ACF 2007 National Chapter of the Year!

The Colorado Chef's Association, a chapter of the American Culinary Federation, is an association of Chefs, Cooks, Baking and Pastry Professionals, Purveyors, Producers and other Culinary Professionals. We meet to share and promote our common interest of all things culinary.

Apprenticeship Program Overview

Overview of the Program

The ACF Colorado Chefs Association Apprenticeship Program is a two year program approved by the U.S. Department of Labor and the American Culinary Federation Education Institute (ACFEI). The classroom training consists of organized, structured, and regimented system of theoretical and practical application classes. Classes are held once a week at Metropolitan State College of Denver central campus. The apprenticeship program is governed by the ACF Colorado Chefs Association and is administered and facilitated by both the chapter and the Emily Griffith Opportunity School (EGOS). Selection of apprentices will be done on a completely nondiscriminatory basis with consideration of qualifications only.

Apprenticeship is one of the oldest methods of career training known to man. The first American Culinary Federation Apprenticeship Program was started in the 1970's by the Pittsburgh chapter. From one program in the seventies, we have grown to over 70 programs with over 2,000 culinary apprentices in training from coast to coast.

The apprenticeship program is designed to provide the accepted apprentice with all educational materials needed for the two year "earn while you learn" program, including a class uniform, textbooks, training log and forms for tracking your progress, all included in the tuition. Their Sponsoring House pays apprentices an hourly wage while the apprentice gains 4,000 hours of valuable hands-on experience under the direction of a qualified chef. Apprentices also receive 576 hours of related classroom instruction with 42 college credit hours, transferrable to any Colorado Communtiy College. The program is registered with the U.S. Department of Labor Bureau of Apprenticeship and Training, VIII-90936 (10/13/87), and operates under the supervision of the American Culinary Federation. This program is approved for veteran's benefits.

Benefits to an Apprentice

Paid to Learn:
Wages progress with knowledge learned.
Experience:
Two years documented work experience.
Education:
Education based on industry input including Sanitation, Management, and Nutrition.
Credit Transfer:
Colorado Community Colleges will accept up to 40 semester credit hours.

Purpose of the Program

The purpose of the American Culinary Federation Apprenticeship Program (ACFCCAP) is to provide a basic training and educational program for apprenticeship cooks.

This will be achieved through offering students the following opportunities:

Develop a personal sense of pride and professionalism necessary for success in the hospitality industry.
Achieve knowledge of the history, evolution and international diversity of the culinary arts.
Develop basic supervisory and management skills so that human and physical resources can be utilized efficiently.
Understand the principles of food identification and preparation.
Understand the basic principles of nutrition, dietetics and food and beverage composition.
Understand the requirements for proper sanitation in the food service industry.
Gain a proficient understanding in the use and maintenance of food service equipment.
Become acquainted with the organization of professional kitchens and bake shops and effectively practice basic and advanced skills in food preparation within those kitchens.
Develop a professional work ethic through a commitment to the ACFCC Culinary Apprenticeship Program.
Develop a personal philosophical base to build the ideals for the student's continuing career.

Curriculum

Objective:
The basic philosophy of the ACFCCAP is to expose the students to as much hands-on cooking and work experience as possible (4,000 hours) and augmenting the hands-on experience with at least 576 hour of theoretical application classes through EGOS. The goal of the program is to graduate students with a basic yet comprehensive education in the culinary arts, which will later enable the student to meet the growing needs of the food service industry.

Instructional Program

The instruction aspect has been designed to expose the student to every facet of the culinary arts and related subjects. All phases of the program must be completed in order to be eligible for graduation. The goal of the instructional schedule will be to ensure that every student progresses from basic to advanced subject matter. The program schedule is divided into four semester sequences over a two year span.

Mentoring Relationship

Each apprentice will be assigned a mentor. A member of the Apprenticeship Committee volunteers their time to check with the supervising chef and the apprentice at their sponsoring house once a year to see that logbooks, recipes, station rotation, school attendance, etc. are up to date and correctly completed by all parties.

For more information about the ACFCCA, or to register, please visit their website:

http://www.acfcoloradochefs.org/index.html