NCFE Level 1 Certificate in Food and Cookery
What is a Certificate in Food and Cookery?
This qualification is designed for learners with an interest in food and cookery. It will provide learners with experience of using different cooking techniques and methods to enable them to use these within further education or apprenticeships. It will give them a basic understanding of the skills required for a career in food.
What skills will learners gain during the course?
- To prepare and cook using basic skills
- To understand food and its functions in the body and in recipes
- To understand balanced diets and modification of recipes for health
- To plan and produce dishes for a purpose.
Throughout the delivery of this qualification, the following core areas and transferable skills should be evident:
- planning
- research skills
- communication
- problem solving skills
- health and safety.
What will the assessment be like? There are 4 units:
Unit 01 Preparing to cook
This unit aims to introduce learners to safe preparation of themselves, the cooking environment and ingredients. Learners will be able to use basic cooking skills, equipment and utensils to produce a variety of dishes.
Unit 02 Understanding food
This unit will provide learners with an understanding of factors that can affect food choices. Learners will be able to apply these factors when selecting and cooking dishes.
Unit 03 Exploring balanced diets
Learners will understand the importance of a balanced diet. They will learn about Reference Intake (RI)/Guideline Daily Amounts (GDAs) and how food labels can inform healthy eating. Learners will be able to change recipes to make them healthier.
Unit 04 Plan and produce dishes in response to a brief
This unit will give learners the opportunity to bring together their learning and skills developed throughout the course to produce a menu in response to a brief. Learners will plan, make and review their completed dishes.
All of these units are mandatory and internally assessed
Is the course right for me?
This is a foundation level course. This course gives learners the opportunity to develop their own practical skills which can easily be applied when catering for themselves or friends at home. Food and cookery is a sound basis for further study at higher levels alongside catering and hospitality courses. It also will help learners to develop valuable life skills.
Routes to Employment
Studying food enables pupils to develop many transferable skills including independent thinking, group work, organisation and valuable life skills with food preparation and knowledge about healthy eating.
Pupils who have studied food go on to study courses at college, sixth forms and universities such as hospitality and catering, teaching assistant, food science, sports science and nursing.
Pupils who have studied food have access to a wide range of careers and employment opportunities such as a chef, hospitality work, kitchen porter and work in other food businesses. They could also do catering, work in a cookery school, as a development chef or an environmental health officer.
Who do I need to see to find out more?
Speak to Mrs Chamberlain or Mrs Sampson
FAQs
How often would we cook when taking this course?
The practical tasks would normally be on alternate weeks.
Who is this course suitable for?
It is a level 1 course and aimed at pupils who would not be able to access the GCSE food course.
What qualification would the student gain?
A Level 1 Certificate in Food and Cookery which is graded from level 1 pass to level 1 distinction *.
How is the course assessed?
The course has 4 units and is teacher assessed. Most units have a practical element. There is further information on the options sheet.
What skills would a student gain from taking the course?
You will learn the following transferrable skills: planning, research skills, communication, problem solving skills and health and safety.
You would also learn the following food skills: prepare and cook using basic skills, understand food and its functions in the body and in recipes, understand balanced diets and modification of recipes for health, and be able to plan and produce dishes for a purpose.
You would learn a variety of practical food skills, such as knife skills, cooking with a range of ingredients, different cooking methods, preparing doughs and cake mixtures, organisational skills and cleaning a work area.
What kind of careers can the course lead to?
This qualification is designed for learners with an interest in food and cookery. It will provide learners with experience of using different cooking skills and methods to enable them to use these within further education or apprenticeships. It will give them a basic understanding of the skills required for a career in food.