Following his passion for food and cooking, junior Corey Fox got his ServSafe Food Safety Certification after a lengthy process.

“It is a certification that says I can work at kitchens and restaurants,” Fox said. “Not just a buser though. I can work at nice restaurants.”

Fox immediately jumped on the opportunity to get a job as he is now working at Bread Company. However, the certification has more than one perk.

“Also can use the certification for college credit if he pursues a degree related to Hospitality, Tourism or Food service,” Fox’s teacher Mrs. Hilary Grabow said.

Grabow teaches the ProStart 3 class, which is the last class he took before getting certified. This class is no blow-off however. Corey had to do some work to get certified.

“The ServSafe curriculum, supported by the National Restaurant Association, is taught during class time but you really have to be dedicated to studying outside of class,” Grabow said.

The curriculum covers food safety and sanitation as well as workplace safety. More specifically, Fox learned about how things work in the kitchen and the diseases that can come from different things in the kitchen. The students study the curriculum, for two weeks inside and outside of class before taking a practice test. This is where Corey learned that he needed to work harder to achieve his goal.

“I took a practice test and got a 68% so I studied more,” Fox said.

The practice test was hard for a reason though. The actual online test that Corey needed to pass to get certified is 90 questions and covers a total of 14 different chapters. Also, it requires a 75% to pass.

“This may seem like an easy task but it is not,” Grabow said. “There is so much information to be learned in a short period of time for the exam.”

It seems that Fox got the message. With his 80%, he was the only student in the class to pass. While Fox has a lot to be proud of, he is still thankful for the class and the opportunity it presented.

“People should take the cooking class because it is fun and a great way to get a CTE credit,” Fox said.

While Fox has been rewarded for his hard work, Mrs. Grabow has received the greatest award. That of watching her student succeed.

“It is very exciting when student’s earn their certification because they have worked so hard to accomplish this goal,” Grabow said. “It is very rewarding as a teacher to see that the students are pleased with all their hard work.”