Document Title: Student Guide
Unit Code: SITHKOP005 Coordinate cooking operations
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RTO Name: Clayton College
RTO NO: 45620
CRICOS No: 03857D
RTO Address: Level 6 90 King William
Street
RTO suburb: Adelaide SA 5000
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Acknowledgement:
Thanks to Clayton College staff for their
consultation and development work.
Version:
Clayton College V1.1
SITHKOP005 Coordinate cooking operations
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Approved Date: 10/01/2021 Version 1.1
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Contents
About this unit
7
1: Introduction
8
2: Coordinating cooking operations
16
3: Putting it all together
20
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SITHKOP005 Coordinate cooking operations
Application
This unit describes the performance outcomes, skills and knowledge required to coordinate the
production of food in commercial kitchens. It requires the ability to plan the production of food,
organise required food supplies for food production period, supervise food production processes
and monitor the quality of kitchen outputs. Food production can be for any type of cuisine and food
service style. It covers Asian cookery, patisserie products and bulk-cooked foods.
The unit applies to hospitality and catering organisations, including hotels, restaurants, clubs,
educational institutions, health establishments, defence forces, cafeterias, residential caterers, in
flight and other transport caterers, event and function caterers. It applies to those people who
operate independently or with limited guidance from others including senior chefs and catering
managers.
No occupational licensing, certification or specific legislative requirements apply to this unit at the
time of publication.
Prerequisite
SITXFSA001 Use hygienic practices for food safety.
Learning goals

Plan food production requirements.

Organise availability of supplies for food production period.

Coordinate kitchen operations.

Monitor the quality of kitchen outputs.
Fact Sheets

Fact Sheet 1 Following hygienic work practices

Fact Sheet 2 Food safety programs

Fact Sheet 3 Food safety laws, regulations and standards

Fact Sheet 4 Managing food safety hazards and risks

Fact Sheet 5 Safe food handling

Fact Sheet 6 Receiving and storing food

Fact Sheet 7 Cleaning and sanitisation

Fact Sheet 8 Working sustainably

Fact Sheet 9 Reading and interpreting recipes

Fact Sheet 10 Workflow planning

Fact Sheet 11 Special dietary requirements
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
Fact Sheet 12 Understanding your customers

Fact Sheet 13 Costing dishes

Fact Sheet 14 Culinary terms

Fact Sheet 15 Gathering feedback

Fact Sheet 16 A tour of the large equipment in a commercial kitchen

Fact Sheet 17 Commercial kitchen utensils

Fact Sheet 18 Pots, pans, trays and steamers

Fact Sheet 19 Knives

Fact Sheet 20 Equipment safety, cleaning and maintenance

Fact Sheet 21 Blenders, mixers, food processors and food mills.

Fact Sheet 22 Graters, mouli and mandoline slicers

Fact Sheet 23 Weights and measures

Fact Sheet 25 All about blanching

Fact Sheet 26 All about boiling

Fact Sheet 27 All about braising

Fact Sheet 28 All about frying

Fact Sheet 29 All about grilling

Fact Sheet 30 All about poaching

Fact Sheet 31 All about roasting and baking

Fact Sheet 32 All about stewing

Fact Sheet 33 All about steaming

Fact Sheet 34 All about microwaving.
Overlap alert
Learners may already be familiar with the following concepts:

cleaning and sanitisation

safe food handling

hygienic work practices

workflow planning

sustainable work practices

use of commercial kitchen equipment and utensils

freshness and quality indicators

spoilage and contamination

safe food storage
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Approved Date: 10/01/2021 Version 1.1
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
knife skills

culinary terms

cooking methods

special dietary requirements

leading a team to oversee day-to-day work

problem solving.
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Approved Date: 10/01/2021 Version 1.1
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About this unit
Welcome to SITHKOP005 Coordinate cooking operations! If you are reading this, you must be very
close to the end of the learning for this course. You should know all about these topics:

