least. This represents one step on the way to setting up a corporate and tax structure, as well as the brick and mortar operation.

www.sba.gov.

Certified Personal Chef: This certificate applies to those food professionals who purchase, prepare, cook and serve meals to specific individual clients - caterers, hired home-cooks, etc. Offered by several trade associations such as the U.S. Personal Chef Association and The American Culinary Federation, the Personal Chef Certificate focuses on menu planning and development, marketing, financial management, and operation-based decision for a private business. In most cases, applicants must possess some experience as a cook and at least one year's time as a Personal Chef. Those who apply for the title CPC must take an exam and demonstrate superior understanding of food safety, sanitation, nutrition and more. Most certificate providers require renewal at least every five years. In addition, CPC holders usually are required to accumulate a certain number of hours of continuing education within those five years and have a current ServeSafe certificate or CRFA-Approved Food Safety Training Certificate in Canada.

U.S. Certified Chef Association - http://www.uspca.com/cpc.html.

The American Culinary Federation - www.acfcfc.org.

The American Culinary Federation Certifications

• Certified Executive Chef: This credential indicates the holder understands current nutrition standards as well as government food safety and sanitation regulations. Moreover, the holder is capable of culinary supervisory management. The certificate applicant must have at least three years of Chef de Cuisine or Executive Sous Chef experience. In addition, the professional needs a high school diploma or GED and should have 150 continuing education hours.
  The CEC applicant is required to take a 3 hour exam in which they must prepare and exhibit several courses, each finished to industry standards. For the most part, the same regulations apply for those pursuing a Certified Executive Pastry Chef title. The ACFC requires holders of all certificates to renew once every five years.
  Other industry groups and trade schools offer these same certificates through similar online and on-campus courses.
• Certified Master Chef (CMC): According to the ACFC, CMC level represents the highest and most demanding level of professional achievement. The ACFC only issues the credential after the candidate has passed a rigorous eight-day test of culinary skills and knowledge. The certificate indicates the holder touts the skills to perform culinary art to the very highest standards. CMCs possess years of on-the-job cooking expertise, as well as extensive education in advanced-level courses, externships and/or culinary competitions.

ServSafe Certificates

• ServSafe Food Protection Manager Certification: This credential, which restaurant professionals may obtain by passing a specific course, covers sanitation (including personal hygiene, food contamination, and food borne illnesses), the flow of food in the operation (cross contamination, time and temperature control, storage, receiving, cooling and reheating, and preparation and serving of foodstuffs), and how to maintain sanitary facilities and properly manage pests. The Food Protection Manager Certification shows that the holder has met the American National Standards Institute's (ANSI) standards for save food handling. It also ensures the restaurant professional knows how to protect the customers, their food, and employees from unnecessary illness, contamination, and damage to your reputation.
• ServSafe Fundamentals of Responsible Alcohol Service Certification: ServSafe offers courses for this credential. The training includes checking for false identification, the laws and your responsibilities as an individual or establishment that serves alcohol, and methods of determining intoxication for responsible alcohol service.

ServSafe offers a second level of training for both their Food Protection Manager Certification and Fundamentals of Responsible Alcohol Service Certification. An instructor certification in both cases, this allows you to teach the ServSafe courses to your own employees, ensuring their quality of training, as well as teaching the ServSafe courses to others in your area. At the instructor level, you can become an instructor, proctor, or have dual-role status. The instructor teaches the material, the proctor oversees testing and certification, and those with dual-role status can do both.

The National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation's (NRAEF)

This leading industry trade organization provides links to ServSafe's certification programs, as well as their own professional development certification programs.
www.nraef.org.

• (NRAEF) Foodservice Management Professional: This certificate distinguishes restaurant and foodservice professionals who exemplify high levels of knowledge, experience, leadership and professionalism. The examination to become a Foodservice Management Professional covers the latest FDA Food Code (also available at www.fda.gov), responsible alcohol service practices, and other areas of food safety and quality management.
• (NRAEF) ManageFirst Program: The goal of the ManageFirst Program is "to make better restaurant, hospitality, and foodservice managers [and] educators." The course follows a tailor made curriculum relevant to the applicant's learning needs (position in the field). The certificate program affords the opportunity to gain experience in other pertinent foodservice issues (human resources, cost controlling, and inventory management, for example).
  www.nraef.org/managefirst/.

Restaurant Industry: Training and Continuing Education [top]

For anyone trying to excel in the restaurant field, the proverbial "utensils in the kitchen drawer" come in the form of on-going training and continued culinary classes. When a food professional pursues the many available industry resources, he or she moves closer to taking their career from simmer to boil.

How to Pursue American Culinary Federation Certificates
This widely-recognized organization offers five levels of membership in local or national chapters. Moreover, it offers 14 different certifications, each indicating the holder's degree of culinary knowledge and skill. Subjects range from food safety to kitchen management to food preparation. The American Culinary Federation also offers its Seal of Approval on food and products, indicating they have met standards as high as the chefs and the professionals they certify. Below are several potential certificates for aspiring restaurant employees.

