# Any tips for red seal exam?



## mcb

This is only my 2nd post here. I've been cooking for well over 10 years now. I did a culinary program ages ago, but never actually wrote my red seal! :blush: Most of my time has been spent in small bistro type restaurant in Toronto (were papers have never really been required) but I've done stints in BC and France aswell. Now with a young family I absolutley MUST move away from the restaurant scene. I'm now moving toward teaching at the college level. So obviously it is time to write the exam. I've submitted my hours and school docs to the apprenticeship office and I'm about ready to write. So anyone got any tips for the Canadian exam? Any words of wisdom? Anyone know of any sample exams on line, or good study guides???

Thanks to all for your help.


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## steve a

McB - I'm going to copy your link and email it to a bud of mine in Muskoka and another in Ottawa. They'll likely be better able to help you out than me.

Good luck on your test (and Go Leafs!).

Ciao,


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## chefdave

hi there McB; I was asked by Steve to send you any info on the TQ exam. We had two apprentices write their tests recently; the main thrust these days is on sanitation!!! go figure and on food theory. 
My advice to you is to look to those areas as well as grounding your self in the costing and menu planning modules. 
Search out any people that you know in the industry that have recently done the test and ask them what they thought of it. Also get hold of Skills and Trades Ontario for some info- not too specific but should give guidlines.
I did myCCC exam last year and found it similar to the cooks test in how broad it was, not so much depth for that advanced.
good luck
dave


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## mcb

Thanks for the tips guys. Nice of you to find time to reply during such a busy time for everyone! If most of the focus is on basic food theory and food safety I don't think I've got to much to worry about. I guess some things however might be stuff I do with out even thinking about. So might be worth reviewing. I wonder if the length of time I've spent away from school might be a challenge versis someone only two or three years out??


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## steve a

Dave! Thanks for popping in and answering. I knew you'd know more about it than I.

Ciao bro,


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## headless chicken

Hello McB, I was schooled in George Brown College in downtown Toronto. I know a number of chefs there and all of them have papers, a few wrote them recently. You could always pass by there, talk with a few of them and I'm sure they'll be more then happy to give you a few pointers. 

Good luck and cheers!


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## chefdave

anytime Steve; Glad to help a fellow culinarian
McB let us know how you did...bye the bye why do you want to teach and don't they require CCC accreditation nowadays?
The life of a working cook vs. a teaching cook is so much more varied and full of vigour! 
have many friends that moved to the college teaching post and still do two or three shifts a week in the restaurant, not for want of money either!
anyway good luck with the exam and all your choices'
d


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## misno

To teach at the college level, the CCC designation is required.


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## chefdave

hey McB have you gotten around to setting up an appointment for writing yet? done any research into the teaching accreditation needed?
let us know what is going on.


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## mizz

im starting my apprenticeship in the spring im a dishwasher for now.. >_< but anyways some of my past coworkers have talked of a author his last name is gislin and the book is known as the gislin its a book to use to study for the red seal test but ive tried google searching and i can find any info on it if any of u know any books i can use to study for the red seal exam i'd like to know cuz i dont anything about food theory or the temperatures for storing the food and all that stuff thanks a lot ahead of time ^_^


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## tsblo

Well, thats part of an apprenticeship mizz. You have to complete 6000 hours to get your seal in Canada. If after your 6000 hours, you do not understand about temperature, you have no hope in achieving your red seal.
To study for my seal I used On cooking, and the professional chef volume 8. I also tried to use everything I read.
Get out there, get dirty, and get ready to learn.


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## mizz

lol my chef told me to do the food theory class at college... and im getting the 5th edition of professional cooking by wayne gesslin its used to study for the red seal but like ive been asking liek to every1 what is the red seal exam on? my chef said there will be questions about like the different knives how to make a vinaigrette sanitation food theory what else is my question? and are u sure its 6000 hours he said it was liek 3000 or something im going to be doing the apprenticeship fulltime 5 days a week so how long would that take for the whatever amount of hours for the apprenticeship to be done? he told me a year and a half


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## soup_dictator

Assume you work 40 hrs a week
Assume you work 50 weeks out of the year
40 X 50 = 2000 hrs/yr
You are required 3 blocks/yrs to write the cook's red seal exam.