safe food handling and hygienic practices

work health and safety

using cookery equipment and utensils

managing diverse people

preparing dishes using a wide range of ingredients and cookery methods

special dietary requirements

menu planning

coaching others

monitor work operations

leading people and dealing with conflict.
By now you will have had lots of time and experience in the kitchen, cooking and working with others.
You may have been assessed on some of your units already.
This unit gives you the opportunity to coordinate the production of food in your kitchen. You will need
to plan the production of food, organise required food supplies for food production periods, supervise
food production processes and monitor the quality of kitchen outputs.
Your practical assessment for this unit will require you to undertake a variety of kitchen tasks over a
period of 12 complete service periods.
Let’s now refresh your memory on the skills and knowledge you will need to be able to complete your
assessment.
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Approved Date: 10/01/2021 Version 1.1
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1: Introduction
This section provides a brief overview of the key requirements when working in a commercial kitchen.
You will already be very familiar with these concepts from your work so far in this course, however
feel free to review them to refresh your memory. Remember that you will be applying these
requirements in the role of overseeing production.
Safe food handling
TIME FOR SOME FACTS
You may like to take a few moments to review:

Fact Sheet 1 Following hygienic work practices

Fact Sheet 2 Food safety programs

Fact Sheet 3 Food safety laws, regulations and standards

Fact Sheet 4 Managing food safety hazards and risks

Fact Sheet 5 Safe food handling.
You may like to take a few moments to review the food safety/handling requirements
for specific types of ingredients and food by looking at the guides for units such as:

SITHCCC006 Prepare appetisers and salads

SITHCCC007 Prepare stocks sauces and soups

SITHCCC008 Prepare vegetable fruit and farinaceous dishes

SITHCCC012 Prepare poultry dishes

SITHCCC013 Prepare seafood dishes

SITHCCC014 Prepare meat dishes

SITHCCC019 Produce cakes, pastries and breads

SIHTPAT006 Produce desserts
Food storage
As with any food items you must ensure you are using ingredients that are in date and fresh. Food
safety standards require that food is labelled and rotated to ensure freshness and quality.
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Always check the use by dates and best before dates of food before you prepare it.
Labelling
Place labels on containers/trays.
Labels/stickers include:
colour-coded stickers
‘days of the week’ stickers
use by food labels
prep labels (item, name, quantity, date, use by)
‘use first’ or ‘new stock/old stock’ labels.
Make sure use by or best before dates are not removed from packaging.
Shelving should be labelled to assist with correct storage, rotation and inventory management.
Storage
All food must be stored in food-grade storage containers.
Check the condition of food containers before use and throw out those that are cracked/split, or
have poor fitting lids.
Wash and sanitise before use.
Single-use containers should never be reused.
Lids must be tight fitting.

If you need to use cling film or foil, make sure it covers the container tightly.

Check temperature of fridges/cool rooms and freezers

Check for signs of humidity and moisture in dry stores

Check packaged foods for signs of contamination, spoilage or pest infestation

Check dry stores for signs of pest infestation

Make sure food storage areas have sufficient lighting to assist with identification or spoiled and
contaminated foods
Check for adequate ventilation in the kitchen area to reduce condensation build up.
TIME FOR SOME FACTS
You may like to take a few moments to review Fact Sheet 6 Receiving and storing
food.
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Approved Date: 10/01/2021 Version 1.1
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You may like to further review safe food receiving and storage requirements by
returning to your guide for the unit SITXINV002 Maintain the quality of perishable
items.
Equipment and utensils
By this stage you will have used many different types of equipment and utensils in the commercial
kitchen. Part of your work in the kitchen when coordinate cooking operations will require that you
observe your team for safe and correct usage of equipment and utensils.
TIME FOR SOME FACTS
You may like to take a few moments to review:

