American Culinary Federation
The American Culinary Federation (ACF) has been in existence since 1929, serving chefs and cooks by promoting the professionalism of the culinary industry and furthering culinary education. It is comprised of over 22,000 members across the U.S. The ACFEFAC (American Culinary Federation Education Foundation Accrediting Commission) accredits both post-secondary and secondary institutions that train students in the culinary arts.
Goals of the American Culinary FederationThe ACFEFAC works to sustain quality standards in culinary arts education. It articulates and establishes standards for its member institutions; fosters accountability; rewards professionalism; and encourages the use of the most current practices in culinary education. Accreditation is an important signal to the public and to potential students that an institution is credible and rises to a certain level of educational quality. The Accrediting Commission of the ACF's Educational Foundation is recognized by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA).
Scope of AccreditationThe post-secondary programs covered by the ACFEFAC offer associate's degrees, certificates, and diplomas. Culinary arts programs accredited by the ACFEFAC must be more than 1,000 hours in length and be offered by an authorized postsecondary institution. Institutions conduct self-studies before being evaluated by ACFEFAC evaluators during a site visit.
Educational Assurance ProgramThe ACF's Educational Foundation also offers an "educational assurance" program to organizations that offer non-degree programs of less than 1,000 hours in length. This is not to be confused with accreditation; however, it is designed to provide some assessment of the educational quality of programs such as demonstration classes, military training programs, online programs, and some international programs. This program uses documents related to curriculum, teaching methods, institutional mission, and faculty profiles, as well as a site visit, in order to determine if an institution can be "educationally assured" by ACFEF. Although it provides a sense of educational quality, it is not the same as the formal accreditation offered by the ACFEF's Accrediting Commission.
Article ReferencesAmerican Culinary Federation
Florida Culinary Institute
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Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts - Atlanta
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