American Culinary Federation (ACF)

Certified Sous Chef (CSC)

Credential: Certified Sous Chef (CSC)  In-Demand resource  GI Bill resource  NCCA resource
Credentialing Agency: American Culinary Federation (ACF)

Renewal Period: 5 years

Certified Sous Chef (CSC) is recommended for chefs who supervise shifts or stations in a foodservice operation. Equivalent job titles are sous chef, banquet chef, grade manager, first cook, a.m. sous chef and p.m. sous chef. All candidates must pass a written exam. All levels of ACF certification require candidates to be tested for practical skill proficiency. The Certified Sous Chef practical exam can be taken at any ACF Approved test site. Practical exam scores are valid for one year.

More information can be found on the certifying agency's website.

Certified Sous Chef (CSC)

MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS

 

Eligibility Requirements (View Details)

  • Credential Prerequisite
  • Experience: 5 years
  • Education: Semester/Course Hours
  • Training
  • Membership
  • Other
  • Fee

Note: This credential may have multiple options for becoming eligible. Listed are the minimum requirements based on the minimum degree required. To view other options, see the Eligibility tab.

Exam Requirements (View Details)

  • Exam
  • Written Exam
  • Oral Exam
  • Practical Exam
  • Performance Assessment

RECERTIFICATION SUMMARY

Renewal Period: 5 years

  • Continuing Education
  • Exam
  • Continuing Education OR Exam
  • Fee
  • Other

AGENCY CONTACT INFORMATION

American Culinary Federation (ACF)

180 Center Place Way
St. Augustine, FL  32095

Phone: (904) 824-4468

Fax: (904) 940-0741
Email: acf@acfchefs.net

Education/Training and/or Experience REQUIREMENTS

Option 1:

  • High School Diploma/GED plus 50 Continuing Education Hours or 150 Continuing Education Hours and five years as an entry level culinarian. Experience must be within the past 10 years. Candidates must document education through formal or continuing educational hours.
  • You must complete three mandatory courses 30 hours each:
    • Culinary Nutrition
    • Food Safety and Sanitation
    • Culinary Supervisory Management

Option 2:

  • Associate's degree in culinary arts with three years of experience as an entry-level culinarian.
  • You must complete three mandatory courses 30 hours each:
    • Culinary Nutrition
    • Food Safety and Sanitation
    • Culinary Supervisory Management

Option 3:

  • Successful completion of an ACFF Apprenticeship Program with a min. 4,000 hours on the job training.
  • You must complete three mandatory courses 30 hours each:
    • Culinary Nutrition
    • Food Safety and Sanitation
    • Culinary Supervisory Management
Note: Hours earned for mandatory courses and/or refreshers are included in the minimum CEH requirement.

Written Exam

  • Food, Equipment and Food Products (44%)
  • Team Management (18%)
  • Safety and Sanitation (20%)
  • Finance (14%)
  • Ethics, Professional and Legal Issues (4%)

Practical Exam

  • Safety & Sanitation Skills: Ability to work within established guidelines for food safety and sanitation at all times.
  • Organizational Skills:
    • Mise en Place/Work Habits
    • Utilization of Ingredients & Use of Allotted Time
  • Craftsmanship Skills:
    • Cooking Skills and Culinary Techniques
    • Serving & Portion Size
  • Finished Product Skills:
    • Flavor & Texture
    • Presentation and Nutritional Balance

Testing Information

Testing for this credential is handled by PSI. The test centers are located in the U.S.

To find out more, use the following links on the PSI website:

For more information on the American Culinary Federation (ACF) testing process, visit the agency website.

RECERTIFICATION

Certified Sous Chef (CSC)

Renewal Period: 5 years

The Certified Sous Chef (CSC) credential has the following recertification information:

  • CSC recertification is required every 3 years. CSC requires meeting specific requirements in its CEU guidelines; see the agency website for details.

Additional considerations for the Certified Sous Chef (CSC) include:

  • Candidate must document the completion of an 8-hour refresher course for any one or all of the courses, if mandatory courses were taken more than five years prior to the date of initial certification or renewal.

In Demand

This certification is considered in demand

COOL Bucks

See your installation Education Service Officer for credential exam information and coordinating instructions.

COOL Summary

Click to go to the COOL Summary page for this MOC.

COOL Summary

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COOL Summary

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Some

Credential is related to some tasks associated with the duties of the military occupation (at least one critical task but less than 80%)

Most

Credential is directly related to most of the major duties associated with the military occupation (at least 80%)

Other

Credential is related to this military occupation, but is more advanced or specialized and therefore will likely require additional education, training, or experience

Promotion Points

This certification has been approved for promotion points.

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Star

Star credentials are MOS enhancing, as designated by the Proponent. MOS enhancing credentials are directly related to an MOS or ASI, are taught either partially or completely as part of a Program of Instruction (POI), and improves the MOS technical proficiency.

