Certified Secondary Culinary Educator

Requirements

The requirements for applying for this certification level are listed below. Documentation of completed requirements and the Certified Secondary Culinary Educator application can be sent to the American Culinary Federation. In addition to the requirements listed below, you must provide documentation of three 30-hour courses in Nutrition, Food Safety and Sanitation, and Culinary Supervisory Management. If these courses were taken more than 5 years ago, you must take the 8-hour refresher courses. These courses are available at Chefcertification.com or any accredited school.

1. Minimum Job Experience: In the case of CSCE and CCE, teaching experience may be part-time or full-time. The applicant must have a minimum of 1200 contact (classroom) hours actually teaching in an accredited secondary or post-secondary institution. Hours should be documented by the respective school on official school letterhead.

   
   

2. Minimum Educational Requirements: Associate's degree plus a state-issued teaching certificate.

   
   Additional Education Requirements:

   
   The applicant must complete a minimum of 120 contact hours of college level or ACF approved courses in educational development. A minimum of eight hours must be in each of the following specific subject areas:

   
   
   • Curriculum Planning & Development (e.g. behavioral objectives, syllabi, lesson plans, etc.)
   • Evaluation & Testing (practical, written, and oral testing, etc.)
   • Teaching Methodology (kitchen laboratory, lecture and non-traditional methods, etc.)
   • Educational Psychology (learning styles, student motivation, etc.)
   
   

3. Classroom Demonstration Requirement:

   
   The applicant must submit a 45 to 60 minute video demonstrating teaching proficiency of the culinary arts in front of a live audience. The video should be submitted in VHS or CD-ROM formats only. The completed lesson plan, including assessment, must be submitted with the video. Using the ACF Culinary Competition Manual, Chapter 3, Contemporary Competition Guidelines as the minimum standards, the applicants must demonstrate the following competition category components in their video.

   
   
   • Category S/1: Vegetables: demonstrating all basic classical cuts producing a minimum of ½ cup of each designated cut. AND (choose only one of the following)
   • Category P/1: Hot/Warm Dessert: demonstrating hot/warm dessert of choice
   • Category P/2: Composed Cold Dessert: demonstrating cold dessert of choice
   • Category K/1: Game Hen, Chicken, or Duck: fabrication and preparation
   • Category K/2: Bone-In Pork Loin: fabrication and preparation
   • Category K/3: Bone-In Veal Loin or Rack: fabrication and preparation
   • Category K/4: Bone-In Lamb Loin or Rack: fabrication and preparation
   • Category K/5: Game Birds Pheasant, Quail, Squab, Partridge or Guinea Fowl: fabrication and preparation
   • Category K/6: Bone-In Game Venison or Antelope Loin or Rack: fabrication and preparation
   • Category K/7: Whole Rabbit: fabrication and preparation
   • Category K/8: Live Lobster: fabrication and preparation
   • Category K/9: Fish: fabrication and preparation of 2 to 2 ½ pound fish, round or flat.
   
   

4. Written Exam: The ACF approved written exams are administered by LaserGrade. The exams are composed of 100 questions which must be completed in one hour.



• No support materials other than pens, pencils, calculators are permitted.
• Seventy percent (70%) of correctly answered items represents a passing grade.



5. Practical Exam: Each level of ACF certification requires that the candidates be tested for practical skill proficiency. Practical exams for the CSCE level are 3-4 hours in length and can be taken at any ACF Approved Test Site or a Train the Trainer seminar. You must receive at least a 75% to pass.

   
   Same as either CWPC or CCC depending on the concentration of subjects taught.

   
   Practical Exam Guidelines:

   
   
   • Candidates are responsible for bringing all ingredients to the exam.
   • Sanitation skills will be monitored at all times for compliance with standard rules.
   • Candidates should inform evaluators 10 minutes before they begin plating foods for final preparation.
   • Sanitation infractions could lead to a failing grade.
   • Professional Uniform: All Candidates must wear white chef coat, white toque, black or black and white checkered pants, leather shoes or clogs and have a clean apron and side towels.
   • Candidates should submit a typed list of all items to be prepared to the evaluators prior to starting the exam.
   • Candidates should bring their own plates unless the test site has agreed to provide them.
   • Appropriate organization, safety, and sanitation skills contribute greatly to each candidate's success.

Recommended Study Materials: The ACF Foundation offers certification training courses and practice certification exams on its eCulinary Professional Development Institute. Courses contain study materials in all major subjects related to the ACF certification exams, including sanitation, nutrition, and supervisory management. To purchase books in preparation for the written and practical exams, visit Online Resources the following:

• Foundations of Education, 9th Ed., Ornstein: Houghton Mifflin
• Nutrition for Foodservice and Culinary Professionals, 6th Ed., Drummond, Brefere: John Wiley & Sons
• Food Safety Fundamentals: Essentials of Food Safety & Sanitation, McSwane, Rue, Linton, Williams: Prentice Hall
• Supervision in the Hospitality Industry: Applied Human Resources, 5th Ed., Miller, Walker, Drummond: John Wiley & Sons
• The Professional Pastry Chef: Fundamentals of Baking Pastry, 4th Ed., Friberg: John Wiley & Sons
• Escoffier: The Complete Guide to the Art of Modern Cookery, John Wiley & Sons