Emma Jackson. Queen Elizabeth’s Grammar School. Candidate Number: 9113 School Centre Number: 23205

1. Emma Jackson. Queen Elizabeth’s Grammar School. Candidate Number: 9113 School Centre Number: 23205 Task: The local hotel in your area is holding an international week. As the trainee chef you have been invited to take part and have been asked to prepare a two-course meal form a country of your choice.

2. Foods from different countries. New York cheesecake. Burgers. Corbonora. Tiramisu. America. Pizza. Italy Chips. Coleslaw. Lasagne. Spaghetti Bolognese. Noodles. Egg fried rice. Snails. China frites. Omelette. Prawn crackers France Sweet and sour chicken. Frog legs. Tikka masala. India Basmati rice. Fish and chips. Samosas. Cottage pie. Chicken korma. Britain Victoria sponge. Toad in the hole.

3. What is International cuisine? International cuisine is a comprehensive set of cooking traditions found throughout the world. It is influenced by culture, geography, religion, coverage of history and local growing ingredients. The weather has an effect on what sort of food is traditional to the country for example, Italy have a lot of tomato based products as tomato's can grow in the warm climate. There are also a lot of different spicy food for example vindaloo comes from India and India is a hot country therefore they add spices to foods as spices can be grown in India's hot climate. In the UK its quite a cold climate and there are mainly foods that have been imported but are grown in other places. For example potatos,carrots. The location has quite a big effect on the dishes. A country by the sea is more likely to eat fish. A country that is in-land is more likely to eat meats and vegetables. UK is a MEDC and we have many different foods sold in supermarkets and places that we can go to eat like fast food restaurants and restaurants. Foods are imported into the UK, including things that are grown for supermarkets to sell, we can also buy ready meals from supermarkets as well as a number of convenience food. This means in the UK we have easy access to a wide range of foods around the world. In LEDCs people have less money to spend on foods and are less able to import foods. So staple foods such as rice and grains are eaten as they are cheap and filling.

4. Is international cuisine popular in Ashbourne and Derby and why? In Ashbourne we have a few international restaurants they are Benny’s serving international cuisine, Bengal Cottage serving Indian cuisine, Dalo serving international cuisine and Dragons Nest serving Chinese cuisine. In Derby there are more international restaurants such as T.G.I Fridays serving American cuisine, Cosmo serving international cuisine and Pizza Express serving Italian cuisine. There are more international restaurants in Derby because there is a wider range of nationalitiesthat are settled in Derby. There is also a larger population than in Ashbourne so more restaurants are needed. Visits to supermarkets and restaurants. I am considering to do American cuisine. In the super market they sell burgers, Hot dogs, fries. An example of raw ingredient that I might use in my exam is minced beef. You will be able to get this from the supermarket or butchers and it is easy to get. There are a number of American style ready meals available at the supermarket for example at the this chicken salad is£2.75 for 375g. For my burger recipe I need approx. 100g per Burger so this pack Could make at least 7 burgers. I could also Easily get minced beef For the butchers. This costs £1.75 and weighs 250g. 260g and it costs £2.17.

5. Menu Evaluation. See below for menu. I think that the menu is structured really well and people will want to read this because it has a different variety of foods on it. Also it tells you what your going to get with you dish for example baby back ribs you get a full rack of ribs, pot of BBQ sauce, full rack of chips and a pot of coleslaw. Some people may think that its good to know what your going to get with your meal. I also think that the colour of the menu attracts people attention as red is a bright colour which is eye catching. T.G.I Fridays have quite a few different menus. They have one for ordering over the phone, one for Mondays to Thursdays because its Cheaper and they want to attract people at quieter times and then one more for the rest of the time. I didn’t expect T.G.I Fridays to do the different variety of foods they do I thought it would be more of a basic quick and easy place to go for something to eat. For example Bacon “n” Cheese Burger. I think that the prices are quite reasonable for the food that you get and the portions you get. For example Bacon “N” Cheese Burger. Beef burger topped with crispy bacon and cheese. Served with a warm toasted bun with lettuce, tomatoes, red peppers and chilled pickle. Also you get a portion of fries on the side. Also the price isn't too much so for all of that you would be paying £12.99. However, to make this at home it would cost at lot less.

