Prepare fruit and vegetable cuts

Fruit Flan

The fruits we used to make the fruit flan were fresh. We know this because they smelled fresh and had no bruises or blemishes on the skin. We used kiwifruit, grapes, strawberries, and rockmelon. We cut all the fruit relatively the same size so the presentation didn't look sloppy. When the pastry was cooked and cooled, we topped it with custard and decorated it using the fruits we cut. We diced the rockmelon and sprinkled it onto the flan. We cut the kiwifruit into paysanne and left the grapes whole. Lastly, we drizzled melted milk chocolate over the fruit. The fruit flan was served on a small round plate. We used a paring knife to skin the kiwifruit and cut it. To cut all the other fruits we used a green chefs knife.

Vegetable Baskets

 In our vegetable baskets, we used pumpkin, potato, carrot, capsicum, and broccoli. We cut the potato, pumpkin, and capsicum into chunks, the carrot into paysanne, we cut the broccoli into florets. All of the vegetables smelled and looked fresh, they had no bruises or blemishes. We cooked the pumpkin and potato first as they are starchy and take longer to cook than the rest of the vegetables. When all the vegetables were cooked we placed them into the prepared muffin tin with the pastry in the grooves. We then covered the vegetables with the excess pastry and placed them in the oven to cook. We presented the vegetable baskets on a small round plate. To cut the vegetables we used a green chefs knife.

Prepare and present salads for service

Fruit Kebabs

Our fruit kebabs included strawberries, watermelon, grapes, banana, and marshmallows. To ensure our fruit was of the best quality we checked the smell, texture, and appearance. All of the fruit smelled fresh as they were all brought the day before consumption. The fruits were bright in colour and had no visible blemishes. Before we cut the strawberries we rinsed them under water to remove any dirt or bugs. We cut all of the fruits roughly the same size and threaded them as well as the marshmallows onto a skewer. The marshmallows were fresh, we knew this because they weren't stale. We plated them on a round white plate and drizzled melted milk chocolate on top. It was better to plate them on a flat plate as the skewers are straight.

Caesar Salad

In our Caesar salad, we had lettuce, bacon, chicken, croutons, a poached egg, Parmesan cheese, and a Caesar dressing. To ensure the lettuce was of the best quality we washed it and checked for any blemishes. We cut the lettuce chiffonade style on a green chopping board using a green knife. When preparing the chicken we cut it into small chunks on a yellow board with a yellow knife to prevent cross-contamination. The bacon was cooked on a lined baking tray in the oven until golden brown. To cook the croutons we cut whole grain bread into small cubes and cooked them until golden brown on the stove top. To cook the poached egg we cracked the egg into a measuring cup and carefully placed it in a pot of simmering water for approximately 5 minutes. We plated the Caesar Salad in a deep white plate as it was able to hold more than what a regular dinner plate would. We topped the lettuce with the chicken, diced bacon, grated Parmesan cheese, poached egg, and the Caesar dressing. 

Couscous Salad
In the couscous salad, we had pearl couscous, pumpkin, feta, basil pesto, and pine nuts.
The pumpkin had no blemishes and wasn't rotten on the inside.  When we cut the pumpkin we had to ensure they were all cut similarly so they would cook at the same rate. We cooked them first on a baking tray in the oven as they take the longest to cook. Using a white chopping board and a black handle knife we cut the feta into cubes. In a pan, we lightly toasted pine nuts. When the couscous, pumpkin, and pine nuts were cooked we left them to cool down before placing them into a bowl along with the feta. We added approximately 3 heaped tablespoons of basil pesto and gently tossed everything together so the feta and pumpkin don't get mushy. We served the couscous salad in a large bowl as there was a large quantity.