Member benefits aside from continuing education include networking opportunities, professional development, competitions and apprenticeships, as well as much more.

Among the organizations more widely-pursued certifications are Certified Executive Chef and Certified Master Chef titles. For these and ACF certifications, the applicant needs to know the course of action.
http://acfchefs.org/.

Certified Executive Chef

• Must provide documentation of three 30-hour courses in nutrition, food safety and sanitation, and Culinary Supervisory Management. (Courses must be taken within the last 5 years of application. If not, candidate must take eight-hour refresher course). Courses available at Chefcertification.com or an accredited school.
• High school diploma or GED and 150 continuing education hours.
• Must have three years experience as a Chef de Cuisine or Executive Sous Chef.
• Applicant will be required to take exam and receive at least 75 percent to pass.
• Using required ingredients, write a three-course menu.

Certified Master Chef

• Must show documentation of Certified Executive Chef.
• Letters from two Certified Master Chefs recommending applicant for the exam.
• Complete the following within the last five years: Obtain Current sanitation certificate or Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) certification; complete approved cost management course (classroom hours or credit transfer); complete approved management course; complete approved wine course or successful completion of a 30-hour wine course from an accredited institution. (The ACF's Certified Culinary Administrator (CCA) exam will be accepted as an equivalency for Management and Cost Management coursework).
• Take intensive eight-day exam.

Exam Preparation Training

The ACF Foundation does offer certification training courses and practice certification exams on its eCulinary Professional Development Institute link. This resource also provides information monthly quizzes for educational credit.
http://www.acfchefs.org/eculinary/.

Finding Training & Continuing Education Online

When it comes to tracking down training and continuing education opportunities in the restaurant field, culinary schools represent the most obvious starting point. A key online resource for professionals in the field and those looking to enter, culinaryschools.com provides a comprehensive list of cooking schools in the United States and abroad. The site outlines program descriptions and offers links to each school's Website. It also posts articles on culinary topics such as The Role of Education in a Cooking Career, Choosing the Right Cooking School and Scholarship Information. Other sites devoted to highlighting training and continuing education venues include: allculinaryschools.com and culinaryed.com.

Resources for Keeping Up-To-Date on Trends & Techniques

If culinary school does not fit your needs or lifestyle, there still are plenty of opportunities for restaurant professionals to get the training and networking necessary for career advancement. Below is a list of various education avenues:

ServSAFE: Helping Define and uphold the standard for quality in the hospitality industry, ServSafe provides restaurant owners and employees with the most up-to-date training (and certification) in safe and hygienic food handling. The agency also focuses on the best environmental sanitation for a food preparation or storage facility. Possessing a ServSafe certification indicates the holder understands and adheres to the most modern government food regulations and preparation techniques.

Today, many state alcoholic beverage control groups now require proof of some sort of alcohol safe service training, and many state and local health departments require similar food safety training. ServSafe provides the texts, training, and testing around the United States for these courses. Certification in these programs does need renewal, which varies by state (usually at least every three years.)

The ServSafe Website contains all information on testing and training in areas throughout the U.S., as well as details on becoming an instructor, proctor, or obtaining dual-role status. There are also links to each state, detailing their requirements for certification and renewal, as well as links to their sites.
www.servsafe.com.

The National Association of Catering Executives (NACE): This industry group provides members with networking opportunities, a field-specific certification program, job boards, seminars, conferences, education and training opportunities. With some 43 local chapters across the U.S. and Canada, NACE also assists members in marketing, and promotion of their business. They have recently announced the Certified Professional Catering Executive (CPCE) program. CPCE certification covers seven core competencies including event management, marketing, and contracts and agreements.
www.nace.net.

The James Beard Foundation: This not-for-profit organization, named after celebrated chef and food writer James Beard, offers scholarships and continuing education courses for culinary professionals looking to turn up the temperature on their career. JBF job enhancement programs are designed to help those in the industry broaden their gastronomic expertise. Often partnering with other culinary institutes, JBF has offered such unique programs as Hamburger Heaven - focuses on the U.S. love of burgers, Becoming A Wine Expert - focuses on the essentials of wine tasting, and So You've Always Wanted To Be A Chef - focuses on the ins and outs of transforming cooking passion into a full-time job.

For those looking to start and staff their own restaurant, the Foundation offers a Directory of Fine Food and Beverage Professionals, newsletters, recipes and articles on culinary trends.
www.jamesbeard.org.

State Restaurant and Lodging Associations: Sometimes called a "Tourism and Lodging Association," these industry advocates often provide scholarship opportunities and continuing education programs for professionals in the food field.

A quick web search for "restaurant and lodging association" and the state's name usually will produce a link to the desired Website. Memberships to these individual groups tend to offer benefits such as group insurance, assistance with marketing and advertising, and intra- and interstate networking opportunities.

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