ServSafe Managers Certification

1. All our ServSafe instructors are Certified Professionals in Food Safety (CP-FS). This certification is from the National Environmental Health Association and is much more intensive than simply being a ServSafe approved instructor (which we are as well).

2. Our instructors are the authors of “Food Safety for Managers,” a textbook on food safety that is used by instructors and trainers throughout the US. They are engaging speakers who keep a dull subject interesting. Both authors are frequent guests on national television programs.

3. We have trained more managers and issued more ServSafe Certificates than anyone in New England.

5. All our instructors actively work as food safety inspectors – this experience in the field translates to a better instructor in class.

6. We don’t cancel and reschedule classes once we have your money (a nasty trick of low priced imitators popping up online.)

Lisa Berger is widely recognized as a leader in food safety education and training. Ms. Berger graduated from Boston University with a Masters degree in Public Health. She was an epidemiologist for the State of Massachusetts fighting infectious disease. Ms. Berger is a Certified Professional in Food Safety (CP-FS) as well as a certified trainer for ServSafe, The National Registry of Food Safety Professionals (NRSFP), and the National Environmental Health Association (NEHA) Ms. Berger is co author of the text book Food Safety for Managers which is used by instructors throughout the US. She performs inspections for numerous restaurants and events including the Boston Bruins, the Celltics and the New England Patriots. Ms. Berger is a sought after speaker at conferences throughout the country and a contributor to many television shows dealing with food safety.

After earning a bachelor’s degree in Public Health and a minor in Education from the University of Massachusetts Amherst, Ms. Gruenwald worked for UMass Extension Nutrition Education Program. She was responsible for educating nursery-12th grade students in Brockton Public Schools on Marisa-head-shotproper nutrition, food safety in the kitchen, and exercise. She was also responsible for educating at-risk communities on healthy cooking methods and food safety in the kitchen. Following, Ms. Gruenwald earned her master’s degree from Boston University School of Public Health. She now works as a food safety consultant for Berger Food Safety Consulting. She has conducted hundreds of inspections throughout New England, and has worked as a consultant for Boston area establishments and venues such as: Gillette Stadium, TD Banknorth Garden, Anna’s Taqueria, Legendary Restaurant Group, Royal India Bistro, Fuddruckers New England, Samurai Boston and Grasshopper.

After earning her bachelor’s degree in nutrition with a concentration in food service management. Ms. Hicks worked over twenty years in corporate, institutional and restaurant food service establishments. Experience ranged from catering/production manager to assistant general manager. Ms. Hicks also served as Nutrition Director for the Westwood Public Schools serving 3200 students. She developed and implemented menus for pre K -12 grade levels, meeting the nutritional guidelines for the National School Lunch Program. Ms. Hicks has donated her time to Share Our Strength and teaching students cooking techniques and food safety. She now works as a food safety consultant for Berger Food Safety Consulting, performing inspections in the Boston and Metro West areas and venues such as Gillette Stadium and TD Banknorth Garden.

Mr. Diaz is a Proud veteran who after graduating in 1995 from Marquette University with a BA in Criminology and minor in Spanish Literature started a career in the hospitality industry that led him to Mexico, US Virgin Islands, and Florida. In 2000, Mr. Diaz joined the United States Coast Guard for four years and after an honorable discharge in 2004, started working in the Boston and Providence area hotels in a variety of capacities including operations, banquet, convention services, and sales. Since 2009, Mr Diaz has been teaching food safety classes in Spanish and conducting food inspections for Berger Food Safety Consulting, Inc.

At the end of each open class we offer the certification exam. We use the ServSafe Managers Certification Exam which is accepted nationwide by every jurisdiction, everywhere in the country.  The ServSafe exams are multiple choice questions with 90 questions. You must score a 75% of higher to become certified.

You can get the ServSafe exam in English, Spanish, Chinese, Korean, French Canadian, and large print English. When using a foreign language exam, the questions will appear on the exam in both the foreign language and in English. It is a closed book/notes test. Translators are NOT allowed unless approved in advance by ServSafe. Some people finish in as little as 30 minutes while others may take the full 2 hours to finish. The ANSI Approved/ServSafe exam is sent to the testing companies headquarters for scoring. We do not have control or influence in this scoring (for security purposes) and it takes about 2 weeks to get the results  and certificates back from ServSafe.

The English textbook we use is the current edition of Food Safety for Managers. We provide alternate books in Spanish, Korean, and Chinese. If you have an older book or from a different author you may be able to use it as long as you make careful note of the several major changes in the food code. The current edition of Food Safety for Managers is written at a 9th grade reading level and is about 80 pages long. This nationally distributed textbook explains the food code in simple terms to help prepare you for the exam.