6. Menu evaluation. This is not the full menu for T.G.I. Fridays. I didn’t expect them to do a variety of different foods. I think their menu is quiet good because it is a range of different foods therefore people can pick what the like. Taste testing results. (See taste testing results in appendix 1.) For my taste testing I tried Chicken wings, cheese and bacon potato Skins and BBQ ribs. I thought that the chicken wings were really Nice and had a lot of taste to them. The cheese and bacon potato Skins were not very nice and didn’t really have any taste to them. I didn’t taste the BBQ ribs because I don’t like them but someone Else tried them and they said that they were really nice and also had a lot of flavour. I think that this menu doesn’t really represent Any other restaurants because this menu has a lot of variety of foods And have different kinds of foods, for example, The Jack Daniels Grill.

7. Conclusion of research. I have researched three countries by cooking dishes from each (see dish reports in appendix 2). I found that the main ingredients from Italy were pasta, tomatoes, peppers and the main cooking methods included boiling and baking. I found that the main ingredients from China were bean sprouts, rice, pastry and the main cooking methods included boiling and baking. I found that the main ingredients from America were flour, meat, fats and the main cooking methods included frying and baking. After looking at these countries I decided to research America further. I have chosen America because I thought this country would challenge me and get me to use different skills. Also because its such a big country there are many different dishes to choose fromand I liked the cuisine.

8. Country research. After looking at these countries I decided to research America further. I Have found out that the capital of the country is Washington DC and three other main cities within the country are New York, Los Angeles and Las Vegas. History: Immigrants that have come into America have brought their tradition/food over into the United States which has made people eat things that are from other country's although they have used products that have been grown traditionally in America. Americans have now adapted other foods from different regions and created their own food. Location: America have 2 seas either side which are the Atlantic ocean and Pacific ocean. The countries that border America are Weather: The North, East, South and West all have different climates. The climate in America varies due to its positioning of states in latitude. Here are two example of states in America. The climate in Texas varies widely from one area to another. This is expected because its such a big area. The climate in Alaska is very strange. It has short winters and long summers. Summer temperatures vary from one part of the state to another. Regional styles of cooking: From looking at this country I have found that there are different regional styles of cooking such as grilling, spit roasting and frying. People in Alaska eat variety of foods. For example some people eat seafood some eat things like berries. Alaskans enjoy eating meat from moose to bear and also they eat sour dough bread which is also popular in Alaska. They eat pretty much everything that Americans do. People in Texas eat things that anyone else eats but they do have popular foods that are mainly eaten, for example Tex-Mex foods such as chili, tamales, tacos, enchiladas. Also chicken and duck are popular because people in Texas base their diet around these meats. Religion: The majority of the USA identify themselves as being Christians and about 20% don’t believe in any religion. Main ingredients used in the USA: The main ingredients sold in the USA are corn, chilies, Tomatoes and beef. Corn- corn in its many forms is the staple food of Central America cuisine. While fresh corn on the cob id grilled and steamed. Chillies- chillie peppers give a burst of flavour to what might otherwise be a blend cuisine . Like beans and chillies come in an unending variety. Mexicans especially make a wide use of their magic. Peppers are used fresh and dried. Some of the fresh include superhot habaneros , poblanos and many more. Some of the dried peppers are anchos, guajillos, chipotles and mulattos. Beef- though it is primarily special occasion food, Central Americas love their beef. Perhaps most popular is carne asada, or simple grilled steak. Beef is also shredded and tossed in refeshingsalpicon salads or simmered in a spicy sauce for hilachas or with tomatoes for emtomatado. Beef tongue is fully appreciated for itsflavour and tenderness. A Celeb chef: Julia Carolyn Child. August 13, 2004 was an American chef , author and television personality. She is recognised for bringing French cooking and her subsequent television programs, the most notable of which was The French Chef, which premiered in 1963.