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## mizz

ok assume he bull***** the red seal ppl and says i worked a lot of doubles i dunno my friends who are chef de parties said it can be done so i dunno


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## soup_dictator

You might be able to cheat it a little but whats the point. Take your time, explore the vast world of food and above all enjoy it. Learn as much as you can but you can't learn it all at the same time.


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## mizz

true you got a point.


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## dafamily

hey guys

I was wondering if anybody knew any sites I should be studying from or that provide information regarding the Red Seal Test.

Any help would be greatly welcomed, thanks!!


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## soup_dictator

I was just looking for info on the exam. I'm a little tired of browsing the web, it's not that easy to find. I'll give it another try some other other day but I'll let you know if I find anything.

-soup-


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## dafamily

Yeah, I here what your saying bro, thanks!!


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## mizz

jsut get profession cooking for canadian chefs sixth edition thats what everyone uses to study for the red seal


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## dafamily

You won't happen to have a pdf to that would you bro??


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## mizz

i dont... i own the book but try searching bittorrent sites for it u may find an ebook of it in a pdf format....


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## inabox

*No, no it's not. I just finished college last spring at Fanshawe in London Ontario. Only one of the chefs had his C.C.C. , and he just got it a year and a half ago. All the chefs that were born in Canada had there red seals, except one. She had a culanary management deploma and a B.A. in history. There were three chefs from Europ and they had done there apprenticships there so the didn't have "red seals" *


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## foodpump

It's been my personal experience here in Vancouver that VCC (Vancouver Culinary College) does not require the C.C.C. to teach either. What is required is a Provincial Instructor's diploma (which I had just completed), a fair amount of experience, and, alas, the Red Seal. That being said, the head of the Culinary Dept. told me that honestly, even though I had good credentials, I would have to "wait until one of the Instructors dies before a postion opens up"....

I do have my Swiss Trades "Cooks Apprenticeship" (3 years) which was well recieved by the reviewing board, and some 20 years experience in Europe and S.E. Asia. They were dead serious about the Red Seal though, some kind of Gov't/HR requirement....


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## hebigat

Hello, im a contract worker here in Alberta, graduated culinary arts in the Philippines. how is the fastest way to get a red seal? thank you


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## soup_dictator

I am currently in the process of applying to write my red seal exam in Vancouver BC
I'm not sure of the process in Alberta but In BC you are required to to have 8100 hours, approx. 4 years full time experience , before you can write the exam. Once they receive the application form they said it is a month wait list to go and write.

I'm not sure in your case how they apply your school hours in the Philippines and if you have any other work experience.


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## chef33

chefexams .com-dummy tests & such.

Best way to study is by doing. That is, having the experience.

Next best is the professional cooks line guides level 1-3. Alot of the red seal questions are straight out of those guides & the Gisslen. Problem is is that the test is 150 questions randomly generated from a bank of about 6000 questions.


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## chefdave

ok guys let me set a few questions to rest here. 
Firstly to give some background. I am a certified chef who runs a hotel kitchen and I have two apprentices signed under my tutelege(if you do not know what that word means look it up!!)
The requirement here in Ont. is 6000 hours-no dicking around- you have to put in the whole 6k or prove that you have worked with a qualified cook(red seal) to get a reduction, but at the end of it all the time must be spent in a kitchen. That time is calculated on a 40 hour work week over the course of fifty weeks; as an apprentice you get no more because as an employer I can't work you longer than that!! 
If you have a chef that will "cheat" for you the only person that suffers is you-give yourself three years at school/working to learn from others. I tell my commis' to be a sponge-that means to be quiet and learn form others around you. 
Secondly, if you are a foreign worker, I do believe that through the CCF you can find all the information you need. It used to be that you needed a chef to say "yes he knows his/her stuff"
Thirdly, if you want information on time/temperature ask the health dept. as they are the people that set the rules in the first place. 
Remember 4-60 and no longer than 3 hours.

Hey Mizz, I know this is a little after the fact but did you get signed up and are you finding it to be all you thought it was?


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## mchef

try the food lovers comanion, its a good book.


