Category: Certified Food Protection Manager

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Balancing A Professional CFPM Career And Personal Life

Balancing a CFPM Career and Personal Life

The life of a certified food protection manager can be stressful and time-consuming. This becomes more evident and taxing during the hot summer months. Happy couples flood their favorite air-conditioned restaurants to celebrate the freedom of summer. At the same time, food service workers spend long hours in hot kitchens, ensuring every guest has the best experience possible. We’ve often heard it said that restaurant management is a single person’s game, but we feel that a CFPM should be able to enjoy a career and have a personal life beyond the kitchen.

Balancing a MN Certified Food Protection Manager Career and Personal Life

Achieving Work-Life Balance as a CFPM: Managing Your Career and Personal Life

A quick Google search on divorce rates in the food industry will reveal that bartenders, chefs, and restaurant managers all rank in the 25 worst professions for relationships, according to numerous sources. While we offer food safety training, not couples counseling, we engage in conversations during class breaks and after testing sessions. We feel that there should be a chance for both a successful career and a healthy relationship, and we have a few ideas that have been shared by some professionals that we have talked to who have been able to achieve a successful balance.

  • Go out of your way to make time for a personal life outside of work
  • Trust your staff to get the job done in your absence
  • Choose non-peak dates for special occasions

It may sound impossible, but you must make time for both to keep a healthy balance in your professional and personal life. Hearing stories of an 80-hour workweek makes us cringe. If you’re looking for ways to trim your hours to spend more time at home, you may want to rely on your staff to take on some extra responsibilities. If you’ve trained your employees well, you should have no problem trusting them to handle more responsibilities in your absence. Train your sous chef to take on some ordering or inventory duties, count on an assistant manager to help with scheduling, or train a trusted employee to receive and stock your weekly supplies.

Celebrate The 4th On The 9th

For our last tip, we’d like to offer an alternative to celebrating events such as Independence Day on the same day as everyone else. Don’t feel tied down to what the calendar says. Many restaurant professionals celebrate the 4th of July on a day before or after the holiday and go to their favorite restaurants during the week rather than on hectic weekends.

Maybe you’re one of our readers who is a certified food protection manager who has managed to balance a home and professional life. We’d love it if you could leave your tips in the comments below.

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Tested Techniques For CFPMs To Deal With Shortages

techniques for CFPMs to deal with shortages

Even though they are becoming common, food shortages due to drought, global conflicts, product recalls, or supply chain issues can be frustrating for MN-CFPMs. While these shortages can be a major inconvenience, your facility still has to work through them, so we felt we’d offer a few suggestions for when food shortages arise.

How Certified Food Protection Managers Deal with Product Shortages

Tested Techniques For CFPMs To Deal With Shortages
Image credit: xtrekx via 123rf

When shortages prevent certified food protection managers from producing their usual dishes, we have three solid recommendations to offer.

  • Find a second source for product
  • Come up with an adequate substitution
  • Keep your customers informed

Most large food service suppliers source their goods from major national sources. When drought or cold weather affects supply from well-known producers, consider turning to smaller outlets. If major growing regions have limited amounts of produce, such as greens and fruits, that are available, CFPMs may wish to contact local sources or smaller food supply companies to see if they have your required ingredients available. Your local area farms may also be a solution. This option may be more expensive, or you may have to pick up your produce rather than have it delivered. Local suppliers may offer the same products as major growers, so you can keep serving the same cuisine as before.

Sometimes, a second source for a product simply does not exist. During a major recall of any product, alternate suppliers are stretched thin. When confronted with this type of shortage, CFPMs may need to stretch their creativity and develop new menu items and unique substitutions with their current production. For some menu items, there can be quick and easy substitutions that your guests will readily accept, such as salads and side dishes. If an item cannot be served, such as the protein for a main course, bringing in a similar protein and running a temporary replacement dish on your menu is a good idea.

Make Guests Aware

Finally, inform your customers of dishes and product substitutions before ordering. Very few things are more frustrating than not being told that the menu item you have decided on is unavailable when it comes time to order. Tell your guests which items on your menu are unavailable due to product shortages before they are even given a menu. Also, make sure that your servers are also aware of the situation. Taking an order for an item you do not have available should never happen.

At Safe Food Training, we’d like to hear your strategy for dealing with ingredient shortages. Do you prefer to make substitutions, find new sources for ingredients, or temporarily remove unavailable dishes from your menu?