Fact Sheet 16 A tour of the large equipment in a commercial kitchen

Fact Sheet 17 Commercial kitchen utensils

Fact Sheet 18 Pots, pans, trays and steamers

Fact Sheet 19 Knives

Fact Sheet 20 Equipment safety, cleaning and maintenance

Fact Sheet 21 Blenders, mixers, food processors and food mills

Fact Sheet 22 Graters, mouli and mandoline slicers

Fact Sheet 23 Weights and measures.
Cleaning and sanitisation
No one wants to use dirty equipment or equipment that isn’t working the way it should. You should
always make sure you have cleaned and performed any necessary maintenance on equipment so
that it is clean and safe to use for the next time, or for the next person.
TIME FOR SOME FACTS
You may like to take a few moments to review Fact Sheet 7 Cleaning and sanitation.
Common signs of uncleanliness or damage may include:

food that has not been removed from attachments and accessories

spatters or splashes of food on equipment housing

dust and dirt
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Approved Date: 10/01/2021 Version 1.1
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
stains or marks on equipment

cracks, slits and chips

issues with electrical cords and plugs.
Key cleaning and maintenance requirements relate to:

the correct way to clean and sanitise equipment

what maintenance can be safely performed (such as blade sharpening and adjusting, belt
tensioning, oiling and lubrication)

signs of wear and tear or damage.
Commercial kitchens will have cleaning and maintenance checklists and procedures available for staff
to follow.
Working sustainably
Every day you spend in the kitchen means you are using water, electricity, gas and producing waste.
The impact of the hospitality industry on the environment is well known, and has led to changes in
many practices.
TIME FOR SOME FACTS
You may like to take a few moments to review Fact Sheet 8 Working sustainably.
Determining food production requirements
This requires you to consider the following:

customer requirements (for example, any special requests or special dietary requirements)

menu items

meal quantities required (for example, what food service style are you coordinating)

organisation standards (food safety, work health and safety, hygiene, equipment usage,
purchasing and inventory, customer service, quality etc)

portion control

standard recipes

timeframes

what type of food is to be prepared

food production processes.
You will already know these aspects from your previous work, however know it is your role to make
sure these are followed and to quality standards and workplace expectations.
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TIME FOR SOME FACTS
You may like to take a few moments to review Fact Sheet 9 Reading and interpreting
recipes.
TIME FOR SOME FACTS
You may like to take a few moments to review Fact Sheet 11 Special dietary
requirements.
You may like to further review dietary requirement further by returning to your guide
for the unit SITHCCC018 Prepare food to meet special dietary requirements.
You may like to further review dietary requirements and menus further by returning
to your guides for the units:

SITHCCC018 Prepare food to meet special dietary requirements

SITHKOP002 Plan and cost basic menus

SITHKOP004 Develop menus for special dietary requirements.
Food service styles
In this unit you will focus on the following food service styles:

à la carte

buffet

set menu

table d’hôte

bulk cooking operations

functions and events

festivals.
LIFT THE LID
Use the Internet to refresh your memory about any of the service styles and what is required to
coordinate them.
Food production processes
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RTO: 45620 CRICOS: 03857D
Approved Date: 10/01/2021 Version 1.1
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In this unit you will focus on the following food production processes:

bulk cooking

cook chill for extended life

cook chill for five-day shelf life

cook freeze

fresh cook.
The type of food production process you use will of course depend on the type of food being
produced and how to best maintain its quality, structure and nutritional value.
LIFT THE LID
Read more about food production processes and systems here:
https://www.thecaterer.com/news/foodservice/cesa-guide-cook-chill-systems
https://www.ukessays.com/essays/management/food-and-beverage-management-preservationsystems-management-essay.php
Cooking methods
TIME FOR SOME FACTS
You may like to take a few moments to review:

