Personal Certified Chef™
Application | Requirements | Recommended
Study Materials
Application
Personal
Certified Chef Application
Please send application and documentation of completed requirements
to:
American Culinary Federation
180 Center Place Way
St. Augustine, FL 32095
In addition to the requirements listed below, 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.
- 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.
- 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.
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.
