KS4 Jamie Oliver's Home Cooking Skills (Year 11)
Jamie Oliver’s Home Cooking Skills (BTEC Level 2 Award). The Home Cooking Skills BTEC is a level 2 course, equivalent to half a GCSE at grades A*- C.
- This course is hugely engaging for learners of all cooking abilities. For some, it may be the start of a career in cooking; for others, it will help them to learn the basic skills and recipes that will stand them in good stead throughout their lives. The majority of ingredients will be purchased centrally, so parents(s)/carer(s) will be asked to make a voluntary contribution towards the cost.
- The aim of this qualification is to give students the basic skills and knowledge to be able to cook for themselves in a healthy and cost-effective way, and have the confidence to share these skills with friends and family. Being able to cook is an essential life skill which enables students to make changes that have benefits to their health and wellbeing for the rest of their lives.
- Students will gain an understanding of how to budget when planning meals to cook at home. The course will encourage students to transfer skills learnt to other recipes to continue cooking for themselves and their families and to inspire others by passing on their knowledge.
- This course has been developed in partnership with Jamie Oliver Ltd and has been inspired by his food initiatives and campaigns. He maintains that many people do not have the skills to cook meals from scratch and lack food knowledge, creating a reliance on pre-prepared or ready-cooked food. Lack of time and money are also considerable issues. These have had a significant impact on the epidemic of obesity which is likely to have a profound effect on the health of the nation over the next century.
What skills will students develop
This course consists of over 80 recipes, all divided into manageable sections and covering key topics from eggs and baking to vegetables and quick-cook meats. This is all supported by a range of skills and knowledge dealing with other basics and essentials such as:
- Kitchen basics: what equipment you need and the best way to stock your store cupboard, fridge and freezer.
- Food safety and hygiene: knife safety, fridge management and rotation.
- How to shop cleverly: shopping lists, seasoned food, planning ahead.
- Ingredients: preparation, how to understand confusing food labels.
In this course, learners will develop their cooking skills by exploring recipes for nutritious meals. Each recipe is underpinned with knowledge about planning and sourcing food, hygiene and food safety. How to cook different elements of a meal to serve them at the same time are considered. The importance of presenting food well and how this contributes to its enjoyment are also covered. Ways to economise when shopping for ingredients and cooking meals at home are significant aspects of this course.
“I see this Home Cooking Skills course as so much more than a qualification: it’s a way of sharing a critical life skill with as many people as possible. This is a chance to arm students with sensible, practical knowledge they can take into the world and actually use. Whether they’re having a party, cooking for mates, feeding their future children or making lunch, they’ll be fending for themselves, saving money and using these skills every day for the rest of their lives.”
How students are assessed
Learners will demonstrate their skills by planning and cooking recipes for a nutritious main meal with vegetables for Level 1 and planning and cooking a two-course meal, following the recipes to prepare, cook and present the meal for a given scenario for Level 2.
- Be able to plan a nutritious, home-cooked meal using basic ingredients. (L1)
- Plan a nutritious two-course meal. (L2)
- Be able to prepare, cook and present a basic nutritious, home-cooked meal using basic ingredients. (L1)
- Select and prepare ingredients for recipes for a nutritious, two-course meal. (L2)
- use cooking skills when following the recipe (both)
- Demonstrate food safety and hygiene throughout the preparation and cooking process (both)
- Apply presentation skills when serving the meal (both)
- Understand how to cook economically at home. (both)
- Explain ways to economise when cooking at home. (both)
- Be able to pass on information about cooking meals at home from scratch and identify ways information about cooking meals at home from scratch has been passed on to others. (both)
How parents can help
- Helping students evaluate their practical work, making helpful suggestions as to any improvements.
- Encourage students by discussing topics covered in lessons and then involving the students at home by discussing such topics as shopping, value for money skills and freshness of ingredients so there is a real life element.
- Actively getting students to show them how to complete a skill or making a product encouraging the “passing it on” focus of the course. This should be recorded either visually or in written format, signed and dated for the student folder.