Unit Descriptor

Organise and Prepare food

This unit describes the performance outcomes, skills and knowledge required to organise and prepare a variety of foods for the kitchen of a hospitality or catering preparation. it focuses on general food preparation techniques.

The term 'organising and preparing food' is also referred to as 'mis en place' and includes basic preparation prior to serving food, which may involve cooking components of a dish but does not include the actual presentation.

ORGANISING AND PREPARING FOOD INCLUDES:

Personal hygiene and safety.
Recognising tools of the trade.
Identify which tools of the trade are the most suitable for the job.
Identify and use equipment, including the care of this equipment.
Mis en Place
Following work plans and recipes
Costing
Food groups
Portion control
Ordering and purchasing
Menu types
Presentation & garnishing
Food evaluation

Personal Hygiene and Safety

Working in an environment where food is being prepared and served can be dangerous for both the employee or worker and their customers.

Occupational health and safety is an issue that all interested parties should take seriously. It is the responsibility of all staff and employers to ensure that neither our food or the kitchen environment becomes hazardous.

Food handlers should pay particular attention to the following areas:

Clothing/uniform
Skin
Washing
Hair
Hands
Fingernails
Mouth
Nose
Jewellery

With the help of the words above, list or describe what an employee in the food industry needs to do to ensure they are following health and safety regulations.

Food Safety Videos

Courtesy of: Central District Health Department

Please note (nb), these videos are American but they will give you the same information that is required of you to know and understand this topic. While you view these videos take note of the difference in temperatures spoken about, we will discuss these in the next lesson.

Basic Food Safety Course - Part 1 Introduction

Produced by the Central District Health Department

Basic Food Safety - Part 2: Holding Time and Temperatures

Produced by the Central District Health Department

Basic Food Safety - Part 3: Poor Personal Hygiene

Produced by the Central District Health Department

Basic Food Safety - Part 4: Inadequate Cooking and Contamina

Produced by the Central District Health Department

Basic Food Safety - Part 5: Adulterated Food

Produced by the Central District Health Department

When preparing food there are many areas of consideration food handlers need to consider, they must prepare equipment for use by:

Ensuring that equipment is clean before use;
is the correct type and size and;
is safely assembled and ready for use.

What OHS and hygiene procedures need to be adhered to when using the equipment below.

Think pair share activity

Robot coupe stick blender

Robot coupe food processor

Industrial mincer

Deep fryer

Salamander

Hobart mixer

Knives and cleavers

Knives are the tools of the chef's trade. If handled incorrectly and treated with disrespect they can be extremely dangerous. In this section we will examine and discuss aspects of:

Knife parts
Correct knife handling procedures
How to care for knives
Sharpening knives with a stone and steel
Correct cutting techniques


Parts of a knife

SKILL	POINTS TO REMEMBER WHEN HANDLING A KNIFE
The Grip	use a firm but relaxed grip
Positioning of Free Hand	tuck fingers under (to hold the food securely), ensure that the second joints of the fingers are at right angles to chopping board, to help maintain even work
Using the Knife: Tip Centre Heel	slicing mushrooms, tomatoes or producing brunoise of onion. All small food items. used for most work in the kitchen slicing vegetables, meats, etc used for sectioning vegetables, cutting small bones
Sharpening: Using a steel Using a stone	have steel at 45°, place heel of knife against tip of steel, draw the knife the full length of the steel use a slight arching motion. Wash and dry before using. secure and wet the stone, place the blade on the stone at a 15° angle, use the fingers of your free hand to hold the blade. Draw the knife the full length of the stone using even strokes, alternating sides. Wash and dry before using.

Care & storage of knives

Knives should be cleaned and dried immediately after use.
Use a mild detergent for washing.
Rinse under warm water.
Dry with a soft cloth.
Never leave knives in a sink of water.
Handle knives carefully. Hold the knife-edge away from the body.
When carrying a knife, make sure the blade faces downwards.

Knives need to be stored carefully. If knives are kept in toolboxes, each knife must be covered with a shield.

When carrying knives (e.g. to and from work) they must be in a knife case, roll or a toolbox.

Knives - their functions and uses

Rearrange the knife images to match the functions and uses described.

TYPE OF KNIFE	FUNCTION	USE	IMAGE
CHEFS KNIFE	Versatile knife with a 20-25cm blade with the handle offset to allow for knuckle clearance. It is in constant use as it is the knife best suited to chopping, slicing and dicing.	Roughly cut onion and carrot into mirepoix. Precisely cut carrot into julienne.
CHOPPING KNIFE	Large heavy bladed knife is used fro splitting poultry and small bones and the shells of crustaceans.	Split the carcass of a chicken in preparation for sautéing.
CLEAVER	Safely splits hard bones and has a large rectangular shaped heavy blade.	Splitting bones for stock preparation.
FILLETING KNIFE	A flexible-blade knife best suited to filleting fish and is also suitable for de-veining prawns.	Skin and fillet fish.
PARING KNIFE	A small knife with a pointed blade used for most small jobs such as peeling, cutting, turning and artistic work. If the blade is curved it is known as a turning knife.	To core tomatoes, peel onions, trim carrots and celery.
PALLET KNIFE	Also known as a spatula, the pallet knife has a long flexible round-ended blade. It is used to lift, mix, spread and scrape soft mixtures and fillings.	Flip crepes during cooking, lift finished crepes onto plates and spread icing on cakes.
SERRATED KNIFE	The serrated blade is designed for cutting through bread and removing crusts.	To remove crusts from bread and cut bread into croutons.