Last reviewed 11 November 2026 against the sources linked in this post.
When you serve hundreds of people from one kitchen, one slip reaches many plates. The US Food and Drug Administration reports that, from September 2009 to September 2014, about one-third of the foods reported to it as serious health risks involved undeclared allergens. Good catering training stops that slip before service starts.
This is a list of 8 ready-made courses for catering managers, canteen supervisors and contract-catering trainers. It leads with food safety and allergens, then covers the team skills and emergency basics that mass catering also needs. Each group ends with an Our pick. These courses are team training, not an accredited certificate.
All 8 courses at a glance
| Course | What it covers | Length | US rule or guidance behind the topic |
|---|---|---|---|
| Food safety, HACCP and allergens | Hygiene, time and temperature, cross-contamination, HACCP records | 40 min | None cited here |
| Food allergen awareness | The 9 major allergens, cross-contact, reactions | 30 min | FALCPA and FASTER Act (FDA) |
| Healthy eating and nutrition literacy | Food groups, labels and fads for canteen teams | 30 min | None cited here |
| Harassment prevention: employees (US federal) | What harassment is and how to report it | 45 min | Harassment can be unlawful (EEOC) |
| Respectful workplace & anti-bullying | Naming and responding to everyday disrespect | 35 min | None cited here |
| De-escalation for customer-facing staff | Calming queue and service disputes | 30 min | None cited here |
| Emergency action & fire prevention plans | Raising the alarm and getting everyone out | 30 min | OSHA 29 CFR 1910.38 |
| Active shooter preparedness: Run, Hide, Fight | Choosing run, hide or fight, and what happens when police arrive | 30 min | None cited here |
Food safety and allergens
Three courses for everyone who handles, plates or talks about food.
Food safety, HACCP and allergens
This 40-minute course has six lessons: why food safety matters, personal hygiene and handwashing, time and temperature control, cross-contamination and cleaning, HACCP, and allergen controls. Bulk cooking, holding and transport all multiply risk, and HACCP, a system of hazard checks and records, gives each step an owner. The course is global rather than tied to one country's law. Its time and temperature lesson has a "sort the foods" activity, which works well as a live round: ask the team which of the foods on the buffet belong in the danger zone.
Food allergen awareness
The FDA names nine major food allergens: milk, eggs, fish, Crustacean shellfish, tree nuts, peanuts, wheat, soybeans and sesame, and sesame joined the list on 1 January 2023 under the FASTER Act. This 30-minute course teaches all nine, how to stop cross-contact in prep, cooking and service, how to take an allergen order and what to do when a reaction happens. It ends with a 10-question final check, 80 per cent to pass. It is awareness only and issues no official card or certificate. Ask the team to name all nine from memory, then check the list.
Healthy eating and nutrition literacy
Canteen teams plan menus and get asked what is in a dish. This 30-minute course covers food groups and a balanced plate, how to read a food label, shift and special-diet grey areas and how to spot a fad. Its "myth or fad?" activity is a ready-made quiz for a team meeting. It is the one course here that is about the food itself rather than safety, so it suits canteens more than event caterers.
Our pick: Food safety, HACCP and allergens. It follows food from delivery to plate in one 40-minute course, which is how a catering team works.
Respect on the team
Event kitchens run on short notice and agency staff. Three courses keep service calm.
Harassment prevention: employees (US federal)
The EEOC says harassment becomes unlawful where enduring the offensive conduct becomes a condition of continued employment, or where the conduct is severe or pervasive enough to create a work environment that a reasonable person would consider intimidating, hostile, or abusive. This 45-minute course has six lessons and a 12-question final check. It teaches what harassment is, how to respond as a bystander and how to report it. Temporary and agency staff need the same clear route to speak up as permanent ones. Ask the team to sort examples into unlawful harassment, a policy breach or acceptable behaviour.
Respectful workplace & anti-bullying
Pressure in a kitchen tests teamwork. This 35-minute course separates bullying, incivility, tough-but-fair management and unlawful harassment, then gives simple scripts to respond, repair and intervene. Use the same scripts for the pass, where a short instruction can sound like an insult.
