The ServSafe Food Handler and ServSafe Allergens programs were developed by the National Restaurant Association’s Learning and Development team. These programs were created with the help of experts from the foodservice industry, academia, and regulatory agencies. They reflect the current research and science in food safety and align with the latest FDA Food Code.
The instructional design team behind these programs have deep industry knowledge as well as comprehensive knowledge of instructional design theory, current educational research, and trends in developing effective learning. The team has expanded to meet the needs of the industry and include many other talented instructional designers. Two members of the team were instrumental in the design and development of the ServSafe Food Handler and ServSafe Allergens programs:
Clay Hosh is the Principal Instructional Designer for ServSafe at the National Restaurant Association. He has a master’s degree in Instructional Design, and another in E-learning. Clay has 12 years of restaurant management experience and over 23 years’ experience in designing and developing training courses in food safety, responsible alcohol service, and more. He has created both instructor-led courses as well as online learning. Clay was a ServSafe Instructor for over 10 years.
Todd Schlender is Senior Instructional Designer at the National Restaurant Association. He has 16 years’ experience designing and developing a wide variety of programs. Recent courses include: Covid-19 related courses for safe delivery, takeout precautions, and de-escalation; and the ServSafe Delivery: Third Party course. Todd was a co-designer of the ServSafe Allergens, ServSafe Food Handler, and ServSafe Manager courses. He has extensive knowledge in food safety and has worked on both instructor-led and online versions of these courses throughout his tenure at the National Restaurant Association.
The development of the ServSafe Food Handler and ServSafe Allergens courses would not be possible without the help of many other members of the Learning and Development Team. This includes those who shoot and direct video, illustrate, edit, record audio, and build these courses.