American Culinary Federation

The American Culinary Federation (ACF) was founded in 1929 to represent and advocate for professional chefs in North America. Currently, it has over 14,000 members in more than 170 chapters around the globe. The ACF is a leader in providing apprenticeships, educational resources, training, competitions, and accreditations to enhance the careers of chefs and future chefs. The ACF also operates the world’s most comprehensive culinary certification program and is considered the premier certifying body for culinary professionals in the United States.

The ACF Certification program provides 15 certification levels for career advancement. Cooks and chefs can achieve certification based on their experience, education, and completion of the certifying exams. There are five main groups of certificates for ACF students: the culinary/savory certifications, the pastry certifications, the student certifications, the educator certifications, and the military certifications.

The culinary/savory certification levels are available for all types of cooks. They include the designations of Certified Fundamentals Cook (CFC), Certified Culinarian (CC), Certified Sous Chef (CSC), Certified Chef de Cuisine (CCC), Certified Executive Chef (CEC), and Certified Master Chef (CMC).

The three first savory certification levels are the CFC, CC, and CSC designations, with varying education and experience requirements. The CFC designation, for example, demands no experience, only a high school diploma or 75 continuing education hours (CEH). Applicants must have completed two courses through ACF-approved providers or any academic institution: a 15-hour course in nutrition and a 15-hour course in food safety and sanitation. Additionally, they must take the written and performance exam and pay the application fee.

Depending on experience and education, CFC-certified individuals may be able to upgrade to the CC designation, which requires a high school diploma or 100 CEHs plus 2 years of entry-level culinarian experience; an American Culinary Federation Education Foundation (ACFEF) culinary arts program certificate of one year with an additional year of entry-level culinarian experience; an associate’s degree in culinary arts; or an ACFEF apprenticeship program certificate. Additionally, CC applicants must have taken three 30-hour courses in food safety and sanitation, nutrition, and supervisory management.

The CSC program requires that all candidates have at least 2 years of experience supervising a shift or food station within the past 10 years. Moreover, applicants must have a high school diploma or 150 CEHs plus 5 years of entry-level experience; an ACFEF culinary arts program certificate with 4 years of experience; an associate’s degree in culinary arts with 3 years of experience; or an ACFEF apprenticeship program certificate with 4,000 hours of on-the-job training. The mandatory course requirements for obtaining the CSC designation are identical to the CC designation.

The ACFEF apprenticeship program provides students with a combination of classroom instruction and on-the-job training. It requires no previous experience to enroll, and upon successful completion apprentices become eligible for an ACF certification like the three savory certification programs mentioned. Apprentices in the ACFEF program receive their education via an educational institution and work full-time with a qualified supervising chef. Some benefits of becoming an ACFEF apprentice include participating in an earning-while-learning program, receiving mentorship from professional chefs, developing culinary skills, and learning several baking and cooking skills by rotation through every kitchen station.

Benefits of Children in Kitchen

Parents often look for better and healthier ways to teach, converse, and connect with their children. While schools may provide ample learning opportunities for children, their home life is also a great opportunity for learning.

The family kitchen is often the center and heart of a home. It is a place for conversations with spouses and a coloring station for children. It is also where meals are created. Children who are more involved in the kitchen (with parent supervision, of course) can reap significant benefits in terms of learning, nutrition, and social and emotional wellness.

Children who learn by doing at a younger age are more likely to retain knowledge and apply it in their everyday lives. Handling food and kitchen tools engages all of their senses during food preparation, making the experience more memorable and relatively easy to duplicate. They can also enhance their language development by describing how certain ingredients feel, smell, and taste. They learn about how food melts, freezes, and burn and also recognize changes in color, form, and texture.

Kitchen activities also aid in the physical development of children. They can improve their motor and hand-eye coordination by chopping, squeezing, pouring, and spreading ingredients. They can also learn about safety by starting with the most manageable tasks and progressing to more complex jobs.

When presented with a recipe, children can learn how to follow directions and understand the consequences of making mistakes. They improve their comprehension and reading skills and gain practical mathematical skills by weighing ingredients, examining quantities, and adjusting fractions. Furthermore, parents who encourage their children to create recipes promote creativity and improve their problem-solving skills.

Children who have some involvement in making their food are also more willing to accept and eat it. When parents spend time with their children in the kitchen, they can discuss food choices and how they impact their health. In addition, children can learn the importance of eating a balanced meal and the right portion size for optimal growth.

Preparing food using fresh ingredients instills a sense of ownership. As they grow older, children who prepare and cook their meals with their parents can distinguish between healthy ingredients and nutritionally void foods. They develop a mature palate and often prefer to spend time and effort preparing home-cooked meals over processed foods. When they are older, they are more likely to try different cuisines from other cultures because they had similar, positive experiences when they were younger.

Time spent cooking in the kitchen can also develop into a family bonding activity to improve children’s social and emotional wellness as they become adolescents and young adults. They gain a life skill that will help them live independently and share responsibilities with their peers as they grow older.

Children who prepare food from start to finish also develop a sense of accomplishment, improving their confidence and self-worth. Contributing to their family can provide a sense of pride for children, knowing that other family members, especially their parents, welcome, support, and recognize their efforts.