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Get Sure Fire Tips From Certified Food Managers For A Safer Kitchen In Hot Weather

Tips From Certified Food Managers For A Safer Kitchen In Hot Weather

Commercial kitchens and food preparation facilities can be incredibly hot places. This week, we thought we’d take a break from discussing food-borne illness prevention to offer advice for certified food managers to keep their kitchen employees safe and healthy in hot weather.

MN Certified Food Managers Guide to Beating the Heat During The Hot Summer Weather

Tips From Certified Food Managers For A Safer Kitchen In Hot Weather
Image credit: hxdyl via 123rf

Our first advice is to ensure that your ventilation system is functioning properly. We suggest that certified food managers inspect it once a year to ensure that nothing is clogging the vents and that the fans are all in good working order. Cleaning your system’s filters often is another easy way to keep it running efficiently. Many commercial vent systems have easily removable filters that can be cleaned by thorough scrubbing and a trip through your industrial dishwasher.

Next, we’d like to give you three tips with regard to your staff that will help keep them happy and healthy in a hot kitchen.

  • Hydrate frequently
  • Don’t overcrowd your production line
  • Make sure breaks are taken away from the kitchen

On a busy day, getting adequate fluids into your staff may be hard, but it is vitally important. Strongly suggest to your employees that they drink only water. Beverages filled with sugar and caffeine can have an adverse effect as they may dehydrate rather than give the body the water it needs to stave off heat exhaustion.

Certified food managers should reevaluate staffing during especially hot weather. If multiple employees are working on the same line, assessing how many are necessary may be a good idea. Working in close quarters may raise staff members’ body temperatures, and they will dehydrate faster.

If you can’t take the heat…

Finally, the old adage, “If you can’t take the heat, get out of the kitchen,” may contain a hidden nugget of advice. If any of your employees exhibit signs that the heat affects their performance or physical state, get them out of the production area. Making an ailing staff member stick it out until his normally scheduled break time may lead to heat exhaustion or even heat stroke. Make sure they get to a cool area and drink plenty of water.

Our tips aren’t the only way to stay cool under intense circumstances. We’d like your tips and procedures for keeping your staff comfortable in the kitchen. Do you have any advice that we missed that other MN-certified food managers should be aware of during hot summer weather?

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Valuable Health Advice For Tired CFPMs

Food management professionals take on a lot of responsibility, often to the detriment of their own well-being. We have critical health advice to help hardworking, dedicated CFPMs moderate stress levels and provide the healthy energy needed to survive the day.

Valuable Health Advice For Tired CFPMs
photo credit: www.teoti.com

Certified Food Protection Manager’s Guide to Staying Healthy on the Job

  • Eat healthy on the job
  • Make an effort to take a break
  • Replace coffee or soda with water

Maintaining a healthy diet at work can be difficult, especially for busy food industry workers. Often, the most convenient options for a quick bite are not healthy. During their snack and lunch breaks, workers frequently consume unhealthy leftovers from deep-fried dishes, yesterday’s specials, or low-quality cuts of meat instead of choosing fresh fruits or light salads, which are the healthier choices. Consuming these foods alone can cause a dip in energy levels, leading to a lack of focus and motivation. Pack fresh fruit or snacks for quick, healthy meals.

Certified food protection managers in food production facilities and restaurants often work through their allotted break times. While we understand that there is always something that needs to be done and that certified food protection managers have many responsibilities, taking ten minutes to pause, breathe, and refresh your mind will be beneficial in the long run. It’s important to remind yourself that you have trained your staff well, and you can trust that your operation will not collapse if you step away for a few minutes.

Drink Water

Overloading on coffee or soda can elevate your heart rate and lead to anxiety. When you consume multiple cups of coffee or soda during a shift, there will always be the inevitable caffeine and sugar crash that can only be avoided by grabbing another cup before it hits. We suggest that you balance out your caffeine fix by consuming plenty of water. Water will keep you better hydrated than coffee or sugary drinks and help provide the natural energy to get you through your shift.

While not every CFPM’s daily routine is the same, most have dedication and the drive to succeed in common. Don’t let that drive cause you to ignore your physical and mental health on the job. You can decrease stress, increase energy levels, and keep your facility running smoothly and safely by taking small steps.

Leave a comment! How do your co-workers picture you? How do you moderate stress levels? What tips do you have for staying healthy while at work?