SITHKOP013 - Plan cooking

operations
Student Guide
Student Guide SITHKOP013 - Plan cooking operations

Contents
About this unit 5
1: Introduction 6
2: Plan cooking operations 17
3: Putting it all together 21

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Student Guide SITHKOP013 - Plan cooking operations

SITHKOP013 - Plan cooking operations

Application
This unit describes the performance outcomes, skills and knowledge required to plan the
production of food in commercial kitchens. It requires the ability to organise required food supplies
for food production and supervise food production processes.
Food production can be for any type of cuisine and food service style. It may include Asian
cookery, patisserie products and bulk-cooked foods.
The unit applies to hospitality and catering organisations, including hotels, restaurants, clubs,
educational institutions, health establishments, defence forces, cafeterias, residential caterers, in
flight and other transport caterers, event and function caterers.
It applies to those people who operate independently or with limited guidance from others including
senior chefs and catering managers.
The skills in this unit must be applied in accordance with Commonwealth and State or Territory
legislation, Australian standards and industry codes of practice.
No occupational licensing, certification or specific legislative requirements apply to this unit at the
time of publication.

Pre-requisite Unit
SITXFSA005 - Use hygienic practices for food safety

Learning goals
• Plan food production requirements.
• Organise availability of supplies and equipment
• Plan kitchen operations.

Fact Sheets
• Fact Sheet 1 Following hygienic work practices
• Fact Sheet 2 Food safety programs
• Fact Sheet 3 Food safety laws, regulations and standards
• Fact Sheet 4 Managing food safety hazards and risks
• Fact Sheet 5 Safe food handling
• Fact Sheet 6 Receiving and storing food
• Fact Sheet 7 Cleaning and sanitisation
• Fact Sheet 8 Working sustainably
• Fact Sheet 10 Workflow planning
• Fact Sheet 11 Special dietary requirements
• Fact Sheet 14 Culinary terms
• Fact Sheet 15 Gathering feedback

• Fact Sheet 16 A tour of the large equipment in a commercial kitchen

• Fact Sheet 17 Commercial kitchen utensils

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• Fact Sheet 18 Pots, pans, trays and steamers

• Fact Sheet 19 Knives
• Fact Sheet 20 Equipment safety, cleaning and maintenance
• Fact Sheet 21 Blenders, mixers, food processors and food mills.
• Fact Sheet 22 Graters, mouli and mandoline slicers
• Fact Sheet 23 Weights and measures
• Fact Sheet 25 All about blanching
• Fact Sheet 26 All about boiling
• Fact Sheet 27 All about braising
• Fact Sheet 28 All about frying
• Fact Sheet 29 All about grilling
• Fact Sheet 30 All about poaching
• Fact Sheet 31 All about roasting and baking
• Fact Sheet 32 All about stewing
• Fact Sheet 33 All about steaming
• Fact Sheet 34 All about microwaving.

Overlap alert
Learners may already be familiar with the following concepts:
• cleaning and sanitisation
• safe food handling
• hygienic work practices
• workflow planning
• sustainable work practices
• use of commercial kitchen equipment and utensils
• freshness and quality indicators
• spoilage and contamination
• safe food storage
• knife skills
• culinary terms
• cooking methods
• special dietary requirements
• leading a team to oversee day-to-day work
• problem solving.

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Student Guide SITHKOP013 - Plan cooking operations

About this unit

Welcome to SITHKOP013 - Plan cooking operations! If you are reading this, you must be very close
to the end of the learning for this course. You should know all about these topics:

• safe food handling and hygienic practices

• work health and safety

• using cookery equipment and utensils

• managing diverse people

• preparing dishes using a wide range of ingredients and cookery methods

• special dietary requirements

• menu planning

• coaching others

• monitor work operations

• leading people and dealing with conflict.

By now you will have had lots of time and experience in the kitchen, cooking and working with others.
You may have been assessed on some of your units already.
This unit gives you the opportunity to plan the production of food in your kitchen. You will need to plan
the production of food, organise required food supplies and equipment and plan kitchen operations.

