Standardized testing, certification, for kitchen skills

[Hanzo.The.Razor]

[deleted by user]

[AndyG]

Originally Posted by Hanzo.The.Razor

By passing a standardized test, I could become a certified HVAC technician

nah lol

You could call yourself an HVAC tech but you wouldn't get a job just by passing a test Somebody would have to hire you and it takes a lot more than a standardized test. I am an HVAC tech, by the way.

[AndyG]

That's like saying you are a certified chef because you got a food handling cert.

[AndyG]

I just took it to heart because I have earned the HVAC tech job, not just by passing one test. I understand your point, but you crossed a line in my book

[adamm]

There are certifications for profesional from the Acf. Its not really cucumber per minute, its more what you know. The only think that would come close to the competion would be like a local bake off competion type thing.

[boar_d_laze]

The CIA's Certified Master Chef (CMC) and Certified Master Pastry Chef (CMPC) certifications are awarded only after just a wee bit of testing. As in 8 extremely difficult days covering everything. The testing is extremely difficult; dishes requested are unpredictable, and sometimes wacky; execution must be comme il faut; grading is rigorously picky, subjective and sometimes unfairly personal. Only extremely well qualified applicants are accepted for testing to begin with, and the pass rate for CMC is under 50%. Good luck Honzo!

The requirements for an entry-level job are different. If you've matriculated from a respected culinary school, you've demonstrated to prospective employers that you've already given several months to a year (or more!) of your life to making yourself totally unprepared for the underpaying, high-pressure, and abusive job you seek. If you haven't gone to cooking school but acquired skills on your own, all you need is a good line of BS and an employer with a sense of humor to enter the glamorous life that is a professional kitchen.

Write when you get work,
BDL

[kuan]

Let's get back on topic.

Yes, there are tests, but they're not really standardized. The ACF offers various levels of certification starting from CC (Certified Culinarian) to like Boar de Laze mentioned, CMC.

You can get your CC by finishing your AA at an ACF accredited culinary program. It's all uphill from there.

[kuan]

Originally Posted by Hanzo.The.Razor

Are there even competitions that focus on basic skills? Something one could win and point to and say, "Look, I know what I'm doing"?

Go to the ACF website and order the competition manuals. There are categories for poultry, fish, beef, etc. If you are a student I think there are culinary bowl contests, basic cuts, team hot food competition.

It's all about basic skills though isn't it? Blanching a vegetable is a basic skill, but not after you've cut it properly.

[foodpump]

You've touched a very raw nerve Hano....

Yes the ACF does have standardized tests, but the ACF is not a Gov't recognized body.

Cooking is a trade, and there are many Gov't recognized trades and some very strict and Gov't regulated tests for these trades. Plumbers, gasfitters, electricians, automotive mechanics, etc. etc.. You wouldn't trust an electrician to wire your house or a gasfitter to install a hot water heater without having his "ticket" would you? Sadly, cooking isn't one of these recognized trades, and there are no standard, national tests for cooking. Hence we have a plethora of private cooking schools, some very good, and some just an excuse to extract money from gullible students.

Cooking is more than just knife skills or speed. It requires a very thorough and deep understanding of cooking techniques and how to apply them, understanding and repect for ingredients and how best to use them; cooking demands multi tasking and good timing, demands team players, and demands fierce loyalty.