Personal Certified Chef™
Initial Application | Recommended Study Materials | Final Application
Requirements
- Minimum Job Experience: Three years as an
entry level culinarian plus one year as a full-time Personal Chef.
Experience must be within the past 10 years.
Employment
Documentation Forms
- Minimum Educational Requirements: High
school diploma/GED plus 50 hours of continuing education. If you do not
have a high school diploma/GED 150 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 Business 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 Examinations
The purpose of the certification examinations 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.
- Practical
Exam: All levels of ACF certification require candidates to be
tested for practical skill proficiency. The PCC Practical Exam is three
hours and can be taken at any ACF Approved test
site. A score of 75% or higher is required to pass. Practical exam
scores are valid for one year.
To help you prepare for the Practical Exam, review the Practical
Exam Candidate Manual.
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 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 references are suggested in
preparation for the written and practical exams:
- Nutrition for Foodservice and Culinary
Professionals, 6th Ed., Drummond, Brefere: John Wiley & Sons
BUY
- Food Safety Fundamentals: Essentials of
Food Safety & Sanitation, McSwane, Rue, Linton, Williams:
Prentice Hall BUY
- Culinary Fundamentals, ACF:
Prentice Hall BUY
- The Professional Personal Chef: The
Business of Doing Business as a Personal Chef, Wallace, Forte:
John Wiley & Sons BUY
- Escoffier: The Complete Guide to the Art
of Modern Cookery, John Wiley & Sons BUY
- The
American Personal & Private Chef Association, training courses
and textbooks available.