Let’s now refresh your memory on the skills and knowledge you will need to be able to complete your
assessment.

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Student Guide SITHKOP013 - Plan cooking operations

1: Introduction

This section provides a brief overview of the key requirements when working in a commercial kitchen.
You will already be very familiar with these concepts from your work so far in this course, however
feel free to review them to refresh your memory. Remember that you will be applying these
requirements in the role of overseeing production.

Safe food handling

TIME FOR SOME FACTS

You may like to take a few moments to review:

• Fact Sheet 1 Following hygienic work practices

• Fact Sheet 2 Food safety programs

• Fact Sheet 3 Food safety laws, regulations and standards

• Fact Sheet 4 Managing food safety hazards and risks

• Fact Sheet 5 Safe food handling.

You may like to take a few moments to review the food safety/handling requirements
for specific types of ingredients and food by looking at the guides for units such as:

• SITHCCC028 Prepare appetisers and salads

• SITHCCC029 Prepare stocks sauces and soups

• SITHCCC030 Prepare vegetable fruit and farinaceous dishes

• SITHCCC035 Prepare poultry dishes

• SITHCCC037 Prepare seafood dishes

• SITHCCC036 Prepare meat dishes

• SITHCCC041 Produce cakes, pastries and breads

Food storage
As with any food items you must ensure you are using ingredients that are in date and fresh. Food
safety standards require that food is labelled and rotated to ensure freshness and quality.
Always check the use by dates and best before dates of food before you prepare it.

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Labelling

• Place labels on containers/trays.

• Labels/stickers include:
o colour-coded stickers
o ‘days of the week’ stickers
o use by food labels
o prep labels (item, name, quantity, date, use by)
o ‘use first’ or ‘new stock/old stock’ labels.

• Make sure use by or best before dates are not removed from packaging.

• Shelving should be labelled to assist with correct storage, rotation and inventory management.

Storage

• All food must be stored in food-grade storage containers.

• Check the condition of food containers before use and throw out those that are cracked/split,
or have poor fitting lids.

• Wash and sanitise before use.

• Single-use containers should never be reused.

• Lids must be tight fitting.

• If you need to use cling film or foil, make sure it covers the container tightly.

• Check temperature of fridges/cool rooms and freezers

• Check for signs of humidity and moisture in dry stores

• Check packaged foods for signs of contamination, spoilage or pest infestation

• Check dry stores for signs of pest infestation

• Make sure food storage areas have sufficient lighting to assist with identification or spoiled and
contaminated foods

• Check for adequate ventilation in the kitchen area to reduce condensation build up.

TIME FOR SOME FACTS

You may like to take a few moments to review Fact Sheet 6 Receiving and storing
food.

You may like to further review safe food receiving and storage requirements by
returning to your guide for the unit SITXINV006 Receive, store and maintain stock

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Equipment and utensils

By this stage you will have used many different types of equipment and utensils in the commercial
kitchen. Part of your work in the kitchen when coordinate cooking operations will require that you
observe your team for safe and correct usage of equipment and utensils.

TIME FOR SOME FACTS

You may like to take a few moments to review:

• Fact Sheet 16 A tour of the large equipment in a commercial kitchen

• Fact Sheet 17 Commercial kitchen utensils

• Fact Sheet 18 Pots, pans, trays and steamers

• Fact Sheet 19 Knives

• Fact Sheet 20 Equipment safety, cleaning and maintenance

• Fact Sheet 21 Blenders, mixers, food processors and food mills

• Fact Sheet 22 Graters, mouli and mandoline slicers

• Fact Sheet 23 Weights and measures.

Cleaning and sanitisation

No one wants to use dirty equipment or equipment that isn’t working the way it should. You should
always make sure you have cleaned and performed any necessary maintenance on equipment so
that it is clean and safe to use for the next time, or for the next person.

TIME FOR SOME FACTS

You may like to take a few moments to review Fact Sheet 7 Cleaning and sanitation.

Common signs of uncleanliness or damage may include:

• food that has not been removed from attachments and accessories

• spatters or splashes of food on equipment housing

• dust and dirt

• stains or marks on equipment

• cracks, slits and chips

• issues with electrical cords and plugs.

