Food Technology 

Plating hacks and garnishes  - Year 10

Having gone straight into remote learning with my new semester 2 students, I decided to set them two introductory snappy challenges. Both tasks explored the importance of food presentation as a vital aspect of the sensory appreciation of food. The Plating Hack challenge required students to select a pre-prepared food from their fridge or pantry and serve it on a dressed plate. Some students gelatinised juices to form gel cubes, others used pureed food or baby food to smear on plates, some used dried peas or beans to make a powder, whilst others chose more simple, yet effective techniques using chocolate and skewers or dusting powder.

The second challenge was to use a knife to produce a fruit or vegetable garnish. Some of the fantastic examples of submitted work are shown below. 

Edible Dish Sponge – Year 10

As a segue between the topics food hygiene and chemical reaction/functional properties of food I gave the students the option of cooking an Edible Dish Sponge and I was thrilled that many of the students chose to take on the challenge. See the results below.

Year 9 and 10 productions during remote learning 

Remote learning certainly has its challenges for practical based subjects such as Food Studies. This semester’s students have really stepped up to the challenge of cooking at home and I’d like to thank the parents for their support in making this happen. Students began by demonstrating their understanding of safety and hygiene in a production of choice. This followed with the Year 9 students cooking examples of iconic food from Australia or their own culture. Soon they will undertake dishes from other continents. Meanwhile, Year 10 students are cooking dishes that demonstrate different chemical reactions such as gelatinisation, gelation, coagulation and emulsions.

Year 9

Year 10

Welcome and commendation for new student Millicent Barker Hussar

Remote learning has its challenges for most students but when you’re also new to the school it adds an additional layer. This was the case for Milli who joined Koonung SC at the start of Term 3. I’d like to welcome Milli to the Koonung family and hope she enjoys her time at our school. 

I’d also like to congratulate Milli on the exemplary work she has been producing in her food studies.  Milli tells me she has many passionate hobbies but one of them is cooking. Particularly impressive is her example of Ramen Soup to demonstrate the processes of gelatinisation and gelation. I’ll let you all read her explanation of spherification of kelp soup.

Allison Hart 

Food and Health Teacher