Certified Hospitality Educator

I got a letter in the mail yesterday telling me I passed the Certified Hospitality Educator certification with the American Hotel and Lodging Association, what a freaking relief. I had to sit through 2.5 days of a drawn out class on educational psychology for the hospitality industry, then took a huge test at the end that I couldn't of even told you if I passed or failed (I got a 90, I was amazed) and then I had to video a 45-60 minute lecture which utilized the skills I learned in the class, needed 70% to pass. Somehow I got a 94% on the video, again shocked, I thought I missed so many of the skills they taught us, but i got it down pretty well it seems,

The next certification will be for Certified Culinary Professional with the International Association of Culinary Professionals. I think I'll fill out the paperwork sometime this week and then I have to sit for the test during the national convention in the summer. I'm also taking the Pro-Chef certifications with the Culinary Institute of America, I'm taking Pro-Chef II in May, and probably Pro-Chef III the next year.

I'm off to go slice ham for the Price Chopper in Clifton Park, NY. I had a number of people recognize me from the spots I do on the news and from the articles I have had published in the Schenectady Gazette, I certainly enjoyed talking to people about the dishes, someone actually purchased a ham to make the "simple" cassoulet dish I posted on my blog and made on WNYT last week yesterday.