10. Trialling of possible dishes. Peanut butter cheese cake. My dish went well. The only thing that went wrong was I didn’t put enough butter In the biscuits so the base didn’t set properly. If I was to do this dish again I would put more butter in the biscuits. Burgers. Burgers are associated with the USA so I decided to trial them. My burger went really well. They weren’t a perfect round shape but they were meant to be misshaped so that they looked better. If I was to make the burger as my main in my exam I would definitely put a bit of salad on the burger and chips on the side to add to the colour on the plate. I would need to present my dishes effectively so they were of a restaurant standard. I have trialled two traditional American dishes. Evaluation of investigation work. I have discovered there are many different styles of cuisine found all over America. I have trialled dishes that are famous throughout the world. From trailing these two dishes it has helped me decide what I want to do for my exam. The two dishes I am doing are high and medium skilled.

11. Reasons of choice… Dish 1; Main Course. I am making a main and dessert. For my main course I decided to make home make beef burgers with fries, saladand coleslaw. I have chosen to do this dish because it represents America and it’s a high skilled dish. Burger represent America because it is quite traditional and something that is strongly associated with America. The country I have looked at is very big but this dish are found in all the regions because its very popular. The main nutrients in my dish will be starch and protein in the burger, vitamins and minerals in the coleslaw and fat and carbohydrates in the fries. The skills I will be using when making my dish are handling raw meat, kneading, chopping, peeling, deep fat fryer, and grating. I will present this dish by putting the beef burgers, chips and salad on a normal plain white plate. Also I will be stacking the chips so that it looks a bit more effective and then put the homemade coleslaw in a pot on the side of the plate. I will put the American flag in the middle of the table to bring out the colour. I consider this dish to be unhealthy. Dish 2; Dessert. For my dessert I am making New York Cheesecake. I have chosen dishes that represent America and it’s a high skilled dish. The country I have looked at is very big but this dish represents New Yorkbecause it is a popular dessert in New York. The main nutrients in my dessert will be carbohydrates, fat, and protein. The skills that I will be using when making this dish are whisking, melting, crushing and using the oven. I will present this dish by cutting the cheesecake into a smaller circle than it already is, put a strawberry and 4 blueberries on the side and whipped cream on the side of the plate. I consider this dish to be unhealthy.

12. Time plan.

13. Requisitions chart.

14. Equipment list.

16. Course 1: Dish 1 Beef burger, salad, creamy coleslaw, homemade burger buns and wedges. This dish met the brief because it was from my chosen country. It was a high skilled dish and the skills and methods included kneading because I made the bread, handling raw meat, putting the burger and the buns in the oven and chopping onions. The appearance of my beef burgers were thick and meaty for the minced beef. The aroma of my beef burgers were oniony, beefy and mustardy for the ingredients used. The texture of my beef burgers were firm because the egg held them together better and they were meaty. The flavour of my beef burgers were oniony, mustardy and beefy. Customer acceptability – I think that my dish would be suitable to be served in a restaurant but I would have to make sure that my buns were the correct and same size otherwise customers may get different size portions and could get over charged for the amount they get and also make sure that my coleslaw wasn’t runny. Portion control - I think I controlled my portion size reasonably apart from my bread. I made too many bread buns and the arose way too big and also my wedges were too small . My portion size was enough for one person. I made sure that both plates had the same amount of food on but couldn’t help about the size of the buns. This dish wasn’t too big or small I think that it was a good size portion. I also tried to use the same equipment for preparing with (washing after been used once to use again) so that I could give the same amount of food . If I was to make this dish again I would improve this by getting bigger potatoes, making the bread a good size and extra ingredients in the coleslaw. My recipe made 4 But I served 2. If this dish was served in a restaurant you could scale the recipe up to 12 and freeze the other portions. Timings – I think I managed my time quite well. I tried to stick within my time limit but I went over a little bit whilst making my bread. I could have used my time a bit better but I thought I did well and managed to present for 11.20, therefore I was only 5 minutes over the time I was suppose to present by. This dish contains 27g per 100g of fat. This is red on the traffic light system. 11g of sugar per 100g is amber on the food traffic light system. This dish is high in salt because there are 1.7g of salt per 100g which is red on the traffic light system. My dish contain 137% of you RDA of Salt. I consider this to be high for this dish because this would mean that I am over the recommended daily amount. My dish contains 70% of your RDA for fat and 30% of your RDA for sugar. It also contains 71.7% of your RDA Kcalories this is high because the recommended daily amount is 2500 for men and 2000 for women. To make this dish healthier I could reduce the amount of salt added to the dish and oven bake the wedges instead of frying and I could take out the coleslaw so that it wasn’t as high in calories. Vegetarians cannot eat this dish. I could replace the minced beef with quorn mince so they can. This dish cost £10.56 for one portion. The selling price would be £31.68 per portion. This is based on the calculation multiplying the cost per portion by 3. This is expensive because you would pay that much for one portion. The two improvements I would make to this dish are to make sure that my bread buns are the same size and are suitable to fit the burger in. I would also make sure that the coleslaw wasn’t as runny and had a bit more veg in it, e.g. carrots, cabbage.  Overall my meal is considered unhealthy as it is high in fat , sugar and salt. I feel happy with my overall performance as I think I tried my hardest and didn’t everything to the best standard I could.