Key cleaning and maintenance requirements relate to:

• the correct way to clean and sanitise equipment

• what maintenance can be safely performed (such as blade sharpening and adjusting, belt
tensioning, oiling and lubrication)

• signs of wear and tear or damage.

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Commercial kitchens will have cleaning and maintenance checklists and procedures available for staff
to follow.

Working sustainably
Every day you spend in the kitchen means you are using water, electricity, gas and producing waste.
The impact of the hospitality industry on the environment is well known, and has led to changes in
many practices.

TIME FOR SOME FACTS

You may like to take a few moments to review Fact Sheet 8 Working sustainably.

Determining food production requirements

This requires you to consider the following:

• Meal quantities required:

o Check bookings
o Check previous week/month bookings
o Identify any events taking place locally or within hotel

• Menu items: To determine food production requirements of menu items you must carefully
analyse the standard recipe for that item. Each standard recipe will include:
o the time that you will need to allow to prepare and cook the dish
o the quantities of each ingredient that you will need
o how many portions you will get from the ingredients listed in the recipe
o the equipment that you will require
o tips for preparing ingredients (often found in the ingredients list)
o whether there are tasks that you can complete during mise en place.

• Organisational standards: It is important to understand the organisations standards and quality

indicators when conducting food production. Organisational standards will identify the quality,
timing, plating, and any other specifics relating to the dishes being prepared. Generally, these
standards are available on the standard recipe card.

• Portion control: Portion control helps to protect profit. Requirements to maintain portion control
include:
o Follow standard recipes
o Weigh, count, and measure everything
o Follow plating requirements
o Ensure correct quality and specifications of product is purchased

• Special dietary requirements: There are many different reasons for dietary constraints
including food intolerances and allergies, special diets such as vegan, religious reasons such as
Kosher. When special dietary requirements have been identified:

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o Ensure you have a complete understanding of the constraint, e.g., if someone has a fish
allergy, check to see if any fish sauce has been used in the recipe.
o Ensure the docket is clearly highlighted with the restriction
o Use separate equipment when preparing special dishes, e.g., if the deep fryer is used to
cook fish and seafood, use a pan to fry the food in clean oil.
o Have the menu labelled with information, e.g., dishes may include symbols, DF = dairy free,
GF = gluten free, etc.
o Clearly label the dish so it goes to the correct person

• Special customer requests: These may be requests such as, no sauce, extra cheese, no
coriander, have size, extra piece, etc. When special requests are made first ensure the docket is
highlighted so mistakes are not made. When the dish gets to the pass, the chef will conduct the
final checks which will include looking at the docket for any special instructions. Ensure each
special request dish is clearly marked so the correct dish is given to the right customer.

• Standard recipes: Standard recipes allow for dishes to be made and meet the organisations
requirements. Each standard recipe will include:
o the time that you will need to allow to prepare and cook the dish
o the quantities of each ingredient that you will need
o how many portions you will get from the ingredients listed in the recipe
o the equipment that you will require
o tips for preparing ingredients (often found in the ingredients list)
o whether there are tasks that you can complete during mise en place.

• Timeframe: Standard recipes will indicate the timing required for preparation and cooking. You
will also need to identify the timeframes for service. This may include bar service prior to dinner,
timeframes for entrees, mains and desserts.
You will already know these aspects from your previous work, however know it is your role to make
sure these are followed and to quality standards and workplace expectations.

TIME FOR SOME FACTS

You may like to take a few moments to review Fact Sheet 9 Reading and interpreting
recipes.

TIME FOR SOME FACTS

You may like to take a few moments to review Fact Sheet 11 Special dietary
requirements.

You may like to further review dietary requirement further by returning to your guide
for the unit SITHCCC042 Prepare food to meet special dietary requirements.

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You may like to further review dietary requirements and menus further by returning
to your guides for the units:

• SITHCCC042 Prepare food to meet special dietary requirements

• SITHKOP010 Plan and cost basic menus

• SITHKOP012 Develop menus for special dietary requirements.

