ask: Food preparation assessment

Task 2 is worth 35% of your

final grade.
The chart below shows how
the marks are awarded.

Marks
Plan 20
Prepare (method of working) 20
Cook (skills and cooking) 25
Present (presentation) 25
Analysis and evaluation 15

Non-examined Total 105

assessment
(NEA 2) OCR GCSE Food Preparation and Nutrition
 Task 2
•There should be evidence of 20 hours of work and
this includes the 3 hours you will have to prepare,
cook and serve your completed dishes.

•You should produce your work on not more than 10

pages (20 sides) of A4 paper or equivalent A3.

•You can produce your work using a variety of

formats, for example:
• Word document
• PowerPoint presentation
• By hand.
Project pages
•If you are producing your
task as a word processed
document, it is good
practice to put your:
• Name
• Candidate number
• Centre number
in a footer on each page.

•It is also recommended to

have this on the front page
of your task.
 Planning
•There are 20 marks for the planning section.
•You need to show how your choice of dishes is linked to the
task. You must include:
• Detailed reasons for choice of dishes
• Nutritional information for each dish
• Reference to the sensory properties of the dishes
• Reference to food provenance and seasonality
• Costing for each dish
• A detailed plan for making the dishes.

OCR GCSE Food Preparation and Nutrition

Initial response to lacto vegetarian
task

Occasion

Dietary constraints

Nutritional information

Choices and decisions

OCR GCSE Food Preparation and Nutrition

Identifying possible
dishes
•The next stage is to identify possible dishes that you
could make. When you do this you need to think about
the following:
• How do they link to the task?
• Will they allow me to demonstrate a range of high-
level skills?
• Can the three complete dishes be completed within
the three hours?
• What is the cost likely to be?
• If there is a nutritional focus, are the dishes suitable?
• Are the dishes suitable for the intended target group?

OCR GCSE Food Preparation and Nutrition

 Two examples of candidates’
work

Both these candidates have considered a wide range of dishes and the skill levels before they have made
any decisions.

Remember you need to serve complete dishes and this includes the accompaniments, e.g.
chilli con carne with rice and a salad with dressing.
Reasons for choice
•The next stage is to give reasons for choice of
your recipes. When you complete these you will
need to include reference to:
• How the dishes link to the task
• The nutritional values of the dish
• The sensory properties
• Cost of the dish
• Provenance of the ingredients
• The skills and techniques you are using.
•The following slides will show you examples of
how you could approach this.

OCR GCSE Food Preparation and Nutrition

Exemplar work

Provenance of the
ingredients

Cost of the dish

How the dishes

link to the task

Nutritional values on
the dish
Nutritional information
• The candidate has
commented on the
nutritional value of
a dessert product.
• This product was
high in fats and
sugars and this has
been explained.
• They have also
linked the nutrients
in this product to
the nutritional
content of the
other dishes.
OCR GCSE Food Preparation and Nutrition
Planning the practical
•You will need to prepare a detailed time
plan for your practical task.
•You have a maximum of three hours to
prepare your dishes.

OCR GCSE Food Preparation and Nutrition

 Things to include
•Remember to include:
• The time taken for each task
• The method of making, including important information, for
example consistency of mixtures, how to tell if it is cooked,
special finishes
• Timings for processes, e.g. cooking time, chilling time
• Food hygiene procedures.
•You will need to ensure that you serve all the dishes at the
correct temperature at the end of the cooking period and that
they are ready to be eaten.

OCR GCSE Food Preparation and Nutrition

Planning

•This shows how a

candidate planned out how
to allocate the times.
•They printed the methods
on different coloured
pieces of paper, cut them
up and then arranged them
in order on a piece of
paper for the 3-hour
practical. This was then
used to write the final
plan.

OCR GCSE Food Preparation and Nutrition

Final plan
•Using colours will
make it easier to
know which dish is
being worked on at a
specific time.
•Allow time to
arrange the food on
plates and to do your
washing up.
•Remember, you need
to include at least
two photos of
techniques as well
as your final dishes.
OCR GCSE Food Preparation and Nutrition
 Method of working
•There are 25 marks for this section. Your teacher will assess
how you work when you are completing the practical session.

•To achieve high marks you need to do the following:

• Have high standards of personal and food hygiene
• Work in an organised manner
• Follow the time plan
• Work independently
• Complete all the dishes within the 3 hours
• Complete successful dishes.
OCR GCSE Food Preparation and Nutrition
Skills and cooking
•There are 25 marks for this section. Your teacher
will assess this when you are carrying out your
practical work. However, you do need to have
thought about the marking of this section when
you make your choice of dishes to cook.
•You will gain marks in this section if you:
• Successfully prepare and cook dishes that
require a high skill level
• Use a range of tools and equipment safely and
correctly
• Use correct cooking methods and show good
cooker management.

OCR GCSE Food Preparation and Nutrition

Presentation
•There are 25 marks for the presentation of
your dishes. This includes how your dishes
taste. This will be assessed by your
teacher.
•When you present your food it should be:
• Served at the correct temperature
• Plated as one portion in a suitable way
for the context
• Garnished/finished so that the dishes
look attractive.

OCR GCSE Food Preparation and Nutrition

 •Lemon meringue pie
Photographic evidence

Quiche Lorraine and

a dressed salad

Lemon meringue pie

Sweet and sour pork

OCR GCSE Food Preparation and Nutrition

Level 7 – example of outcome
Evaluation and analysis
•There are 15 marks for this section. To achieve
high marks you need to show you have:
• Completed detailed sensory analysis for all
your dishes – recording accurately the
opinions of your testers
• Evaluated your choice of dishes – making
reference to the ingredients used, nutritional
information, costs, food provenance
• Evaluated how you worked – could you have
made any improvements to the way you
carried out your practical work?
• Given detailed information on improvements
and modifications that could be made to the
dishes.

OCR GCSE Food Preparation and Nutrition

Sensory analysis
•You can see the
candidate has given
the tasters very
clear criteria
against which to
assess the dish.
•This means that
the candidate will
be able to use the
information when
they need to
identify areas for
improvement.
OCR GCSE Food Preparation and Nutrition
Using a star profile
•Again the tasters have had clear
criteria to judge the dish against and
this will allow the candidate to
comment on the strengths and areas
for improvement of the dish.

OCR GCSE Food Preparation and Nutrition

Justification of choice
•You must also make reference to the
decisions you made about the choice of
dishes, skills and techniques, costs and
food provenance.
•You will have written about these in the
reasons for selection section.
• Did you make the correct decisions?
• Would you make any changes if you
were to do the task again?

OCR GCSE Food Preparation and Nutrition

Key points to include –
part of a high-level evaluation

•Reference to tasters
comments

The changes you

would make

Give reasons and examples of the

changes you would make

OCR GCSE Food Preparation and Nutrition

Key points to include –
part of a high-level evaluation

•Reference made to
the nutritional content

Costing

Food provenance

OCR GCSE Food Preparation and Nutrition

Please check
•Once you have completed your task you
should check:
• Your spelling, punctuation and grammar
throughout
• Your pages are in the correct order
• Your name, centre and candidate number
are clearly shown
• The full title of your task is shown at the
start
• You have included a list of all the
resources you have used.

OCR GCSE Food Preparation and Nutrition

Key words
•Fortification: the addition of nutrients to
a food product to improve its nutritional
value.
•Functional foods: have extra health
benefits.
•Intense sweeteners: examples are
saccharin and aspartame.
•Preservatives: substances that extend
the shelf life of a product.
•Thickeners: modified starches are often
used as thickeners in food products.

OCR GCSE Food Preparation and Nutrition