MeritKeep

Four cuts, one vegetable

Take one vegetable and cut it four ways — dice, slice, julienne, and a rough chop for something that will be blended. Photograph each pile. What is being marked is not speed or elegance. It is whether the pieces within each pile match each other well enough to cook evenly, and whether you can say why each cut suits the dish you named for it.

Part of the Home Cooking course~60 minutesEvidence: a write-up and up to 5 photographsWe check the technical side. Whether it's any good is your call
01 · What counts as done

What you have to hand in

  • Four piles photographed separately, each with the dish it is intended for.
  • Pieces within each pile consistent enough to finish cooking together.
  • The size of each cut justified in terms of surface area or cooking time.
  • A photograph or description showing the guiding hand and a stable board.
  • A followable method, noting anything you changed as you went.
02 · How it will be marked

The checklist, published before you start

We score your work against each line below, and every score has to quote the part of your work it is based on. You read all of it first, so you can argue with any score on the specifics.
  • The pieces match each other35% of the grade

    Cut sizes are close enough that they would finish cooking together.

    1. AbsentSizes vary enough that some pieces would burn before others soften.
    2. DevelopingBroadly similar with several obvious outliers.
    3. Competent— this is the pass markConsistent across the batch, with minor variation.
    4. StrongConsistent, and the size chosen is justified by the cooking method named.
  • The cut suits the job25% of the grade

    The shape and size match what the dish does with them.

    1. AbsentA cut that will not work for the stated dish.
    2. DevelopingWorkable but not the obvious choice, unexplained.
    3. Competent— this is the pass markA sensible cut for the dish.
    4. StrongSensible, with the reason given in terms of surface area or cooking time.
  • The technique is safe at speed25% of the grade

    Guiding hand, blade contact and board setup are visible and correct.

    1. AbsentFingers extended, or a board that slides.
    2. DevelopingSafe but hesitant, or safe in the photograph only.
    3. Competent— this is the pass markClaw grip and stable board evident.
    4. StrongEvident, and the submission names what it changed to get there.
  • The method is legible15% of the grade

    The write-up says what was done, in an order someone could follow.

    1. AbsentNo method, or a list of ingredients only.
    2. DevelopingSteps present but out of order or incomplete.
    3. Competent— this is the pass markA followable sequence.
    4. StrongFollowable, and notes where it deviated from the plan and why.
03 · What this proves

The skills a pass would prove

Pass, and these skills count as proven, with this piece of work attached as the evidence.

This brief is part of the Home Cooking course

Starting it starts the course: every skill above, in the order they depend on each other, with this brief at the end as the thing you hand in — marked against the checklist you have just read and nothing else.

About three minutes to set up: what you want to do with Home Cooking, where you are starting from, and how many hours a week you actually have. The subject we already have from this page.Start the Home Cooking course
See the whole Home Cooking course, or every graded brief we run.

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