Food service styles

In this unit you will focus on the following food service styles:

• À la carte: “A la carte” is a French term that translates to “on the card.” In the context of dining
out, each dish on the menu is priced and ordered separately rather than being part of a set meal
or package. It allows the customer to have more control over their dining experience and order
only what they want to eat, rather than being limited to a fixed menu. Ala carte menu pricing can
vary depending on the ingredients, preparation, and presentation of each dish, and it is typically
higher than the price of a set menu or package.

• Buffet: A variety of dishes presented in a line, in Bain Marie, hot and cold plates, from which
diners in a restaurant serve themselves, usually at a fixed price regardless of how much one eats.
Buffet service will generally include salads, hot and cold dishes, cheese, desserts. Chefs prepare
the food and will often keep top ups in the kitchen until they are required. Buffets may also see
chefs serving particular dishes, for example, carving the meat at the meat station.

• Set menu or table d’hôte: A table d'hôte menu is a menu where multi-course meals with only a
few choices are charged at a fixed total price. Such a menu may be called prix fixe. The terms set
meal and set menu are also used. A set menu allows for less wastage as only the dishes on the
set menu need to be prepared.

• Bulk cooking operations: Bulk cooking operations is a type of food production process where food
is cooked in large batches and portioned into individual dishes. This type of food production is
often seen in hospitals, prisons, airlines, etc.

• Functions and events: Food service styles for functions and events can be any of the above
service styles. Generally, food is cooked in bulk and then either served buffet style, 50/50 drop
where two different dishes are served and placed alternatively to each customer with no choice
allowed, or as a set menu where customer choose from a small variety, e.g., 3 entrees, 3 mains,
3 desserts.

Food production processes and systems

In this unit you will focus on the following food production systems

• bulk cooking
• cook chill for extended life
• cook chill for five-day shelf life
• cook freeze
• fresh cook.
The type of food production process you use will of course depend on the type of food being
produced and how to best maintain its quality, structure and nutritional value.

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Food production processes involve everything you must do from start to finish to produce a dish.
These include:

Receiving

It is important to only accept delivery of food from suppliers that you are sure is safe and suitable.
Under Standard 3.2.2 - Food Safety Practices and General Requirements, food businesses must do
everything they can to make sure they only receive food that is safe and suitable. This generally
means the food is delivered:

• from a known supplier

• protected from contamination, and
• at a safe temperature.
To reduce your risk:

• make sure you can identify all food that is delivered and you know the supplier’s name and
address
• ask your suppliers to protect food from contamination (e.g., in food-safe packaging)
• make sure someone is on-site to inspect food as it is delivered
• check delivered food is properly covered or packaged
• check there is no mould, insects, droppings or foreign objects (like glass or metal) in the food
• check the ‘Use by’ date of items has not passed
• if the food is potentially hazardous, check it is delivered at the correct temperature.

Mise en place

Mise en place (pronounced ‘meez on pluss’) is a French term. Translated, it means ‘put in place’. So,
from a commercial kitchen point of view, ‘mise en place’ means to put all of the things in place to
prepare for service. During mise en place, you will complete as many tasks as possible. This will, of
course, depend on your role and the recipes you are preparing but may include:

• gathering all of your ingredients and checking them for freshness and quality
• gathering all of your equipment and making sure that it is clean, safe and in good working
condition (for example, pots and pans, chopping boards and knives, pre-heating ovens, cleaning
equipment)
• weighing out, counting or measuring ingredients
• preparing ingredients (for example, washing, peeling and cutting up vegetables)
• pre-cooking ingredients where safe and suitable (for example, stocks, pastas)
• putting all of the ingredients into individual containers, ready for preparation and cooking during
service.
Preparing

Preparation techniques include how each commodity within the recipe is to be prepared, for example:

• Chopping
• Slicing
• Dicing
• Curing

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• Boiling
• Fermenting
• Grinding
• Marinating
The standard recipe card must be carefully analysed so that all commodities are correctly prepared.
Cooking

There are many types of cooking methods. Understanding these different cooking methods can help
you choose the best technique for your ingredients and create delicious dishes. Additionally, knowing
which cooking methods align with your menu allows you to choose the right kitchen equipment to
achieve consistent, flavourful results in your cooking. Cooking methods may include:

• Sous vide
• Poaching
• Simmering
• Steaming
• Boiling
• Baking
• Grilling
• Roasting
• Fring
• Sauteing
Food storage

As part of the food production process it is important that all food items, cooked, dry, cold and frozen,
are stored in a safe manner to ensure food is not spoiled, contaminated or open to pest infestation.
The following points must be considered when storing food:

• All food must be stored in food-grade storage containers.

