CDACC Food Production study plan
CDACC Food Production · Give each week a clear focus.
8 weeks · About 7 hours per week
Food Production Planning and Preparation & Food Preparation and Cooking Methods
Map the full production cycle from requisition to service and write a one-page flow diagram in your own words
Draft a two-day production schedule for a 60-cover operation including mise en place timelines
Explain the difference between a standard recipe, a batch card and a production plan, and apply each to one dish
Identify the five main moist-heat and five main dry-heat methods and state one food suited to each
Your checkpoint
A two-day production schedule plus a completed standard recipe card for one main dish, both self-checked against a written checklist
Food Preparation and Cooking Methods
Demonstrate and describe the Maillard reaction, caramelisation and gelatinisation with one worked kitchen example each
Calculate cooking-time and temperature adjustments for a recipe scaled from 4 to 40 portions
Compare conduction, convection and radiation and match each to a named piece of equipment
Diagnose three common cooking faults (tough meat, split sauce, soggy pastry) and write the corrective action for each
Your checkpoint
A cooking-methods comparison table covering 12 methods with heat-transfer type, suitable foods, key control point and common fault
Food Safety, Hygiene and Sanitation
List the five main foodborne hazard categories and give two kitchen examples of each
State the temperature danger zone and the safe holding, cooling and reheating limits you would enforce
Write a cleaning and sanitising procedure for a preparation surface including contact time and dilution
Apply the four-step HACCP logic to one high-risk dish and identify its critical control points
Your checkpoint
A one-page HACCP-style flow chart for one high-risk dish with critical limits and monitoring actions
Food Safety, Hygiene and Sanitation & Food Processing and Preservation
Explain how cross-contamination occurs at receiving, storage, preparation and service, and state one control at each stage
Match six preservation methods (chilling, freezing, drying, salting, curing, canning) to their principle and a suitable food
Describe the safe cooling curve for cooked food and the storage-life implications of breaking the cold chain
Distinguish use-by from best-before dates and apply the rule to three stock items
Your checkpoint
A preservation methods matrix of six methods with principle, example food, storage condition and main risk
Nutrition, Quality and Menu Development & Food Processing and Preservation
Identify the major nutrient groups, their functions and two food sources of each
Evaluate one menu against a balanced-plate standard and list three specific improvements
Explain how processing and cooking affect vitamin retention and state two practical minimisation steps
Draft a three-course menu with costed ingredient lines and a nutrient note per course
Your checkpoint
A costed three-course menu with a short nutritional justification and three documented improvements over a first draft
Kitchen Equipment, Tools and Maintenance & Food Production Workplace Safety and Environment
Classify ten pieces of kitchen equipment by function and state the cleaning routine for each
Write a preventive maintenance schedule covering refrigeration, knives, mixers and ventilation
List the main kitchen accident types and the control measure for each, including burns, cuts and slips
Describe safe manual handling and correct knife-handling practice in operational terms
Your checkpoint
A preventive maintenance log template plus a completed workplace risk assessment for one kitchen station
Cost Control, Inventory and Waste Management
Calculate food cost percentage, portion cost and selling price for three dishes from ingredient data
Explain the difference between physical stock, book stock and variance, and state one cause of each
Design a stock-rotation and receiving check that would prevent three named losses
Identify five waste points in a kitchen and propose a measurable reduction action for each
Your checkpoint
A costing sheet for three dishes with food cost percentage, plus a waste-reduction action list with measurable targets
Food Production Planning and Preparation & Food Safety, Hygiene and Sanitation & Food Preparation and Cooking Methods & Food Processing and Preservation & Nutrition, Quality and Menu Development & Kitchen Equipment, Tools and Maintenance & Cost Control, Inventory and Waste Management & Food Production Workplace Safety and Environment
Consolidate all eight domains into a single revision sheet of key facts, limits and formulas
Complete timed practice sets weighted to the domain percentages and record your score per domain
Re-teach your two weakest domains from memory and correct your notes against source material
Rehearse a full mock under exam conditions and review every wrong answer with the reason
Your checkpoint
A domain-by-domain score report from one full timed mock with a written correction note for every missed question
Milestones
Week 2: Can produce a standard recipe card and a scaled production schedule unaided, and correctly explain heat transfer for any named cooking method
Week 4: Can state the temperature danger zone, cooling limits and the critical control points of a high-risk dish without notes, scoring at least 80% on a self-set hygiene quiz
Week 6: Can complete a workplace risk assessment and a maintenance schedule that a supervisor would accept without correction
Week 8: Mock score at or above 75% overall with no domain below 60%, and every missed question has a written correction note