Fact Sheet 14 Culinary terms

Fact Sheet 25 All about blanching

Fact Sheet 26 All about boiling

Fact Sheet 27 All about braising

Fact Sheet 28 All about frying

Fact Sheet 29 All about grilling

Fact Sheet 30 All about poaching

Fact Sheet 31 All about roasting and baking

Fact Sheet 32 All about stewing

Fact Sheet 33 All about steaming

Fact Sheet 34 All about microwaving.
Workflow planning
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Approved Date: 10/01/2021 Version 1.1
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The importance of good planning in a kitchen cannot be understated. You will have prepared and
cooked many dishes by now and will understand how important it is to be organised and to be using
the right ingredients, equipment and utensils, food production processes and cookery methods.
TIME FOR SOME FACTS
You may like to take a few moments to review Fact Sheet 10 Workflow planning to
refresh your memory about:

food preparation lists

mise en place

kitchen workflow schedules.
Ordering and purchasing stock
As part of your role in coordinating cooking operations, it is possible that you will need to order or
purchase stock. Depending on the size of your workplace, you may even need to go out and
purchase items yourself (which could be common in a small establishment).
The first step is to make sure that you know exactly what is to be prepared (referring to menu items,
recipes, special dietary requirements and meal quantities to be produced) and then check the food
stores to determine whether you have enough stock. Depending on your workplace you may be able
to access a computerised inventory system to check stock levels or you may need to simply check the
refrigerator/cool room, freezer and dry stores to see if you have enough.
Next, you may need to complete order forms. This will require you to follow your workplace’s
purchasing or inventory procedures, and may include completing purchase requisitions or similar.
Just because you have items in stock, it doesn’t mean that they should be used. Before assuming you
have adequate supplies, check for quality.
Purchasing fresh, quality food
There are different signs of freshness and quality when it comes to food, but as a guide you should
look for the following:

Fruit and vegetables should be free of damage such as bruising.

Fruit and vegetables should be even in colour and brightness, as per their expected colouring.

Leafy vegetables should be crisp and green.

Potatoes and other root vegetables should be firm and not cracked.

Weight and size should be consistent.

There should be no ‘off’ or pungent aromas that are unusual to the type of food.

Eggs should not be cracked or dirty.

Farinaceous or other dry ingredients should not smell stale or musty.

Cuts of meat and poultry should be of the same size and thickness.
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
Cuts should be smooth and even.

The colour of meat and poultry should look vibrant and rich.

Meat should not have a strong smell.

Meat should not feel slimy.

Fresh fish should not have a strong ‘fishy’ smell and should not smell of ammonia.
Always purchase from reputable suppliers. Remember that you can always refuse delivery if there are
issues with spoilage or contamination.
Your workplace should preferably have sustainable purchasing guidelines in place, either purchasing
from local suppliers or using organic products. If they don’t, it might be worth raising the discussion!
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2: Coordinating cooking operations
Your role throughout this process is to supervise the team and ensure that they are working safely,
efficiently and to quality standards when preparing and cooking dishes.
Scheduling work
In other units you have learned about scheduling work in a commercial kitchen including:
assessing the current workloads of team members
setting goals
scheduling work to maximise efficiency
customer service
assessing and meeting customer needs
costings
working within budgets.
TIME FOR SOME FACTS
You may like to take a few moments to review:

Fact Sheet 10 Workflow planning

Fact Sheet 12 Understanding your customers

Fact Sheet 13 Costing dishes.
Contingency planning
A contingency plan is a plan designed to help you respond to an event which may or may not happen.
In the context of a commercial kitchen, contingency planning should be done alongside your workflow
planning to help you deal with certain risks.
Contingencies could include:
delays and time difficulties
difficult customer service situations
equipment breakdowns or technical failures
a lack of financial resources
problems with staffing levels
a lack of the skills that you need among available staff
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issues around rostering
staff performance issues
procedural requirements.
Delegating
It’s rare that, as a leader in a busy commercial kitchen, we can complete all of the tasks required
during a busy service period ourselves. This means we need to be able to entrust some of the work to
others and that’s where delegation is so important.
Delegating means entrusting or authorising another person (usually someone who reports to us) to
complete a task on our behalf. There are a number of principles of effective delegation.
Principles of delegation:
Clearly communicating what is required and when.
Gaining a commitment from the other person to complete the task.
Avoiding creating undue interference to the person in completing the task.
Selecting the right person to complete the task.
Seeking regular reports from the person on progress.
Quality output
As food moves through production, you will need to check for presentation and quality indicators. This
is important as you may identify:

food has not been prepared correctly

the wrong ingredients have been used

the wrong recipe has been used or it has been modified without your knowledge

the dish does not include all menu items

food is not cooked to the required temperature

food has not been cooked to customer requests (for example, meat may not have been prepared
to preference)

special dietary requirements have not been adhered to

inconsistencies between plates

poor plating or presentation

lack of garnishes or wrong garnishes used.
In these cases you will need to provide feedback to the relevant team member and get them to make
adjustments to maintain quality, freshness and appeal.
Check dishes using the following as a guide:
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
Appearance:
How visually appealing is the dish?
How does the plating look from different angles?
Do garnishes and accompaniments show a range of colour?
Do garnishes and accompaniments enhance the main dish but not detract from it?
Do all ingredients look fresh?
Is the plate balanced?
How do shapes, lines, patterns and stacks work together?
Have all drips and spills been wiped (in the direction of the spill)?
Is the servingware clean and free of chips and cracks?
Has the correct type, size and shape of servingware been used?

Aroma:
Tangy
Earthy
Herby

Taste:
Sweet
Salty
Acidic
Sour
Bitter
Umami
Spicy.

Texture (mouthfeel):
Chewy
Clean
Creamy
Crispy
Crumbly
Crunchy
Fibrous
Juicy
Liquid
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Approved Date: 10/01/2021 Version 1.1
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Moist
Mousse
Rich
Slippery
Smooth
Velvety.

Consistency:
Are sauces of the correct consistency?
Have sauces been served either under or over across all dishes?
Have all vegetables been cut cleanly and to the right sizes?
Are cuts of meat and poultry consistent?
Are desserts consistent in size?

Temperature:
Hot
Cold
Warm
Room temperature
Is servingware at the right temperature?
Other ways of checking quality
Quality checks do not finish once you have checked the food, tasted it and it leaves the kitchen. You
can obtain valuable feedback from your customers and from your team.
TIME FOR SOME FACTS
You may like to take a few moments to review Fact Sheet 15 Gathering feedback.
Formal audits against operational standards can help identify any issues that need to be addressed.
Audits can check the following areas to determine current practice:

food safety

cooking operations

work health and safety

sustainability

quality of dishes produced
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
customer service

wastage.
Can you think of any others?
3: Putting it all together
Now it’s time to put together everything you have learned so far in this course and coordinate cooking
operations with your team. Your trainer will assign you time in the kitchen to practice your skills with
your team.
Complete the activity below.
WHAT’S COOKING?
During this activity you will need to:

determine food production requirements and appropriate food production process

review menu items and gather required recipes

develop:
work flow schedules
mise en place plan
food preparation lists

calculate required food supplies for service

determine whether food stores have sufficient food supplies

follow procedures to order additional stock (this will be simulated for the purposes of this
activity)

delegate and brief the team on the recipes and products

supervise cooking operations to ensure all team members are meeting food safety
requirements and other standard procedures

ensure the team works together efficiently and smoothly, with no delays

supervise the team throughout service to ensure all output is of quality

make sure the required food has been prepared as per recipe and menu items

check all dishes before they are presented to customers

instruct the team to make changes to dishes as required to address quality concerns

oversee safe storage of food

debrief with the team and provide feedback, and allow them to provide you with feedback on
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your performance.
LET IT SIMMER
Reflect on the activity you just completed and think about:

what you did well

what you could improve on

what you would do different next time.
Don’t forget to use the feedback provided by your team.
For your assessment you will be coordinating a minimum of 12 complete service periods, so if you
have any concerns make sure you discuss them with your trainer.
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