• Check the condition of food containers before use and throw out those that are cracked/split or
have poor fitting lids.
• Wash and sanitise before use.
• Single-use containers should never be reused.
• Lids must be tight fitting.
• If you need to use cling film or foil, make sure it covers the container tightly.
• Check temperature of fridges/cool rooms and freezers
• Check for signs of humidity and moisture in dry stores
• Check packaged foods for signs of contamination, spoilage or pest infestation
• Check dry stores for signs of pest infestation
• Make sure food storage areas have sufficient lighting to assist with identification or spoiled and
contaminated foods
• Check for adequate ventilation in the kitchen area to reduce condensation build up.
Reconstitution:

The culinary definition for reconstitute is to put water, or other forms of liquid, back into a dried or
dehydrated whole food or powder. A good example of this is dried mushrooms, orange juice
concentrate, powdered milk, etc. Another example would be soaking dried apricots in hot water to
restore them to their original size.

Using dried, powdered or concentrated food products can help to maximise profits, save space, or
enable large amounts of the product in stock.

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Re-thermalisation

Food Re-thermalisation is the process by which prepackaged food that is either frozen or chilled is
brought into hot temperatures safely and effectively. The food may have been prepared earlier and
frozen or purchased as a frozen product.

There are a number of ways that food may be re-thermalised:

• A microwave may be used

• Hot water bath
• Convection oven
• In a saucepan
Serving

The service of prepared food is the final part of the food production process. This is when the food
that has been prepared and cooked makes it way to the servery or pass. This is where the final
checks are completed and the head chef communicates with others or makes adjustments and the
dish is passed over to the restaurant for service.

The servery or pass may have heat lamps above, a cooling plate, garnishes and more plates required
for service. The servery area is designed to be efficient so dishes can be passed with ease to the
restaurant. The following production processes take place at the pass:

• Dockets are printed and distributed or called

• Food is placed for final inspection
• Garnishes and final additions are applied
• Plates are cleaned
• Adjustments are made
• Other dishes for the same order come together and are passed over to the restaurant for service.

LIFT THE LID

Read more about food production processes and systems here:

https://www.thecaterer.com/news/foodservice/cesa-guide-cook-chill-systems
https://www.ukessays.com/essays/management/food-and-beverage-management-preservation-
systems-management-essay.php

Cooking methods

TIME FOR SOME FACTS

You may like to take a few moments to review:

• Fact Sheet 14 Culinary terms

• Fact Sheet 25 All about blanching

• Fact Sheet 26 All about boiling

• Fact Sheet 27 All about braising

• Fact Sheet 28 All about frying

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• Fact Sheet 29 All about grilling

• Fact Sheet 30 All about poaching

• Fact Sheet 31 All about roasting and baking

• Fact Sheet 32 All about stewing

• Fact Sheet 33 All about steaming

• Fact Sheet 34 All about microwaving.

Workflow planning
The importance of good planning in a kitchen cannot be understated. You will have prepared and
cooked many dishes by now and will understand how important it is to be organised and to be using
the right ingredients, equipment and utensils, food production processes and cookery methods.

TIME FOR SOME FACTS

You may like to take a few moments to review Fact Sheet 10 Workflow planning to
refresh your memory about:
• food preparation lists
• mise en place
• kitchen workflow schedules.

