ACF accreditation

On day one of Garde Manger I looked at the Syllabus , I had purchased my text book and looked at some of the chapters. This is going to be an interesting class. I have had this desire to have the food I prepared be presentable. “No problem”, I thought with making the food pleasing to the palate. But it must be presented on the plate as well, after all the rim on the plate is the picture frame. No food should be touching the rim. This other chefs instructs us culinary students about plate presentation.

My peers in Garde Manger have given their presentations which I have enjoyed and learned some new things. Now my presentation was assigned for week fourteen- ACF Accreditation. WOW. I would have rather had Preserving the harvest or Smoking Competition. Something I am more familiar with. Being that I am a “country girl”, I grew up on a farm in Tennessee. My grandparents grew their on vegetables, we had fruit trees, I helped with the canning and preserving. That was real organic food that we had then, no pesticides. We also raised our own farm animals, chickens, cows and hogs, that we grain feed from the corn we harvested. We killed, (slaughtered) the hogs, cut, grinded the meat into hams, sausages, made our own lard. Cured and smoked hams and sausages in the smoke house during the winter months. If hogs were killed in the warm months it was for roasting or barbecueing right away. Some cuts of the meat was wrapped and frozen. We milked (by hand) the cows, churned the butter and had milk and buttermilk (non-pasteurized). This I am more knowledgeable. Not ACF Accreditation. In some previous classes I recall being advised by other classmates and instructors telling Culinary students to get involved, become members, and go to meetings. I procrastinated. I went online to gather information about the ACF Accreditation, that site is ACFCHEFS.ORG. It was established in 1929 (before I was born). It has over 20,000 members and many chapters and regions in America. ACF is the organization that certifies chefs. Once a chef passes both written and practical exams they become certified. This certification comes at a cost, not so much monetary as the time and effort involved in the preparation. Study, practical work, much practice and patience, and competition are parts of the process. Certified chefs are highly recognized in the industry. Some may not have attended a school but have the work experience and has a desire to become certified. They may apply for the exam, pay the fee, and take a 30-hour course in Sanitation, Nutrition and Supervisory Management. Recertifications are every 5 years. All previous work experience, educational, transcripts, diplomas are submitted as part of the pre-approval process. Letters from current or past employers documenting  the applicants experience must be submitted on business letterhead to the committee.  ACFCHEFS.org. This has been an interesting topic to research.