Skill Level

The Skill Level reflects the level, based on MOS training and/or experience, the Soldier should be the most prepared to successfully earn the credential. See the Table Legend for details about each level.

Proponent Funded

Indicates the credential may have funding through the MOS proponent. Some proponents offer credentialing opportunities in conjunction with military training and/or as part of MOS development beyond the training base.

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Navy Bucks

Credential voucher or reimbursement for credential exam, re-certification, or maintenance fee has been approved for payment through the Navy's Credential Program Office. To get a voucher request form, click 'Complete Voucher and Apply' at the top of any page.

CG Bucks

Coming Soon - Coast Guard policy regarding service member eligibility requirements to participate in the Voluntary Credentialing Program is under review with a projected release date of first quarter FY20.

Early Career

1-3 years experience; Enlisted E1 through E4

Mid Career

4-10 years experience; Enlisted E5 through E6

Late Career

10+ years experience; Enlisted E7 and Above

Early Career

1-3 years experience; Enlisted “A” School through E5

Mid Career

4-10 years experience; Enlisted E6 through E7

Late Career

10+ years experience; Enlisted E8 and Above

LaDR

This credential is recommended on the rating Learning and Development Roadmap (LaDR) for Sailors currently in the pay grade indicated on the icon, BUT MAY BE TAKEN BY SAILORS IN OTHER PAY GRADES.

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GI Bill®

Reimbursement for exam fees has been approved for payment through the GI Bill. Click for external link to GI Bill licensing and certification information.

Note: GI Bill approval data is updated quarterly. For the latest information, visit the WEAMS Licenses/Certifications Search page. Make sure to select "Both" in the LAC Category Type drop-down before searching.

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ANSI

This credential has been accredited by ANSI. Click for external link to the ANSI web site.

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ICAC

This credential has been accredited by ICAC. Click for external link to the ICAC web site.

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ABSNC

This credential has been accredited by ABSNC. Click for external link to the ABSNC web site.

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NCCA

This credentialing program has been accredited by NCCA. Click for external link to the NCCA web site.

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IAS

This credential has been accredited by IAS. Click for external link to the IAS web site.

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Low

May be difficult to attain: minimum education requirement is a Bachelor's degree, and/or minimum experience is 10 or more years.

Note: In some cases “years of experience” refers to time actively on duty or while holding a certain occupation or prior certification and not always in consecutive calendar years. Additional years required for certain preliminary stages may not be included in this classification. For requirements measured in hours, 1080 hours was considered a year. For days, 365 days was considered a year. Please review all prerequisites and requirements for eligibility, and additional information for details.

Medium

Moderate ease of attainment: minimum education requirement = Associate's and/or prerequisite and/or minimum experience = more than 2 years and less than 10 years of experience.

Note: In some cases “years of experience” refers to time actively on duty or while holding a certain occupation or prior certification and not always in consecutive calendar years. Additional years required for certain preliminary stages may not be included in this classification. For requirements measured in hours, 1080 hours was considered a year. For days, 365 days was considered a year. Please review all prerequisites and requirements for eligibility, and additional information for details.

High

Highly attainable: mimum education requirement = HS or less and/or minimum experience = 2 years or less experience and no additional requirements.

Note: In some cases “years of experience” refers to time actively on duty or while holding a certain occupation or prior certification and not always in consecutive calendar years. Additional years required for certain preliminary stages may not be included in this classification. For requirements measured in hours, 1080 hours was considered a year. For days, 365 days was considered a year. Please review all prerequisites and requirements for eligibility, and additional information for details.

MOS is Military Occupational Specialty
ASI is Additional Skill Identifier
WOMOS is Warrant Officer Military Occupational Specialty

Army e-learning

State-of-the art Computer Based Training available for free to the Army Workforce. Click for more information.

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NKO e-learning

Credential preparation courses are provided at no cost through Navy e-Learning. Click for external link to the Navy Knowledge Online (NKO) web site, then select the “Navy e-Learning” link within the “Learning” tab to proceed to Navy e-Learning.

Bright Outlook – new job opportunities are very likely in the future for this job
Registered Apprenticeship
Click here for External link to: My Next Move for Veterans - Chefs and Head Cooks
Click here for External link to: My Next Move salary info for Chefs and Head Cooks
Click here for External link to: My Next Move for Veterans - Cooks, Restaurant
Click here for External link to: My Next Move salary info for Cooks, Restaurant
Click here for External link to: My Next Move for Veterans - First-Line Supervisors of Food Preparation and Serving Workers
Click here for External link to: My Next Move salary info for First-Line Supervisors of Food Preparation and Serving Workers
This is an official U.S. Navy website
Updated: October 16, 2019
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