Food preparation - presentations

Preparing food is essencial to your work as a professioal in cookery and pastry.

Choose your project to present the class:

Vegetables
Make an illustrated glossary of the most common vegetables used in Portugal for soups and salads.
Present the different methods of preparing the vegetables - Vegetable cuts - and a short glossary of basic preparation terms.
Soups and saladas - present the basic types of soups and salads most common in the Portuguese cuisine.



Fruits
Make an illustrated glossary with the most common fruits used in Portugal and present ways to prepare them into salads and sweets. Select and present some recipes of typical portuguese salads, Mediterranean salads and also from the North of Europe. Include some kitchen equipment needed.

Fish
Make a short glossary of the most common fish available in Portugal. Include a diagram for the parts of the fish.
Explain and illustrate the basic of preparing a fish to be cooked.
Illustrate the most common ways of cooking fish.
Include the presentation of utensils used in fish preparation and cooking and some typical Portuguese fish dishes. 

Shelfish
Make a glossary of the most common shelfish people eat in Portugal, in particular in the West region. Present suggestions on how to prepare and cook them. Refer to special preparation methods in the west region - lagosta suada for example -.
Include the presentation of some typical shelfish dishes in the West Region.


Meat
Make a short glossary identifying the most common meat sources in Portugal. Identify the different parts of the animals.
Include some common ways of preparing and cooking meat and present some traditional meat dishes in the Portuguese Cuisine.
Also include some kitchen appliances and equipment needed to to prepare the meat ( knives, meat grinder, bbq...)


Cakes and pastry
Make an illustrated glossary of pastry equipment/tools and explain briefly their uses.
Make an illustrated glossary of different types of cakes and some pastry. Present some of the most typical cakes and pastry of Portugal
Refer to the measurments and measurement equipment.
Include some basic terms used in recipes.


Present your work to the class. Discuss it.
Vote on the best presentattion.
Best visual presentation
Best explanation
Best and most accomplished work.

Understanding recipes - play teacher (workshop)

Learning is sharing.
Bring your favourite recipes to class or select some in the internet to share with the class.
Play teachers.  Record your readings of some recipes you really like  and help your classmates understand them with a listening gapfilling exercise.
For recording you can use some online tools like
audioboo
voki
audaci ( must download into your computer)

FOOD PRESENTATION

Food presentation is the way you place the food in the plate. Your presentation is one way ticket for the success of the meal.


When you are placing food on the plate or organizing a table for a buffet which aspects should you consider?
Which are the most common mistakes?
Present a selection of pictures( you own or from the internet) and point out the good aspects and the ones that need improving.
Take pictures of your own food presentations and share them with your class or make a short video with your mobile phone or camera presenting yourself in action!
You can post some here.

Here are some links you can explore
food presentation tips on a plate
food presentation tecniques book

Menus -Project work

Make a presentation project on menus:
Part 1
What type of menus are there?
Which are the main functions of a menu?
What are the features of a good menu?
Where and how can you present a menu?
What aspects should you consider when calculating the price for your menus?
Part 2
  Making menu suggestions: ( you can use online templates or create your own)

Present a menu for a vegetarian group of middle aged people. Which aspects should you consider? explain briefly your choice.

 In your restaurant you have a special children menu. Which healthy option can you present?

 You are catering a birthday party for a 50 year old man and his friends. They enjoy shelfish and meat. What are your suggestions. Also include a selection of wine from the West Region to match the dishes on the menu.

 You are entering a competition for the best school menu of the International Week of food and drink. You must consider healthy options and present illustrative dishes of world food. Explain your options.


 You are invited to create a menu for a seaside fine dining restaurant famous for its creative cuisine. Using mainly local ingredients present your menu.


 Present you menu suggestions to the class and vote the best for each category:

 Vegetarian
 Children's special
 Regional cuisine -Shelfish and meat
International cuisine
Creative cuisine


 Vote for the best presentation.

fattoush

Listen to the recipe

listen to ‘Fattoush’ on Audioboo

Identify the cooking utensils mentioned
Identify the essential ingredients to make a fattoush.
be creative - create your own fattoush and share your recipe with your classmate.

