Cookery (Practical): Workflow, Knife Work and Plating Under Time
Cookery (practical) tests what you can do at the station: read a standard recipe, set up mise en place, use knives safely, cook to the correct doneness, hold hygiene and present a portion that matches the brief. The examiner watches process as well as the final plate, so keep your bench organised and make safe decisions visible.
Core rules and concepts
- Mise en place: read the recipe twice, weigh all ingredients, preheat ovens, set boards and bowls, and fill a waste bowl.
- Knife work: claw grip on the guiding hand; sharp knife; stable damp cloth under the board. Learn julienne (4 × 4 × 40 mm), brunoise (2 mm dice), paysanne and chiffonade.
- Workflow: start long-cooking items first; dovetail chopping with boiling; keep raw meat separate from ready-to-eat foods; clean as you go.
- Hygiene and safety: wash hands before and after raw handling; sanitise boards; taste with a clean spoon; hot-hold above 60°C; turn pan handles inward.
- Plating: control the portion, build height, use colour contrast, wipe the rim, and sauce the plate-not the rim.
Worked example
Task: 4 portions of vegetable cutlets in 45 minutes. Reasoned sequence: 0–5 min wash, weigh and set mise en place; 5–15 min boil potatoes while chopping vegetables and sweating onions; 15–25 min mash, mix, season and shape 8 cutlets; 25–35 min crumb and shallow-fry in batches at 170–180°C; 35–42 min drain, plate with salad and chutney; 42–45 min clean the station. Boiling and chopping overlap; batch frying keeps oil temperature stable, so the crust stays crisp rather than greasy.
Traps that cost marks
Frying before the oil reaches temperature; overmixing the cutlet mixture until gluey; tasting with the stirring spoon; plating hot food on a cold plate; leaving crumbs or sauce on the rim; abandoning the station without cleaning.