Practical Food Skills, Investigation and Evaluation
Practical skills
Candidates must demonstrate safe and hygienic work practices, correct use of equipment and knives, accurate measurement, appropriate preparation techniques (washing, peeling, cutting, mixing, folding, kneading, portioning) and cooking methods (moist heat such as boiling, steaming, poaching and stewing; dry heat such as baking, grilling, roasting and frying). Know how to select equipment and methods to preserve nutrients and sensory qualities, and how to present food attractively.
Investigation and experimentation
Understand how to write an aim, hypothesis, variables (independent, dependent, controlled), a method that can be replicated, a results table, and a conclusion linked to the hypothesis. Know the difference between a fair test and a subjective sensory judgement, and how to use sensory panels, scoring scales and repeats to improve reliability. Traps include failing to identify controlled variables, drawing conclusions beyond the data, and confusing accuracy with reliability.
Evaluation and reflection
Know how to evaluate a product against the design brief and specification, using sensory, nutritional, cost and environmental criteria, and how to propose specific improvements. Understand the value of reflection on process as well as product.
Rule of thumb
Every investigation should be repeatable: another student should be able to follow the method and obtain comparable results.
Worked example
A student tests whether adding acid speeds up bread dough rising. The independent variable is the amount of acid, the dependent variable is dough height after a set time, and controlled variables include flour type, water temperature, yeast quantity and proving time. The student repeats each trial three times and averages results. The conclusion must be limited to the conditions tested and linked back to the hypothesis.