Ordering and purchasing stock

As part of your role in planning cooking operations, it is possible that you will need to order or
purchase stock. Depending on the size of your workplace, you may even need to go out and
purchase items yourself (which could be common in a small establishment).
The first step is to make sure that you know exactly what is to be prepared (referring to menu items,
recipes, special dietary requirements and meal quantities to be produced) and then check the food
stores to determine whether you have enough stock. Depending on your workplace you may be able
to access a computerised inventory system to check stock levels or you may need to simply check the
refrigerator/cool room, freezer and dry stores to see if you have enough.
Next, you may need to complete order forms. This will require you to follow your workplace’s
purchasing or inventory procedures, and may include completing purchase requisitions or similar.
Just because you have items in stock, it doesn’t mean that they should be used. Before assuming you
have adequate supplies, check for quality.
When ordering direct with the supplier, it is important that you have the catalogue or price list so you
know exactly how to order the products you require. To order may involve a phone call direct to a
person or message bank, or a text message with the order details. You may also be able to directly
email the supplier with your order.
When ordering through a central stock ordering system, a purchase order should be completed and
sent through to the supplier via the system being used. A purchase order will identify:

• Item required by description, brand name, type, quality

• Size, bottle, drum, carton, individual item

• Quantity, numbers of each item required

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• Price, as listed in the system

• Name of the supplier and their contact details

• Name of the venue ordering the items and their contact details

• Location the stock should be delivered to

• Date/time the stock is required.

Some systems have automatic ordering once a product is sold out and is connect to the POS system.

Purchasing fresh, quality food

There are different signs of freshness and quality when it comes to food, but as a guide you should
look for the following:

• Fruit and vegetables should be free of damage such as bruising.

• Fruit and vegetables should be even in colour and brightness, as per their expected colouring.
• Leafy vegetables should be crisp and green.
• Potatoes and other root vegetables should be firm and not cracked.
• Weight and size should be consistent.
• There should be no ‘off’ or pungent aromas that are unusual to the type of food.
• Eggs should not be cracked or dirty.
• Farinaceous or other dry ingredients should not smell stale or musty.
• Cuts of meat and poultry should be of the same size and thickness.
• Cuts should be smooth and even.
• The colour of meat and poultry should look vibrant and rich.
• Meat should not have a strong smell.
• Meat should not feel slimy.
• Fresh fish should not have a strong ‘fishy’ smell and should not smell of ammonia.
Always purchase from reputable suppliers. Remember that you can always refuse delivery if there are
issues with spoilage or contamination.
Your workplace should preferably have sustainable purchasing guidelines in place, either purchasing
from local suppliers or using organic products. If they don’t, it might be worth raising the discussion!

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2: Plan cooking operations

Your role throughout this process is to plan the cooking operations to ensure the team are working
safely, efficiently and to quality standards when preparing and cooking dishes.

Food Production Plan

A food preparation list is a list of all the tasks that are to be completed to ensure that all of the dishes
required for a menu or service period are prepared efficiently and consistently. A food preparation list
will vary from organisation to organisation, but should consist of the following:

• A Mise En Place list: All the ingredients required, their quantities and how they are to be
prepared for each recipe. So, for example, if your menu requires carrots in three recipes, the
food preparation list will incorporate the total amount of carrots and then how they are to be
prepared for each dish.

• A list of all of the equipment required.

• Purchase orders to be identified and placed ready for service

• Staff allocations for the preparation and service period

You should access Fact Sheet 10 for a complete outline of creating a Food Production Plan.

TIME FOR SOME FACTS

You may like to take a few moments to review:

• Fact Sheet 10 Workflow planning

• Fact Sheet12 Understanding your customers

• Fact Sheet 13 Costing dishes.

Contingency planning
A contingency plan is a plan designed to help you respond to an event which may or may not happen.
In the context of a commercial kitchen, contingency planning should be done alongside your workflow
planning to help you deal with certain risks.
Contingencies could include:

• delays and time difficulties

• difficult customer service situations

• equipment breakdowns or technical failures

• a lack of financial resources

• problems with staffing levels

• a lack of the skills that you need among available staff

• issues around rostering

• staff performance issues

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• procedural requirements.