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## soup_dictator

I wrote the exam a couple months ago 
chef33 has the best advice here 
The best way to learn is by doing. I have 20 yrs experience and when I wrote the test I found most of it to be common sense. But, some of the test they are looking for very specific answers and procedures.
If I didn't brush up on some of the information I wouldn't have known it.
Refer to Professional Cooking 6th edition by Wayne Gisslen. It is an expensive book but it is a very good investment. Try to get the latest edition for more updated resources and information, but earlier editions will have a lot of the information you need.
and professional cooks line guides level 1-3


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## soup_dictator

The Interprovincial Standards Red Seal Examinations are administered through the provincial and territorial certification and apprenticeship offices


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## sarahsmiles

What are the professional cooks line guides level 1-3? Where can I obtain those?

:chef: Sarah


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## marcowhitefan

"It's actually called Professional Cooking 8 by Wayne Gisslen. I know this because I own it. It was our 1st and 2nd semester textbook at Fleming."


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## newfchef74

The CCC is not required to teach in certain places.  the reason being is that the CCC is a designation made by the ccfcc which is a voluntary association which does not have governance over provincial and federal jurisdictions.  It also only represents a small percentage of chefs and cooks throughout the country by paying members(of which I have been for 15 years).  Like in an above post it was mentioned that a red seal with a diploma in post secondary education is the minimum in a lot of places.  Degrees in education are a bonus and often reflect in various pay scales


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## blue mountin

Hay steve

i been working in the kitchen about 10 years now. Small restaurants to banquet halls and catering companies. I am gonna write the red seal exam any tips for me. thank you. My email address is [email protected]. I really thanking to you.


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## tmlsnafu

In Ontario, they rotate 5 separate tests, all multiple choice, 100 questions. Pretty much covers everything, but heavy on food safety and some front of the house as well. Couple of tossers for questions (temperature of Swiss meringue??). You only need 70%, personally I think it should be 80, but it is what it is. Just try to get as much under your belt as possible, and it helps if the chef signing off your book actually takes the time and effort to make sure you are doing things correctly before signing off. If you're taking your test after culinary school, and are a registered apprentice, there is a $2000 windfall for passing the seal right now. Good luck!


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## countrykook

I always browse the book sections of second hand bookstores and Goodwill and Value village etc.  Last year I found 'On Cooking' 3rd edition for 5.99 in Kamloops.  Also try Kijiji with an ad.....


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## stephen lucas

i have been a kitchen manager for the last year and still have no papers at all period, I walked into the industry with a passion for cooking and now I want it as a career.  How do I start the red seal program and how do I get the papers signed, I have my 6000hrs already


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## chefvanc

hi

I will be doing my exam shortly , i am from Vancouver bc  , i had been studying from the book (on cooking and ita professional cook 1 / 2 / 3 ).i have 10 year experience . 

Does anyone know where i can get a mock exam? 

or any advice will be appreciated.

Thanks .


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## natpag

I am in the same boat, been cooking for almost 10 years now, have learnt everything I can get my hands on, but I don't have that piece of paper, so I am about to take the plunge and challenge the Red Seal here in B.C. I know the stuff, I do alot of it on a daily basis, but freeze up in tests. I am trying to find anything I can on what I need to know. My executive chef, lucky for me was a Red Seal Instructor, so he is kinda telling me what I need to go over, since he knows my weak spots.  He is telling me to go over my primals, mother sauces and pastries. I would love to get my hands on a textbook they use, but it all comes down to the money. Good luck to you, study hard, and have the confidence that you know it, maybe not to be able to write in on paper, that's my problem, but can do it hands on with some ease...... lol.


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## natpag

I am in Victoria and would love to know the same thing. Something to go on....


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## armond kearns

Hello

I'am getting ready to do my Red Seal exam soon, from reading the posts here I have what I need to do, I am currently getting the paper work done from my current employer (Chef) I have been in this field for many years now and am wanting to make a transition to Long term care facilities and/or the correctional institutes

yes I do have the required hours from my current work place 13,000+ hours  and transcripts from College.

Anyways there is a study guide for the professional chef book ans you can find it on amazon.

I am ordering my tomorrow to help with my studying  although I probably don't need it but won't hurt either.

even though I know my stuff for some reason I feel nervous. Maybe cause I haven't had to do a test in a long time.

Anyways I wish you luck !

any more advice would be most welcome

Thank you!!!


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