17. Course 2: Dish 2 New York Cheesecake. This met the brief because it was from my chosen country. It was a high skilled dish because it was a baked cheesecake and the skills and methods used were whisking, melting, crushing and using the oven. The appearance of my cheesecake was round, golden biscuit base and creamy/white centre. The aroma of my cheesecake was vanilla. The flavour of my cheesecake was vanilla. The texture of my cheesecake was smooth vanilla filling and a crunchy biscuit base. Customer acceptability- I think that my dish would be suitable to be served in a restaurant but I would have to make sure that they are the same size and they are presented a bit more neatly, for example when I piped the whipped cream on it didn’t look very professional. Portion control- I think I controlled my portion size just right, as I used cylinder shaped cutters to make them the same size and they was enough for one person. If I was to make this dish again I would make sure that my cheesecake was cut out a bit neater and I decorated my plate a bit better, for example I would use a different range of fruits and pipe out the cream so that it didn’t just look plain and not very appetising. My recipe made 4 But I served 2. If this dish was served in a restaurant you could scale the recipe up to 12 and freeze the other portions. Timing- I think that I controlled my time well and stuck to the time I limited myself to for making and baking the cheesecake the only thing wrong with my time keeping was when I had gone over the time I limited myself to on my main I went over about 5-10 minutes which then left me to present about 5 minutes after the time we was meant to therefore I presented both my dished by 11.20am. This dish contains 25g per 100g of fat. This is red on the traffic light system. 13g of sugar per 100g is amber on the traffic light system. This dish is medium in salt as there are 0.06g of salt per 100g which is amber on the traffic light system. My dish contains 30% of your RDA for fat, 12% of your RDA for sugar and 8% of your RDA for salt. It also contains 14% of your RDA Kcalories this is low because the recommended daily amount is 2500 for men and 2000 for women. People who are lactose intolerant cannot eat this dish but it would be difficult to change the cream and the cheese from the cheesecake therefore I would have to offer something else. This dish cost £1.18 for one portion. The recipe would have served 3 and it cost £3.54. The selling price could be £3.54 per portion. This is based on a calculation multiplying the cost per portion by 3. this is not expensive and people would pay for this. The two improvements I would make to this dish would be to pipe out the cream neatly and make sure it looks a bit more presentable and not plain. I would also use a range of fruits to bring out the colour on the plate. Overall my meal is considered unhealthy as it its high in fat, salt and sugar but this my be a dish you only have occasionally. My products add together equal £13.70. I feel happy with my overall performance as I think I tried my hardest and didn’t everything to the best standard I could.