Certified Culinary Administrator®
Initial Application | Recommended Study Materials | Final Application
Requirements
- Minimum Job Experience: Three years as an
Executive Chef in charge of all culinary units in a food service
operation. Must have supervised at least five full-time people.
Experience must be within the past 10 years.
Employment
Documentation Forms
- Minimum Requirement: You must be a current
ACF certified CEC or CEPC to apply for this level.
- Minimum Educational Requirements: High
school diploma/GED plus 150 hours of continuing education. If you do not
have a high school diploma/GED, 250 hours of continuing education are
required. Hours earned for mandatory courses and/or refreshers are
included in the minimum CEH requirement.
In addition to the requirements
listed above, you must provide documentation of three 30-hour
courses—one in Nutrition, one in Food Safety and Sanitation, and
one in Supervisory Management. If these courses were taken more than
five years ago, an eight hour refresher course is required in each
topic. These courses are available at Chefcertification.com or any accredited
school. (ServSafe must be a documented 30-hour course to fulfill the
mandatory requirement. The 8- or 16-hour courses are only counted as a
refresher.)
Submit application and documentation of requirements to ACF for
approval by:
E-mail (preferred): certify@acfchefs.net
Fax: (904) 825-4758
Mail to: American Culinary Federation, Inc.
Certification Department
180 Center Place Way
St. Augustine, FL 32095
Approval
Once the candidate’s application is approved he or she will be
eligible to take the written and practical exams. Only after approval
may a candidate register for the written or practical exam.
Certification Examination
The purpose of the certification examination is to assess and
objectively measure the knowledge and skills of a candidate to determine
if they meet ACF standards.
- Written
Exam: ACF written exams are administered by Comira. The written exam fee is $75. An ACF
number is required at time of registration. To request an ACF
identification number contact certify@acfchefs.net prior to
registration. You can register for the exam by calling (800) 947-4228,
option 4, Mon.–Fri. 6 a.m.–5 p.m. Pacific time, Sat. 8
a.m.–noon Pacific time, or you can register 24/7 at the ACF/Comira Online Registration Site. Please
note that you must have a credit card to register online. Written exam
scores are valid for two years.
- Candidates have one hour to complete the 100 multiple choice
question exam.
- No support materials other than pens, pencils, and calculators are
permitted.
- A score of seventy percent (70%) or higher is required to pass.
- Written Narrative: Four hundred (400) word
or less, written narrative of your job duties and responsibilities.
Include such items as: number of operations, departments and/or people
you supervise, all major daily, monthly and yearly responsibilities, and
who you report to.
Upon successful completion of the written and practical exams, the
candidate should submit final application along with appropriate
documentation: written and practical exam passing forms and remaining
certification fee. Make sure all back-up documentation, copies only (no
originals) are included.
Recommended Study Materials
The ACF Education Foundation offers certification training courses
and practice certification exams on eCulinary.
Courses contain study materials in all major subjects related to the ACF
certification exams, including sanitation, nutrition, and supervisory
management.
The following books are suggested in preparation
for the written exam:
- Strategic Management and Business Policy,
9th Ed., Wheelen, Hunger: Prentice Hall BUY
- Entrepreneurial Finance, 4th Ed.,
Adelman, Marks: Prentice Hall BUY
- Fundamentals of Management, 6th
Ed., Robbins, De Cenzo: Prentice Hall BUY
- Principles of Food, Beverage, and Labor
Cost Controls, 8th Ed., Dittmer, Keefe: John Wiley & Sons BUY
- Foodservice Organizations: A Managerial
and Systems Approach, 6th Ed., Gregoire, Spears: Prentice Hall BUY
- Business Analysis with Microsoft Excel,
3rd Ed., Carlberg: Que Corporation BUY
- Microsoft Word 2002 Made Easy,
Layman, Hart: Prentice Hall BUY