Delegating
It’s rare that, as a leader in a busy commercial kitchen, we can complete all of the tasks required
during a busy service period ourselves. This means we need to be able to entrust some of the work to
others and that’s where delegation is so important.
Delegating means entrusting or authorising another person (usually someone who reports to us) to
complete a task on our behalf. There are a number of principles of effective delegation.
Principles of delegation:

• Clearly communicating what is required and when.

• Gaining a commitment from the other person to complete the task.

• Avoiding creating undue interference to the person in completing the task.

• Selecting the right person to complete the task.

• Seeking regular reports from the person on progress.

Quality output
As food moves through production, you will need to check for presentation and quality indicators. This
is important as you may identify:

• food has not been prepared correctly

• the wrong ingredients have been used

• the wrong recipe has been used or it has been modified without your knowledge

• the dish does not include all menu items

• food is not cooked to the required temperature

• food has not been cooked to customer requests (for example, meat may not have been prepared
to preference)

• special dietary requirements have not been adhered to

• inconsistencies between plates

• poor plating or presentation

• lack of garnishes or wrong garnishes used.

In these cases you will need to provide feedback to the relevant team member and get them to make
adjustments to maintain quality, freshness and appeal.
Check dishes using the following as a guide:

• Appearance:
o How visually appealing is the dish?
o How does the plating look from different angles?
o Do garnishes and accompaniments show a range of colour?
o Do garnishes and accompaniments enhance the main dish but not detract from it?
o Do all ingredients look fresh?

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o Is the plate balanced?

o How do shapes, lines, patterns and stacks work together?
o Have all drips and spills been wiped (in the direction of the spill)?
o Is the servingware clean and free of chips and cracks?
o Has the correct type, size and shape of servingware been used?

• Aroma:
o Tangy
o Earthy
o Herby

• Taste:
o Sweet
o Salty
o Acidic
o Sour
o Bitter
o Umami
o Spicy.

• Texture (mouthfeel):
o Chewy
o Clean
o Creamy
o Crispy
o Crumbly
o Crunchy
o Fibrous
o Juicy
o Liquid
o Moist
o Mousse
o Rich
o Slippery
o Smooth
o Velvety.

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• Consistency:
o Are sauces of the correct consistency?
o Have sauces been served either under or over across all dishes?
o Have all vegetables been cut cleanly and to the right sizes?
o Are cuts of meat and poultry consistent?
o Are desserts consistent in size?

• Temperature:
o Hot
o Cold
o Warm
o Room temperature
o Is servingware at the right temperature?

Other ways of checking quality

Quality checks do not finish once you have checked the food, tasted it and it leaves the kitchen. You
can obtain valuable feedback from your customers and from your team.

TIME FOR SOME FACTS

You may like to take a few moments to review Fact Sheet 15 Gathering feedback.

Formal audits against operational standards can help identify any issues that need to be addressed.
Audits can check the following areas to determine current practice:

• food safety

• cooking operations

• work health and safety

• sustainability

• quality of dishes produced

• customer service

• wastage.
Can you think of any others?

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Student Guide SITHKOP013 - Plan cooking operations

3: Putting it all together

Now it’s time to put together everything you have learned so far in this course and plan cooking
operations with your team.Complete the activity below.

WHAT’S COOKING?

During this activity you will need to:

• determine food production requirements and appropriate food production process

• review menu items and gather required recipes

• develop a Food Production Plan for four of the following food service styles:
o à la carte
o buffet
o set menu or table d’hôte
o bulk cooking operations
o functions or events

• Your Food Production Plan should include:

o mise en place list
o equipment list
o purchase orders
o staff allocations

• calculate required food supplies for service

• determine whether food stores have sufficient food supplies

• follow procedures to order additional stock (this will be simulated for the purposes of this
activity)

• delegate and brief the team on the recipes and products

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Student Guide SITHKOP013 - Plan cooking operations

LET IT SIMMER

Reflect on the activity you just completed and think about:

• what you did well

• what you could improve on

• what you would do different next time.

Don’t forget to use the feedback provided by your team.
For your assessment you will be coordinating a minimum of 12 complete service periods, so if you
have any concerns make sure you discuss them with your trainer.

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