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Questions and Answers

Q. What are the critical advantages of FDRP programs versus other training programs?
A. FDRP is the only organization to offer such a wide variety of internationally-recognized, hospitality-oriented study programs that can culminate in certification for you and your staff.  Through FDRP’s Educational Division, FrontSUMMIT™, personalization of online training for your company can include creating custom courses plus the addition of your logo and specific instructions for training and/or testing. With the ability to optionally download materials - from manuals to Instructor’s guides and visual aids – anywhere, anytime via the Internet, FDRP programs adds the maximum amount of flexibility to your training schedules and locations while reducing your overall educational costs.
Q. What kind of recognition/benefit will FDRP Certification credentials provide me?
A. Bearing the seal of approval from the International Sommelier Guild since 2002, and receiving the endorsement of the American Culinary Federation in 2006, FDRP credentials--whether Apprentice, Associate or Professional--translate into concrete benefits for their bearers. Here are some examples:
  • The Associate Certification is used at the university level as the 'Culminant examination' of a 3-credit course.
  • The Dining Room Master Certification equals the same number of points as a Certified Executive Chef when it comes to promotion evaluations at Johnson & Wales University. Customers are always interested in meeting Certified Masters, and if you plan on teaching one day, this credential will not go unnoticed.
  • At Hillstone Restaurant Group (Houston's, Bandera Grills etc.), Service Managers are required to be Certified Dining Room Professionals in order to maintain their position. This credential is a good introduction to any employer and speaks volumes about your dedication to the hospitality profession.
  • Through Careers through Culinary Arts Program (C-CAP), high school Apprentice graduates have attained employment in top New York City restaurants. Even at the earliest levels of certification, the benefits have returned an increased capacity to earn an income as well as a professional status for these youngsters.
  • Through the reciprocity agreement with the Canadian Tourism and Human Resource Council (CTHRC), work visas are expedited for immigration into Canada.
Not only the benefits are real--as demonstrated above--but so is the impact on restaurants using FDRP programs. The Assistant General Manager of the Palm Beach Grill recorded an immediate and consistent 3% gratuity increase on the average check from the very day the dining room staff completed their FDRP Associate Certification.
Q. What is the foundation of FDRP's standard of service?
A.  FDRP recognizes that there are a lot of different books often times containing different interpretations of identical service techniques that have caused significant confusion in the industry. To remedy this problem, the standard of service adopted by the FDRP and presented in all its books and certification programs is the International Business & Gourmet Standard of Hospitality (IBGS). FDRP's entire program utilizes the IBGS techniques and standards, which are also in agreement with the world-renown gastronomic dictionary (available in English), The Larousse Gastronomique.
Q. Is FDRP's standard of service applicable to my casual style restaurant?
A.  Contrary to what you might think, quality service is not defined by the degree of elaborate service techniques used in the establishment but by good, professional hospitality. The more modest the establishment, the greater is the opportunity to impress the clientele with good service. For example, clearing a table without stacking the plates in the face of your guests or taking away dirty glasses by not sticking your fingers inside them have nothing to do with the establishment's standing. Instead, proper service that is unobtrusive and well-trained is for every establishment.
Q. How can I use FDRP certification to benefit my establishment?
A. Dining room staff certification is the best tool for building a dedicated clientele base by strengthening your Dining Room Structure. It accomplishes that by:
  • Increasing staff retention through:
    • Present employees with National Certification / career path without requiring them to take time off to go back to school
    • Provide employees with career growth without forcing them to change employer or function
    • Give professional credit for their experience
    • Offer training / study credits to newcomers
  • Attracting better Front-of-the-House personnel through:
    • Attract culinary graduates to your restaurant. Graduates are more likely to work for an establishment using the same standard as the one they have learned.
    • Attract employees who perceive your establishment as offering them a valued career path.
  • Standardizing dining room performances and reducing training cost through:
    • New, already certified, employees reinforce in-house standards instead of necessitate retraining.
    • Simplify the execution and control of overall service performance by utilizing an outside, impartial organization to monitor training and evaluation of standards that do not interfere with the company's philosophy of hospitality or floor performance.
    • An employee who switches concepts in a multi-unit organization needs to learn only the delta on information between each concept, not 'relearn' all new standards.
Q. Who already uses FDRP certification?
A. FDRP programs are taught in restaurants, high schools, culinary trade schools and prominent institutions. Here what two of our partners say about the program:

Johnson and Wales University, which was one of the first universities to include FDRP certification into its curriculum, has made FDRP certification a requirement of the freshman class. By 2005, Johnson & Wales alone will be graduating an average of 2000 Certified Dining Room Associates annually into the industry. Edward Korry, Department Chairman for Johnson & Wales, states, "The Certified Dining Room Associate program supports our mission to provide students with a well-rounded overview of professional dining room service. By offering a certification regulated by a recognized and independent organization that validates what it is we teach, restaurants that hire our graduates can feel comfortable with their level of training."

Mr. Jeff Bell, Vice President of Human Resources and Training Development for Hillstone's Restaurant Group. "Currently, Houston's restaurants are in the process of certifying all of their Service Managers as Dining Room Professionals. Once all of the Service Managers are certified, we plan on expanding the education to include General Managers. Our long term goal is for General Managers to be certified as Dining Room Masters and servers to be certified as Dining Room Associates."

Customers can tell the difference between an untrained waiter and a dining room professional. And the top restaurants such as Le Bernardin in New York City and Criolla's in Destin, Florida know what it takes to stay on top. Both had all their Captains acquire the Certified Associate Wine Steward certification from FDRP.
Q. Will FDRP standard contradict with some of our restaurant practices and create a conflict with my staff and my management?
A. Absolutely not! FDRP teaching / training programs are made to address the needs of both the academic as well as the corporate world. By separating the nice to know level of information from the need to know, the Certified Dining Room Associate (DRA)™  program allows you to include your establishment-specific policies when and where necessary. That way, FDRP standards fit seamlessly into existing corporate training programs or can be the basis of a new program, regardless of your service style or restaurant theme.
Q. How do I implement certification in my restaurant?
A. Implementation is simple and is usually accomplished in one of two ways:
  1. For those with access to the Internet: Utilize the FrontSUMMIT™ online training and testing facility:
    • The self-study Associate program (which provides dual certification for service and wine basics) enables trainees to study when and where they desire.
    • The option of downloading manuals for each employee and the Instructor’s Toolkit™ is also available.
    • Your establishment is provided an access code for your staff to access the Internet Testing facility.  If online testing is not convenient to your staff, FDRP can provide you with hard copy tests so he/she can administer the test him/herself. For this, your trainer will have to complete the Certified Dining Room Professional™ test and application.
    • For the Professionals level of certification (Certified Dining Room Professional™ through Certified Hospitality Grand Master™), all the materials and examinations are available online.
  2. For those without access to the Internet: Purchase hard-copy trainers’ Toolkit, manuals, or Professional kits:
    • Use the Associate Trainer's Toolkit, which includes all that a trainer needs to present, paired with trainee manuals that follow the information presented in the trainer's toolkit page-by-page. The trainer selects the session information he/she wants to teach during the training sessions, versus what will be assigned for home study.
    • At completion of the training, the trainees take hard copy tests the administrator monitors. For this, your trainer will have to complete the Certified Dining Room Professional™ test and application.
    • For the Professionals level of certification (Certified Dining Room Professional™ through Certified Hospitality Grand Master™), these certification kits are Self Study. The trainer simply plays a mentoring role to ensure that the trainees progress through the program at an acceptable pace for your investment.
Q. What is the International Business & Gourmet Standard of Hospitality (IBGS) and where is it taught?
A. The International Business & Gourmet Standard of Hospitality (IBGS) was derived from the classic European standard taught in culinary schools throughout Europe as well as in Canada, South America and elite United States schools. Merged with the International Standard of Business Etiquette, which is also taught worldwide, the IBGS model of service standard can be found in literally every educational book published throughout Europe, including the French "Travaux Pratiques de Restaurants" courses that are taught for all three degrees of their Service Restaurant program. Relating that program to the United States' degree acronyms, the bottom degree is equivalent to a Culinary AOS degree and the top level equates to a University Bachelor degree. Service is a living art, so the IBGS has evolved to meet the needs of the modern clientele and was adapted to the current constraints that restaurants must abide.