Food Technology
Food Technology is generally run as a 200 hour course in Stage 5, Years 9 and 10. Student enjoy learning about such topics as Safety, Hygiene, Food preparation, Nutrition and consumption, Food in Australia, Food product development (practical in this unit comparing bought to homemade), Food for special occasions, Food selection and health, Food for special needs and Food service and catering.
We have four periods a week, one is shopping to buy the ingredients, where the students must locate the ingredients in the store, find the cheapest product and then pay. Then we have a double period where the students cook, eat and clean up after cooking a recipe applicable to the chosen topic. Eating is always the fun part. The final period is in the classroom doing book work on the chosen topic.
Throughout the course the students gain knowledge of work opportunities in the field and many go on to pursue this as a career. The growth of the students over the two year period is very exciting for staff, as the staff see some students become totally independent with all activities and all students independent with some activities.
123 Cook! Comes to St. Edmund's
Co-ordinated by North West Business Education Network, chefs from Hornsby RSL partnered with Year 9/10 Food Technology students to guide them through a cooking competition between 2 teams of 5 students, demonstrate their own skills to students and assist students in learning new skills, and to give students some insight into the hospitality industry.
The day began with a demonstration covering topics such as food hygiene, presentation of dishes and careers in the hospitality industry. It was with a lot of enthusiasm following this that students entered their classroom to be put into teams and start the competition, in professional chef uniforms.
A chef guided each team and kept a sharp eye on student performances in areas such as food hygiene, safety, teamwork and presentation, the criteria on which each team was to be judged. Both teams showed strength in particular areas which were noted at the end of the competition; however both judges were unable to identify a clear winner and therefore declared a draw. Prizes including cooking equipment such as mixing bowls and whisks were gratefully received into the Food Tech room.
It was declared the main prize was definitely getting to enjoy the various dishes they had helped each other to cook.