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Kitchen staff qualifications


Oboulez
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Like many expats, a career change was necessary in order to secure a job here. My home cooking skills has secured me a job in a local hotel kitchen. Can anybody please advise me what courses I should ask for. I assume that there will be necessary some sort of food hygiene course, but given the obsession here with qualifications (and experience) - even for the most menial job - what 'pieces of paper' should I aspire to if I have any hope of kitchen work being my second career. Thanks
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There are people who just do the menial job of plongeur often on the black, but they are usually French and get their place by word of mouth.

Those who have followed a formal training course may have a CAP Cuisine

http://www.lesmetiers.net/orientation/p1_185988/cuisine

or a BEP

these are some old practical tests for that exam:

http://www.hotellerie-restauration.ac-versailles.fr/spip.php?article2074&lang=fr

Here is  job description

http://www.cidj.com/article-metier/commis-de-cuisine

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Thanks Norman. Having passed my 'trials', I am awaiting my contract and proper work which will start next month. It is more of a commis role than a plongeur, in that I am prepping and aiding the chef (as well as mucking in with her washing the pots and plates). I will be doing services on my own. I believe that there is some basic course in food prep & hygiene which is mandatory. Do you know anything about that? Ta.
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Try googling 'formation hygiene' or 'formation restauration'

Not sure which one you want...

You have this for example....(looks right !!)

http://www.formation-hygiene-haccp.com/HACCP.html

https://www.afpa.fr/formation-qualifiante/agent-de-restauration

but you also have this...

https://www.afpa.fr/formation-qualifiante/agent-de-restauration

or this...

http://www.onisep.fr/Ressources/Univers-Formation/Formations/Lycees/CAP-Agent-polyvalent-de-restauration

Go and see ANPE or Pole Emploi (whatever they are called know) they should know.

'Formation' is big business in France....and very confusing.

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I'm inclined to agree with Chancer. Assuming things can be dangerous. Compliance is the responsibility of the business owner not the employee so if he's offered you the job knowing that you don't have any certificates then one of two things, either he's not bothered and doesn't expect you to be either, or he has it in hand and you will find there are arrangement in place for you to obtain whatever certificates are required once your contract starts. You know the setup so you can probably have an educated guess which one applies.

In case it's the second, remember that as an employee you have a right to ongoing training all paid for, so if you're looking at this as a stepping stone, you are within your rights to claim your training provision once you've been there for a while.
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"You go to pole emploi and say I am looking for a job in restauration, what qualifications do I need ?"

It is even more British to expect to be able to sign up for any training in France without filling in forms with all your personal details, during which process it will become obvious that actually you are not looking for a job at all because you have already signed a contract.
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I never said that ET.

I was just offering the OP a discrete way of finding out what specific qualification they need for a given job. I guess they would know.

If you have better option, please help the OP. I have taken the time to list three private courses. What one do they need, I have no idea. I would certainly find out be before paying for one.
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Usually someone in the team has to have the hygiene certificate (which is covered in the training for the qualifications I linked to) but it is not essential for everyone to hold it.

There should be a

Plan de maîtrise sanitaire

for the establishment which outline its practices in these matters:

https://www.lhotellerie-restauration.fr/blogs-des-experts/HACCP-Controles/

This is the responsibility of the owner, and there should be a section on how the plan is made known to the staff and monitored.

So I don't think that  you necessarily have to have the certificate.

All that of course is in the ideal.

It may well be that the owner has no idea, no-one has the  certificate, and there is no plan in place..

In that case it could be up to you. If it is you should be given the training at the owner's expense

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I guess that because my lifelong previous career in the UK required planning and foresight, I am at this stage seeking to gen myself up on what I should be looking to achieve which will be of use in the future. Having looked for a legit job for years now - even extremely base level jobs like stacking the fruit & veg in Intermarché or making boxes for oysters advertised around here require 12 months experience and or some bac etc, I am grateful for even getting the chance of a trial at the hotel (okay - there was a personal introduction involved) with no previous other than the fact that I can turn out better food than is served in many local restaurants. I am in no way suggesting that nobody is worried about food hygiene - it is more a case of wanting to plan ahead and what are the formations that I should be seeking if this were to be my new life.
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Exactly OP.

Play by the system. Don't rock the boat now that you have a job. Get the qualifications you need and build your own career.

I have seen French relatives of mine change career direction after leaving school and having to go through the 'formation' system. It is hard work....but it does work !

Not saying it is right or wrong, but it works.
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Norman is right - only one member of staff needs to hold the hygene qualification, and its a joke anyway.

Daily logs of freezer and fridge temperatures, logs of production dates and labels on batches of ingredients etc etc....its just a metric sh1t ton of paperwork that nobody will ever look at.

The rest was basic common sense, dont put your tongue in the meat slicer (no matter how pretty she might be!), raw/cooked meats, wash hands blah blah blah. It doesnt cover actually useful stuff like the kitchen standards for coloured chopping boards and knives or anything like that..... Basically its exactly what you would expct a French course to be like.

If the employer has not told you that you will need to go on the course, dont worry about it.

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