CESA confirms plans to expand training initiative
The recent Professional Kitchen Show saw the latest cohort of CFSP graduates receive their awards at a ceremony held on the CESA stand. John Whitehouse, chair of CESA, praised their hard efforts, which have brought the total number of foodservice professionals who have attained CFSP accreditation in the UK up to 557.
CFSP (Certified Food Service Professional) is run by CESA and is accredited by the University of West London. Its objective is to support, develop and increase levels of knowledge within the industry by giving foodservice professionals a complete understanding of how catering businesses and commercial kitchens work.
George Wicks of Commercial Catering Spares was one of the latest graduates. “The advantages are you get a big overview of everything,” he says. “You get to see how everyone else works – it’s a real eye opener.”
Lawrence Hughes of Falcon Foodservice Equipment also picked up his award. “CFSP gives a really good understanding of the whole industry,” he says. “I would absolutely recommend it. The rest of our sales team will be going through it, as well as our marketing team and some of our senior managers.”
Before handing out the awards, Whitehouse confirmed that CESA is continuing to expand the CFSP portfolio. This follows the recent launches of CFSP Enhance, which updates graduates with the latest research and legislation, and PFS (Principles of Food Service), which is an introductory course for newcomers to the foodservice industry.
“CFSP and its sister initiatives are raising the professionalism and skills of the industry, at a time when we are faced with a huge skills shortage,” he said. “The very positive reaction from graduates shows that it delivers in terms of personal development, too.”
The picture shows the CFSP graduates with John Whitehouse. They are, from left to right:
Kaj Sandom, Williams Refrigeration
George Wicks, Commercial Catering Spares
Richard Brooks, Rational UK Ltd
Haydon Hendry, Williams Refrigeration
Steve Hannon, Falcon Foodservice Equipment
Aaron Lumsdon, Rational UK Ltd
Paul Bayer, Falcon Foodservice Equipment
Andy Bridgewater, Fermod Ltd
Gary Barnabas
John Whitehouse, CESA Chairman
Greg Archer, Contiquip Ltd
Steve Brough, Fermod Ltd
Lawrence Hughes, Falcon Foodservice Equipment
The next CFSP seminar and exam will be held on the 20th and 21st of June at SMEG UK in Abingdon. For information on CFSP courses, and on CFSP Enhance seminars, visit www.CFSP.org.uk or contact CESA.