Food Preparation and Nutrition

“Your food choices today are your body’s biography for tomorrow.”

The Food Preparation and Nutrition GCSE will equip pupils with the knowledge, understanding, skills and encouragement they need to cook. It will give them the ability to apply the principles of food science, nutrition and healthy eating. They will develop vital life skills enabling them to feed themselves and others both affordably and nutritiously. The course also gives students the skills and knowledge to pursue a wide range of careers in the food industry. The knowledge taught across the course is delivered in five units which consist of:

• Food, nutrition and health
• Food science
• Food safety
• Food choice
• Food provenance

Pupils will be required to use a wide range of ingredients to cook their dishes. Pupils who need help with sourcing and providing ingredients may be eligible for support with this. Please discuss this with us.

This qualification is suitable for vegetarians or those who have allergies as we always offer alternatives. 

ASSESSMENT

PAPER 1 Food Preparation and nutrition

Theoretical knowledge of food preparation and nutrition from all Sections of the specification. 

WRITTEN EXAM  1 hour 45 minutes (50% of final GCSE grade)

Non-exam Assessment 

TASK 1 Food Investigation Task  (15% of final grade): Students are assessed on their research and understanding of the working characteristics and functional and chemical properties of ingredients through an assignment based around practical experiments conducted in the classroom.

TASK 2 Food Preparation Task  (35% of final grade): Students are assessed on their knowledge, research, skills and understanding in relation to the planning, preparation, cooking and presenting of food and application of nutritional knowledge related to a set brief.

Students will prepare, cook and present a final menu of three dishes within a 3 hour practical exam, planning in advance how this will be achieved. Work is presented in an electronic portfolio including photographic evidence of the final three dishes and four technical trials which are part of the preparation.

Progression

Students will be able to make informed decisions about a wide range of further learning opportunities and career pathways.