Potted herb cheese

Listen to the recipe and do the activities:

listen to ‘Potted herb cheese’ on Audioboo

Summer herbs

Herbs and spices play an important part in the Portuguese cuisine .
Which are the most commonly used in Portugal?
Which are used in typical English food?
Which ones are used in Italy and Greece?
Which one are used in France?


Listen to find out:

listen to ‘Summer herbs’ on Audioboo


How to store and prepare.

listen to ‘Store and prepare summer herbs’ on Audioboo

Combining flavours

listen to ‘Further flavours’ on Audioboo

How to cook an omelete

Here are some instructions on how to cook an omelete. follow the pictures while listening to the instructions

Listen to the cooking instructions:

listen to ‘how to cook an omelete’ on Audioboo

listen to the dialogue at a fast food restaurant:

listen to ‘Dialogue at a fast food restaurant’ on Audioboo

English breakfast items.

listen to ‘An English breakfast’ on Audioboo

How to make a Boston burger

listen to ‘Boston Burguer’ on Audioboo

Making Salads - creativity or recipe?

How to make salads?
You can make salads with basically anything in the fridge that is vegetable or fruit along with some meat, cheese or even fish!
Some salads are classic like the traditional mix of lettuce, cucumber, onion and tomatoes seasoned with olive oil and vineger or lemon juice. But with a little imagination you can create your salads and serve them either as side dishes or main courses.
Get some inspiration with this chopped salad  recipe from Jamie Oliver.

Be creative and make up some new recipes for salads both hot and cold. Share some of your recipes here.

Here is mine:

Last minute salad.

I called it last minute because that is what I do when I have little time to cook and in a hurry.

I browse through the fridge to check  the vegetables in there and in the fruit bowl.
First I cook some spagetti enough for one or two.
In the fridge I usually have courgettes, carrots, cabbage and some herbs. I cut the vegetables in small cubes and add onion and garlic also diced. In a pan I put olive oil and stir fry the vegetables. I add a little balsamic vinegar to the mix. Then in a large bowl I mix everything with a little cheese, raisins or diced apple. As I love herbs I usually have parsley and coriander around. As a final touch just sprinkle the herbs on top and it's ready to serve.
This is my creative recipe based on a pasta salad I 've eaten when I was in Malta in a very very hot summer. It was so hot that we didn't have much appetite. So for dinner we orders a chef's salad and I loved it.

International cuisine and Recipes from famous chefs

Choose a world chef to talk or write about

and make a selection  of three representative dishes of  international cuisine along with the recipes and country identification.

how to....

Vegetable cuts 

Food preparation is essential for a good outcome. start by understanding the basics of vegetable cuts .    familiarize yorself with the basic language with these videos:

Dice Carrots -- powered by ehow

Peel a Clove of Garlic -- powered by ehow

Learn the basic cuts of vegetables and explain them into your own words.

Pera Rocha is more than a fruit. It's a symbol, an icon of the economy of the west region. It can be eaten in many ways,from simple salads to elaborate sweets. Share some suggestions on how to eat Pera Rocha as well as some recipes.

regional food from the west region

The west tourism region has a rich variety of food and deserts linked to the countryside traditions and the ocean. Make a list of some of them and explain the dishes in English. you can browse around some interesting links such as this one to get some ideias. anoher interesting site to explore.

Eat Portugal

Eat Portugal is a book about typical portuguese fod Here is an interview with the author: Listen and Watch the video and Answer the questions. why did she wrote the book? what dishes does she suggest? explain them in English?

Traditional Portuguese recipes

If you think of fish in a typical Portuguese cuisine, you think of cod. Cood is a must in Portuguese cuisine. There are many ways to cook cod. Cod à Braz cod in the oven cod stew ( caldeirada Watch and listen to the two videos and make a list of the ingredients for each recipes. Pay special attention to the instructions on how to cook. take note of the special tips the cook gives.

Portuguese cuisine

Pastéis de nata - custard tarts

The Portuguese cuisine has got some very typical and internationally famous dishes and sweets. Here is a video on how to make the famous custard tarts, a portuguese calling card and an icon of the Portuguese gastronomy.
Activity: Make a list of the most representative Portuguese dishes and explain them in English. Here are some to start:

•  iscas com elas 
• bacalhau à Zé do Pipo 
• lagosta suada 
• caldeirada à pescador 
• sarrabulho
•  toucinho do céu 
• arroz doce 
• açorda 
• caldo verde