De-escalation for customer-facing staff
Long queues and a dish running out are classic flashpoints. This 30-minute course teaches the stages of escalation, verbal and non-verbal techniques, a safe position and when to disengage and get help. It was written for retail and counter staff, and the same skills serve a serving line. Ask the team what they would say to a guest who has waited 20 minutes.
Our pick: De-escalation for customer-facing staff. Serving lines are where tempers show first, and the course gives staff words and a safe position to use.
Emergency planning
Event venues and canteens hold crowds, so staff need to know the plan.
Emergency action & fire prevention plans
OSHA's rule says an employer must review the emergency action plan with each employee when the plan is developed or the employee is first assigned to a job. This 30-minute course has seven lessons: raising the alarm, getting out, shelter-in-place and special roles, preventing fire, and evacuation wardens. A kitchen is a fire risk, and staff lead guests out. The rule applies only where an OSHA standard requires a plan, so check with your safety lead.
Active shooter preparedness: Run, Hide, Fight
Catering at public events puts staff among crowds. This 30-minute course teaches the warning signs, the order of Run, Hide, Fight, how to apply it to your own building and role and what to do when police arrive. No law is cited here, so treat it as good practice. Its practice lesson suits a walk of your own venue.
Our pick: Emergency action & fire prevention plans. A kitchen fire is the emergency most likely to happen, and the course gives a clear exit routine for staff and guests.
How to roll the plan out
Start with the courses tied to a rule or a risk: food safety and allergens, then the emergency plan. Add the respect and de-escalation courses to onboarding, especially for agency and seasonal staff. Then schedule annual refreshers and finish with role-specific depth, such as a walk of each venue's exits. Add any state, national or local food-hygiene requirement for your location, and run a refresher whenever the menu or a supplier changes.
Anchor each session to the same fact: about one-third of foods reported to the FDA as serious health risks involved undeclared allergens between 2009 and 2014. Ask each team where an allergen could slip past on their menu. Restaurant teams have a close cousin to this list in our restaurant staff training post.
Ways to run these courses on AhaSlides
You can offer all 8 in three formats:
- Self-paced courses. Use the AhaSlides course creator to send each new cook or server a course before their first shift.
- A live Q&A deck. Collect questions ahead of the session, then answer them in the room. For running it well, see our 9 tips for a successful Q&A session.
- Surveys. Use the post-course survey and 30-day check-in that come with each template, and see how to track employee training completion.
Four slide types do most of the work:
- Pick Answer. Ask: "Which of the nine major allergens is the newest on the US list?" Show the split before you reveal sesame.
- Word Cloud. Ask: "Where could an allergen slip past us on a big event menu?" The biggest words show where the team needs practice.
- Rating Scale. Ask, before and after: "How confident are you about what to do if a guest says they have an allergy?" Rate from 1 to 5 and compare the averages.
- Open Ended. Ask: "What would you say to a guest who has queued 20 minutes and found their dish has run out?" Answers can be anonymous, so people say what they think.
FAQ
What training do catering staff need?
Food hygiene, allergen awareness and HACCP-style checks, plus basic emergency training. The food safety, HACCP and allergens course and the allergen awareness course cover the first two. Check your local rules for any accredited qualification.
Do canteen staff need allergen training?
It is good practice for all canteen staff, and in the US the law that names the nine major allergens requires them to be declared on packaged food labels. Rules for served food differ by place, so check yours with your local food authority.
What is level 2 food hygiene for catering?
It is a UK-style accredited food hygiene qualification for catering staff, awarded by an approved training provider. A free template course does not replace it. Ask your local authority which version it accepts.
How often should catering teams refresh training?
At least once a year, and whenever menus or suppliers change, because a new ingredient can bring a new allergen. Allergen refreshers are the most important.
This post is general information, not legal advice. For a decision about your own workplace, speak to a qualified lawyer or the regulator.
