Underscoring that it is the restaurant industry’s leader in training and certification solutions, the National Restaurant Association (www.restaurant.org) celebrated a milestone this month by providing its one millionth training class and exam administration. The Association has contributed to the success of the nation’s nearly one million restaurants and 13 million employees through its ServSafe Food Safety, ServSafe Alcohol, ProStart curriculum, ManageFirst, and other programs for the last 25 years.

“Maintaining a properly trained staff is key to running a successful restaurant business, and the National Restaurant Association’s range of programs are the gold-standard for food safety, responsible alcohol service, and hospitality management,” says Dawn Sweeney, president and CEO of the National Restaurant Association. “Our ServSafe Food Safety program is the nation’s most widely accepted food safety training and certification program, with 4.6 million ServSafe Food Protection Manager Certifications awarded to date. As we celebrate this milestone of one million training classes, we look forward to a million more.”

The one millionth class based on National Restaurant Association training materials was a ServSafe Manager course, held on July 8 in Nashville, Indiana. More information on the National Restaurant Association’s ServSafe can be found at www.ServSafe.com. Information on the ManageFirst Program, which trains current and future industry professionals in hospitality management, can be found on http://managefirst.restaurant.org. Additional information on the career-building ProStart high school program is at http://prostart.restaurant.org.  

Training classes that are a part of the National Restaurant Association’s educational portfolio include: 

• ServSafe Food Safety Training Program, which leads the way in providing current and comprehensive educational materials to the restaurant industry. Accredited by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI)-Conference for Food Protection (CFP), ServSafe training and certification is accepted in all 50 states.
• ServSafe Food Handler Program for restaurant staff. Recently, the state of Californiaenacted a law requiring all restaurant employees who handle food to be trained in basic food safety practices. 
• ServSafe Alcohol, which offers training solutions to restaurant employees in responsible alcohol service. The training program teaches employees about their personal responsibility, and how to recognize signs of intoxication in guests and manage service accordingly.
• The ManageFirst Program, which is a management development program that equips students with the key competencies they need to begin or advance their restaurant management careers. It is in use at more than 350 colleges and universities and a variety of restaurant and foodservice companies.
• Foundations of Restaurant Management & Culinary Arts – the curriculum of the National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation’s high school ProStart program prepares students for restaurant and foodservice management careers. It provides blended coverage of culinary arts and management topics designed to build well-rounded skills for the workplace.