As many of you will already know, in order to cook on any commercial vessel registered with ten or more crew and operating more than 60 miles offshore, you need to hold an MCA Ship’s Cook Certificate of Competency (CoC). This applies whether you are a trained chef or not. This mandatory requirement was put in place to ensure that at least one crew member on-board relevant vessels, is certified to handle and prepare food to the necessary standards by means of independent assessment in a controlled environment. The certificate is globally recognised, although certain flag states choose not to enforce these regulations.
In order to complete the assessment to gain the certificate, all chefs/cooks must have a year’s provable experience at sea or one years’ experience on land as a chef/cook in addition to a month of sea service. The assessment is suitable for anyone wishing to start a career as a chef/cook on yachts, or for an existing crew to update their certificates. Full details of the requirements and legalities of the certificate can be found via the Maritime and Coastguard Agency.
So, if you are in need of assessment for the certificate, we are delighted to announce that Leiths School of Food and Wine in West London is now offering the assessment for a fee of £950, with the next course dates being Sunday 16th– Tuesday 18th June. They are taking over from the Tante Marie cookery school, who previously offered the assessments. In addition, all crew that handle food are required to hold the minimum of a Level 2 Award in Food Safety in Catering from an accredited provider with a supervised exam. This can be included as an extra day, if required, being 19th June for the upcoming course. The cost of the extra day is £50.
Leiths has an excellent reputation and is an award-winning cookery school perfectly set-up to provide this service to yacht crew. Managing Director Camilla Schneideman says: “The Assessment in Marine Cookery, open to Leiths students and external students alike, helps candidates to broaden their CV and work towards and qualification that unlocks global employment opportunities.”
Prior to the assessment, students will complete a self-study, covering elements of theory, through access to a Virtual Learning Environment (VLE). This on average takes a half-day to a full day to review, ahead of the theoretical exam on Day one of the assessment.
The school is easily accessed by transport links, and there is a wide choice of accommodation options in the area. If you would like more information, to view the course content or to sign up, please visit Leiths’ website.
Good luck!