A well-plated meal not only appeals to the diner’s senses but also showcases the chef’s skills and creativity. The way a dish is presented can impact the diner’s overall dining event and leave a lasting impression on their experience with the hospitality establishment. This activity includes a PowerPoint Presentation (PPT) that covers tips and tricks for styling food for awesome food photography (also provided in a PDF version), 8 important elements to think about for a good food photo, as well as showcasing a range of plated meals for a Positive, Minus, Interesting (PMI) task. Notes from this PPT can be taken down in the Food Presentation, Styling and Garnishing work booklet. The work booklet also goes into detail on the differences between a garnish and a decoration; classic fruit, herb and vegetable garnishes; step-by-step methods for producing a range of garnishes; and all important tips for food presentation such as plate types, the ‘clock’, use of colour, height and avoiding symmetry. This task is perfect for Senior Food and Hospitality students who need to be thinking about and practicing plate presentation.

The design process is a tool that helps students (and designers) break down large projects into smaller, easier-to-manage stages. Students are given a design brief which identifies a problem or area of need and they work through the design process to research, create, prototype and evaluate a solution. This Cadbury Chocolate Bar task requires students to create a new flavour of chocolate bar to market to teenagers. Students are given the design brief, are required to pull it apart to fully understand what they need to do and then work through the design process steps to produce a chocolate bar that meets the design brief. This task can be used as a stand alone task or embedded into a food design unit.

The design process is a tool that helps students (and designers) break down large projects into smaller, easier-to-manage stages. Students are given a design brief which identifies a problem or area of need and they work through the design process to research, create, prototype and evaluate a solution. This Strawberry Food Design task requires students to create a simple yet tasty recipe using strawberries to get consumers to buy more fresh strawberries to help farmers cope with the despair over excess waste, mass dumping and devastating price reductions due to unforeseen weather conditions, supermarket size requirements and the continued effects from the COVID lockdowns. Students are given a design situation and design brief. They are required to pull it apart to fully understand what they need to do and then work through the design process steps to produce a strawberry recipe and prototype that meets the design brief. This task can be used as a stand alone task or embedded into a food design unit.

A skill requirement for Vocational Studies - Hospitality Cookery students is being able to detect deficiencies in foods based on issues such as temperature danger zones, storage principles and safe food handling in order to ensure the best, highest quality menu items are served to customers. This activity has 32 flashcards each with a different photo showing a poor handling/food issue. Students are to use their knowledge of how to maintain the quality of food items to identify the issue in each flashcard. As an extension task for students to further demonstrate their understanding, students are to explain what could happen if each issue was allowed to happen in a commercial kitchen as well as describing the effects on the business, food handler and customer. Download includes the Flashcards, Extension Worksheet and Answers for the flashcards.

Food-borne illness affects many hundreds of people throughout the world each year and is often caused by pathogenic bacteria, viruses or toxins in food. This research task gets students to select and research a food-borne pathogen. A graphic organiser and task list is supplied to help them organise their information and they can let their creativity surface by producing their newfound knowledge in the form of a ‘wanted poster’ and presentation. This is a great end of term filler task or a casual/relief lesson as the task can be divided up so students only produce the wanted poster or the presentation depending on the length of class time available. It can also be used as a summative assessment tool due to the inclusion of a marking/grading rubric and an example of the wanted poster.

The functional properties of food describes how ingredients behave during preparation and cooking; and how the finished product is affected in terms of how it looks, tastes and feels. This Functional Properties of Food task consists of a match-up activity where students are required to match the term to its definition (cut and laminate for re-use or provide copies to students to take home), and an extension worksheet where students are required to include the definition but add examples of the functional property as well as the factors that affect it. This extension worksheet is a great optional activity for those more advanced students or can be used as a homework task. This task is a great revision activity to determine how well students are understanding the content covered in class or used for revision in the lead up to exams and assessments. Answers are included.

This Kitchen Equipment BINGO set of cards is a great start of the term, end of the term and all round revision activity to help reinforce kitchen terminology. It comes with a Bingo Caller Card (print 2 copies!) and 18 different student playing cards. Laminate for re-use.

One of the most important aspects of working in any kitchen is being on the lookout for and reducing the possibility of hazards. This comprehension task takes an article from an Australian news website about yet another Melbourne Food Manufacturer/Restaurant failing in their duties to keep a worker safe and asks students to describe how the incident occurred, explain the employee and employer responsibilities when it comes to risks and discuss the consequences. This is a great homework task after a safety lesson or as part of a casual/relief lesson.

A major factor in any Vocational Education Training (VET) Hospitality course is the practical cooking component and the necessity to match appropriate recipes, skills and techniques to the Units of Competency covered throughout the course. This is a tried and tested Hospitality cookery recipe book with well over 120 recipes matched to units for the full Hospitality Kitchen Operations training package. Each recipe provides: a list of techniques covered portions clean up checklist recommended garnishes workflow templates Recipes are designed for one to two students maximum to ensure each member of the class is attempting each of the skills and techniques required. The introduction of the recipe book also supplies: a recommended way ‘Set Up Your Workstation’ diagram information on measuring oven temperature conversions description on the most effective way to clean and sanitise benchtops precision cuts and practice template meat doneness as well as the contents pages which lists each recipe and the techniques covered The back of the recipe book provides: Hospitality MasterChef Challenge lesson MasterChef score sheet Practical course feedback survey