Home Meal Kits Offer Benefits

For the novice chef, cooking at home can be a daunting process. There’s choosing a dish to prepare, shopping, measuring, preparing, and cleaning up. Even for experienced chefs, it is easy to fall into a cooking rut, preparing the same line-up of meals week after week.

A meal kit subscription service can be an effective way to learn new cooking techniques, and introduce a wider variety of dishes into rotation. Because many meal kits offer trials, even just a few weeks can be sufficient to motivate home chefs to prepare fresh, delicious meals.

One benefit of a meal kit is a reduction in kitchen waste. Imagine you’ve found a dish in a cookbook and have bought all the ingredients at the supermarket. The recipe calls for a spring onion, which you can only buy in a large bunch. After making your meal, the remaining spring onions wilt in the refrigerator’s produce drawer, only to be thrown out a few weeks later. Other recipes call for a new spice or condiment that you know you are unlikely to use again before its expiration date.

A home meal kit pre-measures ingredients and sends just the amount you will need, eliminating unused leftovers. This saves on immediate food waste and reduces the amount of food in landfills. A 2017 study estimated that meal kits reduce food waste by 27 percent compared to meals constructed through ingredients you buy directly at the grocery store. That's good for the environment and your refrigerator.

Meal kits also educate chefs about appropriate portion sizes. Home chefs must guess how much to serve each person, and Americans typically overestimate, leading to overeating and/or food waste. With portion-ready meal kits, plating becomes simple, and each contains nutritional information. Particularly for chefs interested in mastering portion control, meal kits are a handy resource.

Due to their increasing popularity, meal kits offer something for nearly everyone. Basic meal kits, such as Blue Apron or Hello Fresh, provide creative recipes at an accessible price point, with many options for choosing frequency and number of servings. If organic ingredients are a priority, Sun Basket sources organic produce, while vegans can choose Purple Carrot for delicious and hearty plant-based meals.

Whatever meal option they chose, chefs can simplify the process of preparing health-conscious meals. Unlike takeout, which typically contains large quantities of salt and other flavor enhancers, meal kits allow for total control of ingredients. Most meal kits have been created with input from expert nutritionists, prioritizing flavor from real, whole food ingredients.

In addition to saving on food waste and time, meal kits can provide substantial cost savings. While the per meal cost may appear high at first glance, chefs must consider the costs associated with shopping and wasting leftover ingredients. Further, meal kits help chefs of all skill levels expand their culinary horizons. Whether it is using an unusual spice or experimenting with a new technique, chefs benefit from clear, easy-to-follow instructions. When they find a recipe they like, they can replicate it on their own.

NRA KLW Promotes Healthy Menus

The largest foodservice trade organization globally, the National Restaurant Association promotes the interests of the more than 15 million Americans who work in the restaurant industry. The organization provides resources to help restaurants implement accurate labeling on menu items, including nutritional information complying with menu labeling regulations.

The National Restaurant Association works closely with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to educate operators about labeling requirements for menu items, foods on display, and food in self-serve areas. To further support restaurant owners in creating balanced, nutritious options for the whole family, the National Restaurant Association operates the Kids LiveWell (KLW) initiative. Launched in 2011, the campaign supports the restaurant industry in providing healthy options for parents and children dining out.

Restaurants that voluntarily participate in Kids LiveWell commit to offering healthy menu items for children, including options such as fruits and vegetables, lean proteins, and whole grains. Additionally, Kids LiveWell restaurants aim to reduce the number of high fat and sugar items on their children’s menus.

Restaurants who join the program commit to offering meals, sides, and beverages that meet nutrition criteria established by registered dietitians who collaborate with consumer advocates and public health officials. The program incentivizes restaurants to promote healthier choices for children and parents, creating menu options that meet science-backed limits or calories, sugar, fat, and sodium.

Using current nutrition science outlined in the Children’sFood & Beverage Advertising Initiative (CFBAI), Kids Live Well updated its requirements effective January 1, 2022. The new guidelines require menu items to meet a maximum threshold of 15 grams of added sugar for meals and five grams of added sugar for side dishes, and sodium limits of 700 milligrams for main dishes and 225 milligrams for sides. No artificial trans fats are allowed in Kids Livewell menu items.

In addition, the guidelines align with the recommendation for children to consume reduced-fat dairy products, requiring menu items to contain only one percent or no-fat dairy varieties. Fried foods are allowed as designated LiveWell menu items only if they meet all nutritional criteria.

Kids LiveWell also outlines requirements for beverages included in children’s menus. Default beverage choices must be water, either flavored or sparkling without added artificial sweeteners, flavored or unflavored non-fat or low-fat milk (dairy or non-dairy), or 100 percent fruit or vegetable juice. Any juice or milk beverage must have a maximum serving size of eight ounces.

To receive a Kids LiveWell designation, restaurants must offer two certified KLW meals and two sides options, in addition to adhering to the default beverage policy. The benefits to restaurants are multi-fold. First, accredited restaurants are included in the Kids LiveWell directory, which parents can use to seek healthy options in their local area.

Participating restaurants receive access to the KLW social media toolkit, which provides logos on menus, social media, and printed advertisements. In addition to receiving publicity from the National Restaurant Association, restaurants can share insights and experiences with other operators committed to providing healthier menu options for children. For more information about Kids LiveWell criteria or to browse participating restaurants, visit http://restaurant.org.