Theory Lesson: Safety in the Domestic Kitchen

Today, we had a theory lesson and watched a video about safety in the domestic kitchen. It was very interesting and I learnt a lot of safety rules to use in the kitchen.

Some of the notes that I made and learnt in the video included:

• Don't wear pants that are too long - you can trip causing injury in the kitchen
• Must have closed in shoes (if laces-tied up) - hot food could fall on you and burn you
• Hair tied up - doesn't fall in food
• Wash hands with warm soapy water thoroughly and wear gloves if necessary - hygiene
• Wear apron - keeps you clean

• Pass knife from handle - can't cut anyone
• Select the appropriate knife- some knifes won't cut certain things
• Carry knife facing down - if you trip you won't cut anyone
• Use food to check the blade- safety
• Don't cut towards yourself - could hurt yourself
• Put knifes in racks- stops them from getting anywhere they shouldn't be and causing injury

• Lift lids of hot pans away from you -  makes sure hot air doesn't go into your face
• Stand to the side of an oven when opening it - makes sure hot air doesn't go into your face
• Don't leave a cloth or paper near flames - prevents accidents and fires
• Don't put fingers near blades - can cut yourself
• Don't touch electrics when hands are wet - could electrocute yourself

• Cook foods thoroughly - don't want raw food and bacteria
• Clean kitchen as you work - safety
• Use separate chopping boards for meat and vegetables - cross-contamination
• Wash fruit and vegetables thoroughly - hygiene

• The difference between a burn and a scald is that a burn is usually from things like heat but a scald is from things like hot water or oil

Some of the golden rules mentioned:

• If you knock or spill anything wipe it up
• If you drop anything pick it up
• Put knifes away into their racks
• Don't run or play games in the kitchen

Evaluation & Rice Paper Rolls

For our next hospitality lesson, I was away from school but the class was working on their evaluation for our sandwiches which was a bit of a pity, as I didn't know we had to then email it to Mrs Baker. I got it done, however still by the due date and just did it the next week on the afternoon of our next lesson. Our evaluation was  just about our sandwich including questions about our work plan and what we thought of it.


Rice paper rolls were the next things we made. In this lesson I was working with Juliette. Although we worked well together, I didn't personally think our end result tasted that good. To make these rolls, we used a variety of veggies with a bit of shredded chicken wrapped in rice paper. I learnt through this that one way to shred chicken easily, is to use a fork and scrape it across the piece of chicken, making nice shreds. I also learnt how to roll the ingredient into a neat rice paper roll. I thought we ended up with some nice looking rolls, but I didn't really find the taste of the rice paper or the rolls that good overall. It wasn't one of the better foods we have made in hospitality but it was still fun to make. When our rolls were finished we got some sweet chilli sauce to dip them in. If I was to improve the recipe, I think I would include a lot more chicken or other meat, with some different veggies, such as carrot. We could also try making them with soya sauce as our dipping sauce.

Finished rolls with sauce



Sandwich Assesment

For our assessment in hospitality we were required to make a sandwich using ingredients, of our choice, from a specific list. We had to have a partner for this and I was working with Issy but when we made our sandwich, our partner was not allowed to help or assist in the making so we had to make it by our self. I made my sandwich the first day and Issy made her sandwich the next. I thought making a sandwich for our assessment was a great idea as although it seems quite simple, you can actually come up with some quite complicated sandwiches. I had chosen to make a hot sandwich on lightly buttered Turkish bread with chicken, ham, avocado, tomato, kalamata olives, cheddar cheese and chives. My whole sandwich was put in the toaster at the end and for presentation, I cut the sandwich in half diagonally and sprinkled some of the leftover chives on top with two olives on the side and placed it on one of the plates we were given. I made my sandwich in a good amount of time, with some time at the end to spare so I could make it look great on the plate.  I really enjoyed making this sandwich and it tasted absolutely delicious once it was finished. I was very happy with my sandwich and called it Mediterranean Magic. All of the flavours in the sandwich went well together and it was a really good meal overall that I enjoyed, that tasted and looked great.

Finished Sandwich

Ready to take away

The next day, Issy made her sandwich. I would have liked to help but we weren't allowed to. Issy's sandwich ended up looking amazing and she let me try some too, so I found out it tasted great too. Everything in her sandwich went well together. During this lesson, the girls who made their sandwich the day before were working on their blogs. Next lesson, we will probably be doing our evaluation on our sandwich.

Basic Scones

Basic scones was what we cooked this lesson. I was working with Ally and I thought we worked well to make our scones in a good amount of time, without having to rush too much. I had made scones quite a few times before so I didn't find it hard to make them. Scones have a very simple recipe and they don't take that long to make. The only ingredients you need are flour, butter and milk. We both enjoyed making them and once they were finished they tasted scrumptious, topped with jam and cream. Our basic scones turned out really nice but I would like to find out about other types of scones you can make too, like if you can make savoury ones with spinach and feta or sweet ones with fruit bits, like dates.


Scones in the oven (ours were the top ones)

Potato in its jacket with Vietnamese Coleslaw

This lesson, we made potato in its jacket with Vietnamese coleslaw. We cooked the potato in the microwave, which wasn't hard, but it still ended up tasting really good, especially if it was topped with sour cream. Luckily, we had this lesson just before lunch so we could eat it straight away! I was working with Issy and Claire, and together we all got fantastic tasting potatoes with coleslaw for lunch. I think the coleslaw would have been better though if it had some dressing, like mayonnaise, on it so it wasn't so plain. We won't be having the next few lessons of hospitality though, as we go on camp next week

Our food

Assessment Task:
We also started talking about our assignment for hospitality in this lesson. The task is to make a sandwich, which doesn't sound too hard, but there is actually quite a lot to think about for this task. I realised you have to think about what bread you want; if it will be vegetarian or have meat on it;
whether it will be hot or cold and what ingredients, overall, you want. I'm exited about this task,
although I'm not sure what kind of sandwich I will make yet but it should be fun to make. After camp, we will start talking about this in greater detail.

Paprika-dusted Pita Chips with Salsa

In our next lesson we were making paprika-dusted pita chips with salsa. I was working in a three with Ally and Eva but Ally and I had to leave early (like a lot of other girls as we had to go somewhere) so we didn't get to finish making our food but Eva finished it for us, nicely, and brought it to us in form. I really enjoyed making this dish while I was there, although I think we should have put less chilli in our salsa as it ended up tasting a bit too hot. The rest of the salsa was nice though. Our pita-chips turned out really tasty too expect for the very few bits that got a bit burnt. It tasted and was a great dish on the whole though.

Finished Food

Orange and Poppy Seed Muffins

In this lesson we were cooking our first thing for the term, orange and poppy seed muffins. When we came in, Mrs Baker briefly told us what we had to do and then we got to work using our recipes. I was working with Leukie and we worked well together ending up with great muffins. The muffins weren't very hard to make, the only thing, was that we were a bit rushed for time, like some other groups and got them into the oven a bit late. They still turned out really good though and we had a lot of fun making them. While everyone's muffins were in the oven we did the washing up which wasn't the best part but it still had to be done. Overall, I think we all enjoyed the lesson and I'm looking forward to next week's lesson.

Muffins in oven

Finished mixture

Orange and poppy seed muffins

First Lesson

In our first hospitality lesson, sadly, we didn't get to cook anything so we did some other work instead. During the lesson, we met Mrs Baker (our teacher for the term) and she is very nice. We then set up our hospitality blogs and some of us started to do our OnGuard Tests on the internet. We also learnt about measuring while cooking which was interesting. It was a good first lesson that I enjoyed and I couldn't wait until the next one where we would start cooking!