Nutrition & Foodservice Edge Magazine - March/April 2022 - 27

david.voelz@charter.net
My son is a senior in high school this year.
Like many students, he is exploring his college
options. Which college has the best program
for his major? Should he apply to the Honors
Programs if he's invited? Should he contact
the program chairs and speak with them? My
message to him is that putting yourself in
a position to take advantage of any offer or
situation is what that process is all about.
Pursuing certification is no different. Each
level of certification tells your employer and
your clients that you have a proven knowledge
base and skill set that has been vetted.
However, to have multiple certifications from
complementary organizations results in what
I have coached my son to do. It puts you in
a position to take advantage of a range of
opportunities that will present themselves when
you have put in the time and effort to be ready.
JOURNEY TO
CERTIFICATION
My personal certification journey started in a
country club. My general manager, thankfully,
pushed me to earn my first certification, CEC,
from the American Culinary Federation (ACF).
In country clubs, the standard for a successful
executive chef is the CEC (Certified Executive
Chef). Not only is this a selling point for you
as a chef, but it's also a badge of honor for
members of the country club. Country club
culture in general is about creating a product
that is a cut above all others, and that same
expectation is put on the staff. The CEC helps
distinguish the club and the chef.
I loved being a country club chef, especially in a
member-owned environment. The freedom that
exists there is fairly unmatched. You are free to
make the menus you want and the specials you
want. If you see a product on the market that
looks interesting, you order it! Make a special
with it and get instant feedback from your
members. If they like it, then there's a new dish
for your next menu. You have the freedom to
create events. I loved the wide-open arena of
doing a Chef's Table. Anything goes and the
members are willing to pay for it. Want to carve
ice for buffets? You can do that as a country
club chef.
I kept working on my certification journey
while at that country club. I added my CCA
(Certified Culinary Administrator) from
the ACF as well as my FMP (Foodservice
Management Professional) from the National
Restaurant Association (NRA). And with
every certification comes the commitment to
ongoing education. We're all constantly chasing
continuing education (CE) hours, but we also
know that we have to keep learning to stay
current in this rapidly-evolving industry.
ANCI LLARY BENEFITS OF
CERTIFICATION
One of the ancillary benefits of certification
is being involved in the organization(s) that
you're certified through. This affords you the
opportunity to network with other professionals
that have the same interests as you do. In my
opinion, the best benefit of this is discovering
the many different positions and jobs that
exist. I often find myself thinking, " Somebody
actually pays you to do that?! " But that's the
amazing thing about food service; there is
something out there for anyone who wants to
put in the work. For me, that revelation came in
learning about the existence of high-end senior
living.
A fellow chef had made a move to a mysterious
thing called a CCRC (continuing care
retirement community). He used foreign
phrases like " quality of life " and " home before
the kids go to bed. " At that time in my life,
these were things I was looking for. I quickly
started finding out all I could about this
magical place. Although I had spent some time
in health care earlier in my career, it was more
retail focused. So what I needed was to fill in
Continued on page 28
NUTRITION & FOODSERVICE EDGE | March-April 2022 27
David Voelz, CEC,
CWPC, CCA, WCEC,
CDM, CFPP, FMP,
FSWC is the Food
Service Director for
Holly Hill Hospital,
Raleigh, N.C. He is
Chair of the American
Culinary Federation's
National Certification
Commission, and
Chair of the Board
for the ACF RaleighDurham
Chef's
Association.
Nutrition & Foodservice Edge Magazine - March/April 2022

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