What is the Unit 2 practical controlled assessment, and how is it marked?
Unit 2 Practical Food and Nutrition, the controlled assessment worth 50 percent, including the food investigation and food preparation tasks and the skills of researching, planning, making and evaluating.
A concise overview of Unit 2 Practical Food and Nutrition, the CCEA GCSE controlled assessment worth 50 percent, covering the food investigation and food preparation tasks and the skills of researching, planning, making and evaluating.
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What this dot point is asking
This is an overview of Unit 2, the practical controlled assessment. Unlike the Unit 1 topics, Unit 2 is not examined on a written paper; it is internally assessed coursework. You should understand what the unit involves and how the rest of the course feeds into it.
What Unit 2 is
It tests whether you can apply the knowledge from Unit 1 to real food investigation and preparation.
The stages of the task
| Stage | What you do |
|---|---|
| Research and analysis | Investigate the set task; gather and analyse information |
| Planning | Choose dishes, justify them, plan time, equipment and safe working |
| Making | Prepare and cook, using a range of skills, safely and hygienically |
| Evaluation | Test results, evaluate against the brief, suggest improvements |
How the written content feeds in
The practical is where the taught content is used: nutrition knowledge justifies dish choices and modifications (for example meeting a group's needs or cutting fat, sugar and salt); food-science knowledge explains the working properties of ingredients you rely on; and food-safety knowledge guides safe, hygienic working throughout.
Linking to the rest of the course
Unit 2 pulls together every Unit 1 module: nutrition and diet and health (justifying choices for a group), the science of food (ingredient properties and food safety) and being an effective consumer (choosing suitable, sustainable ingredients). Use the focused answer pages in those modules to prepare the knowledge you will apply.
Examples in context
- Example 1. A food investigation on a working property
- A task might ask you to investigate how different fats affect the texture of pastry. You would research shortening, plan and carry out tests, and evaluate the results, applying the functions-of-ingredients content in practice.
- Example 2. Catering for a special dietary need
- A task might ask for a meal suitable for someone with a condition such as coeliac disease or for an older person. You would apply the diet and health content to choose and justify suitable dishes.
- Example 3. Showing safe practice under assessment
- Throughout the practical, controlling temperatures, using separate boards and storing food correctly demonstrate the food-safety content, which is part of the marked process.
Try this
Q1. State the four stages of the Unit 2 controlled assessment. [4 marks]
- Cue. Research and analysis, planning, making, and evaluation.
Q2. Explain why nutritional knowledge is important in the practical task. [2 marks]
- Cue. It is used to justify dish choices and modifications so the meal meets the needs of the task or group.
Exam-style practice questions
Practice questions written in the style of CCEA exam questions on this dot point, with worked answer explainers. The year tag is the paper they imitate, not the source.
CCEA guidance8 marksOutline the stages you would work through to complete the Unit 2 controlled assessment task.Show worked answer →
This is assessed by the controlled assessment, not the written paper, but the expected stages are:
Research and analysis: investigate the set task, gather information (for example on the nutritional needs of a group or the working properties of an ingredient), and analyse it to plan a sensible approach.
Planning: choose dishes that meet the task, justify them against nutrition and the brief, plan the order of work, time plan, equipment, ingredients and safe and hygienic working.
Making: carry out the practical work, using a range of skills and techniques, showing good food safety, hygiene and time management.
Evaluating: test and evaluate the results against the task, using sensory analysis and nutritional reasoning, and suggest improvements.
Markers reward a logical sequence covering research, planning, making and evaluation linked to the brief.
CCEA guidance6 marksExplain how nutritional knowledge and food safety are demonstrated in the practical assessment.Show worked answer →
Six marks: link the written-unit knowledge to the practical.
Nutritional knowledge: dish choices and modifications are justified using nutrition, for example choosing wholegrain and reducing fat, sugar and salt, or meeting the needs of a particular group such as a teenager or older person, drawing on the diet and health content.
Food safety and hygiene: throughout the practical, the candidate works safely and hygienically, controlling temperature, preventing cross-contamination and storing food correctly, applying the science-of-food content.
Evaluation: results are judged using sensory testing and against the nutritional aims of the task.
Markers reward clear links between the taught content (nutrition and food safety) and the practical decisions made.
Related dot points
- The functional and chemical properties of ingredients, including aeration, coagulation, gelatinisation, shortening, emulsification, denaturation, dextrinisation and caramelisation.
A focused CCEA GCSE Food and Nutrition answer on the functional and chemical properties of ingredients, covering aeration, coagulation, gelatinisation, shortening, emulsification, denaturation, dextrinisation and caramelisation, with examples in real dishes.
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A focused CCEA GCSE Food and Nutrition answer on food safety and hygiene, covering personal and kitchen hygiene, cross-contamination, temperature control and the danger zone, food-poisoning bacteria, safe storage and date marks.
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A focused CCEA GCSE Food and Nutrition answer on dietary needs through life, covering the changing nutritional needs of pregnancy, babies and weaning, children, adolescents, adults and the elderly, and the nutrients each group needs most.
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