Become A Licensed Food Handler

Table Of Contents

• Introduction
• Foodborne illness and its causes
• Take care of your personal health and hygiene
• If you have time to lean, you have time to clean
• Handle food cleanly
• Keep food out of the temperature danger zone

Introduction

If you need a fresh start, a job in the food industry may be a good fit for you. There are many options – cooking, serving, bartending, even managing. When you’re starting out, many employers won’t need you to have experience. Many won’t mind if you have a criminal record. This guide will give you tips for succeeding in food careers. It will also prepare you to obtain your food handler license – the first step towards working as a chef, bartender, server, or manager!

My story

I got married during my freshman year of college. I went straight from my parents’ home to starting a new life as a married woman. I was never taught how to cook or run a household – mainly because I wasn’t really interested in learning. I had to constantly call my mother to ask her how to bake a potato or cook an egg.

I was also lucky to know several older women from church. They taught me how to cook without a recipe. Those were the best cooking lessons because I learned the skills and techniques that women have used in my culture for generations.

I became even more passionate about cooking when my husband, my parents, and my sister were diagnosed with Type II diabetes. Their diagnosis became my God-given purpose in life. I wanted to use food as medicine, to heal my family and show them how much I loved them.

Cooking shows and cookbooks taught me how to cook healthier. Culinary textbooks taught me how to write recipes. I found food substitutes that allowed me to create healthier versions of the heritage dishes my family loves.

I opened a catering company that makes healthy comfort food. I started writing a newspaper column about food and healthy living. I also teach classes about diabetes, healthy cooking, and food handler licensing. I never dreamed that I would ever have a career as a chef, food writer, and teacher!

I hope you will enjoy learning about the food industry. Culinary school is wonderful if you have the time and money, but most restaurants will train you on the job. If you are willing to work hard and humble enough to ask, most experts are happy to help learn. If you have a desire to learn, you can teach yourself almost anything. By the grace of God, you can create a better future for yourself. Others have done it, and you can do it, too!

This prepares you for your state’s food handler test.

Completing this guide will not give you your food handler license. However, it will prepare you to take your state’s food handler licensing test. Most states require anyone who works with food to take a class or pass a test on food safety, often for a small fee. The exact rules vary from state to state. Typically you have to get your food handler license within 30 days of getting hired and then renew it every year. Even if your state doesn’t require it, learning the material on this test will help your career in the food service industry.

Food handling is about safety.

Every restaurant is different, and every job in every restaurant is different. You may be mixing drinks, washing dishes, chopping onions, or working on a grill or fryer. No matter what type of restaurant you find yourself working in, they will all agree that food safety is the single most important requirement in that job. No matter how good your food or service is, if people get sick, the restaurant is closed. This test will prepare you for that most important part of your new career.