The course will provide learners with the knowledge, understanding and skills needed to prepare and cook food safely using a wide range of food commodities, cooking skills, techniques, and equipment.

The course is divided into: 1. Food, nutrition and health 2. Food science 3. Food safety 4. Food choice 5. Food provenance

The Food preparation and cooking skills are integrated into the five areas which are taught with a practical focus and learners build up a huge array of skills and techniques

The course is assessed through -

A written examination at the end of the course - Principles of Food Preparation

Two non-examination assessments completed in year 11.

NEA 1 - The Food investigation task - a scientific food investigation

NEA 2 The Food Preparation task- planning, preparing, cooking & presenting a menu in a set time.

Please find a link to the website for the specification https://www.aqa.org.uk/subjects/food/gcse/food-preparation-and-nutrition-8585/specification-at-a-glance

The course involve a year 9 foundation course which builds learners' practical skills and understanding of food commodities and food safety.

The course focuses on developing learners' practical skills and an example of some of the products you would expect to be making include -

Pastry making - puff pastry, choux pastry, shortcrust pastry - making products such as chocolate eclairs, lemon meringue pie, sausage rolls, apple pie etc

Cake making methods -brownies, Victoria sandwich cake, lemon drizzle, swiss roll, gateaux etc

Bread making - flavoured bread, bread sticks, focaccia, ciabatta, soda bread, flat bread

Sauce making - white sauce, velouté, bechamel, ragu, mayonnaise, hollandaise sauce, fresh custard

Making vegetarian, and vegan dishes

Working with different meats and fish – chicken, beef, pork

Pasta making - making and tagliatelle, ravioli, lasagne

Foods from around the world - including jambalaya, chow mein, curries, fajitas, pizzas etc

Desserts making - cheesecakes, panna cotta and souffle if you want the challenge.

Developing your own dishes and finding recipes that inspire you to prepare and make.