10/11/2026
Welcome. I would like to begin by talking a little about where Food Manager information comes from. First, the FDA writes the food code. And local state agencies, like your local Health Department, takes that information from the food code and tweaks it a little- in to what they would like you to know. They decide what certifications they want local business owners to have, and then you go out and get certified. The most popular and recognized Food Safety course is run by the National Restaurant Association. And their food safety class/ or "product" is ServSafe. ServSafe is a registered trademark name and many states use it as a Food Manager's requirement.
I have worked in the industry for many years, raising my kids as a Waitress, Cook, and Instructor. I have a degree in Health Education as well, and teaching Food Safety classes is a natural transition for me. And I am pretty good at it. In fact, one of the classes I had to take was taught by a registered nurse. She was pretty strict, too.
One of the ways I gauge whether or not my students will do well on the exam is by using what I call "The Numbers of ServSafe". Over the course of my class, we learn about times and temperatures and by the end of the class (which is normally a two-day class for me) I pass out a blank page with a bunch of numbers on them, and then we brainstorm what each number might be related to. I ask my students to spend about 5 or 10 minutes alone or in pairs or groups to do number association for as many as they can, writing down on their pages what numbers might go with what ServSafe idea. Then after 10 minutes, we go over it all together, and work as a class completing the page. Yelling out what answers we have in relation to each number on the mostly blank page. (I can send you a link to that so that you can download and print a copy for yourself.)
So my first video on my YouTube channel will probably be a numbers of ServSafe guide that you can have while you learn the Manager's Exam material.
The second video that I use will likely be a page of Acronyms. ServSafe loves their acronyms. The exam itself won't give you an acronym and ask you what it means- instead, they will ask a question using an acronym, and if you don't have a least a clue to what they are talking about, at least you would have heard it in the class so that you might be able to guess what they are talking about.
I tell my students that the hardest part of the ServSafe exam is they way they word their questions. I might not agree with it, but at least by presenting all the material that you might encounter on the exam, you will be better equipped to handle the 90 question exam.
The exam- is 2 hours long. I normally encourage students to take the exam in print form rather than online. At least if it is your first time taking the exam and new to the restaurant industry in terms of cooking in the back of the house. The reason why I encourage paper and pencil exam is because you can write in the booklet while you are trying to figure out the correct answer. I say, "Cross out the 2 definite wrong answers, and select the best out of 2. " Sometimes you might think that there is more than one answer, or none of them sound like the right answer- we want the BEST answer out of the bunch. And that is how the exam goes.
The exam as 90 questions, but 10 of those questions don't even count. They are called PILOT QUESTIONS. They throw those on there, and if you are stuck on a question for too long, that is probably a pilot question. Highlight that question and go back to it later. You have to score a 70 to pass the Food Manager exam. That is means you have to get out of 80 (technically) correct. That means 56 out of 80 must be right. At the end of the test, if you have enough time within those 2 hours, you can go back and review the ones you highlighted or had a question about, and figure out how close you think you might be to passing. This method is a pretty good indicator of how you might have done.
And for the record, I tend to second guess myself on the exam, which is common. So even though I have to re-take my exam every 3 years and get a 95 on it to continue teaching, I still worry every time I take it. It can be stressful.
You might know exactly what you are doing in the kitchen, but when it comes time to answer an on-the-spot question from the Health Department OR re-take the exam you have taken many times before, we can get that "deer-in-the-headlights" look and forget the answer when asked on the spot.
I hope that my presentation of the material that you will need to understand helps you. I will do my best to try to get you to grasp the key points for your exam.
The day of the test you will need your photo ID, a number 2 pencil, an eraser, and I recommend, a highlighter.
Let's go!
