Hospitality 2024 HSC exam pack

Students should:

• read the question carefully to ensure that they do not miss important components of the question
• have a clear understanding of key words in the question and recognise the intent of the question and its requirements
• use the first page of the answer booklet for an extended response to develop a plan to assist in the logical sequencing of information
• engage with what the question is asking rather than presenting a pre-prepared response or simply rewriting the question
• relate to the question throughout the response rather than just at the beginning
• demonstrate knowledge and understanding of HSC content from the syllabus
• communicate ideas and information using relevant workplace examples and industry terminology
• be prepared to address a range of industry issues
• demonstrate knowledge of employability skills relevant to various situations
• provide relevant annotations when including a diagram
• present a logical and cohesive response that answers the question
• review their response to ensure that it addresses the question requirements.

Question 16(a)

In better responses, students were able to:

• identify both verbal and non-verbal communication strategies to farewell a customer
• list more than one appropriate communication strategy to farewell a customer.

Areas for students to improve include:

• understanding the difference between a farewell and a greeting.

Question 16(b)

In better responses, students were able to:

• demonstrate an understanding of the concept of 'cash transactions'
• relate the importance of accurately performing cash transactions to both the customer and the business
• organise and present ideas in a clear and logical sequence.

Areas for students to improve include:

• identifying the transactions that involve counting out cash or handling money
• demonstrating a clear understanding of balancing the Point of Sale (POS).

Question 17(a)

In better responses, students were able to:

• provide an appropriate strategy to eliminate bias and harassment in the workplace.

Areas for students to improve include:

• demonstrating understanding of the key word, ‘outline’
• responding to all aspects of the question, including both bias and harassment.

Question 17(b)

In better responses, students were able to:

• provide two relevant conflict resolution techniques
• demonstrate understanding of how to deal with dissatisfied customers.

Areas for students to improve include:

• understanding conflict resolution techniques rather than making a statement about dissatisfied customers.

Question 18(a)

In better responses, students were able to:

• distinguish between accuracy and legibility
• demonstrate understanding that legibility refers to clearly written communication.

Areas for students to improve include:

• identifying and addressing both parts of the question.

Question 18(b)

In better responses, students were able to:

• demonstrate understanding of the different aspects of table service.

Areas for students to improve include:

• understanding the difference between table service and customer service.

Question 18(c)

In better responses, students were able to:

• demonstrate understanding of a debriefing session
• explain the benefits of staff participating in a debriefing session
• make clear links to customer feedback using industry examples.

Areas for students to improve include:

• understanding debriefing and how it benefits staff when dealing with customer feedback.

Question 19(a)

In better responses, students were able to:

• identify two or more hygienic work practices that prevent contamination
• use industry specific examples of both personal and environmental hygienic work practices.

Areas for students to improve include:

• distinguishing between hygienic work practices and safe work practices (WHS).

Question 19(b)

In better responses, students were able to:

• describe the legal responsibility of a food safety supervisor to hold a current Food Safety Supervisor certificate or qualification
• describe supervisory duties such as overseeing the food operations to manage risks and maintain food safety procedures
• describe the responsibility of the food safety supervisor to monitor the food operations to assist management to comply with the Food Act (NSW) 2003.

Areas for students to improve include:

• understanding the difference between a food safety supervisor’s legal responsibility and a general food handler's responsibility
• understanding the difference between the responsibility of a food safety supervisor and the role of the Environmental Health Officer
• understanding the difference between food safety and WHS.

Question 19(c)

In better responses, students were able to:

• identify a range of HACCP principles that an employee would adhere to when accepting a delivery of food
• use a range of industry examples to support their response, including types of foods, equipment used to follow the HACCP principles, for example, temperature probes and documentation such as purchase orders, temperature monitoring charts
• apply the principles of HACCP to the question scenario using industry terminology.

Areas for students to improve include:

• identifying HACCP principles rather than stock delivery or stock rotation processes
• supporting the response with industry examples
• applying HACCP principles to the scenario rather than just listing the seven steps of HACCP in isolation and not relating them to the question.

Question 20

In better responses, students were able to:

• identify and differentiate between work activities and operational practices for a hospitality establishment
• use industry examples to explain the importance of a food and beverage attendant integrating current information in their work.

Areas for students to improve include:

• understanding the difference between work activities and operational practices.

Question 21(a)

In better responses, students were able to:

• identify both health and business consequences of an inert gas system leaking.

Areas for students to improve include:

• identifying more than one consequence
• ensuring the consequence is specific to an inert gas system rather than a kitchen environment.

Question 21(b)

In better responses, students were able to:

• identify a range of correct equipment used to make the named mocktail
• describe both safe and hygienic use of equipment for making the mocktail
• use industry terms appropriately.

Areas for students to improve include:

• focusing on equipment hygiene rather than food hygiene or personal hygiene
• focusing on the preparation of the mocktail rather than cleaning equipment after preparation has been completed.

Question 21(c)

In better responses, students were able to:

• use relevant industry examples of non-alcoholic beverages to explain the importance of consistency in quality, volume and appearance
• provide information about why consistency is important when serving non-alcoholic beverages.

Areas for students to improve include:

• using industry examples of non-alcoholic beverages to support their response
• differentiating between quality, volume and appearance.

In better responses, students were able to:

• provide a detailed explanation of consequences of not adhering to food safety practices
• demonstrate a holistic understanding of the 'paddock to plate' concept
• provide examples clearly related to working in the Hospitality industry such as customers, business, suppliers and visitors
• link cause and effect in a well-structured response with reference to various stages of the 'paddock to plate' process including farming, transport, food processing, and food service
• use specific industry terms in the examples and explanation.

Areas for students to improve include:

• responding to the whole question and covering all areas of the 'paddock to plate' process
• identifying and clearly describing various processes throughout the 'paddock to plate' process and providing appropriate examples for each stage
• demonstrating depth of understanding of the consequences for all areas including customers, business, wider community, suppliers, and farmers
• using relevant industry examples to support the response and demonstrate understanding of the whole process
• using the 'paddock to plate' process to scaffold their explanation of consequences.

Students should:

• read the question carefully to ensure that they do not miss important components of the question
• have a clear understanding of key words in the question and recognise the intent of the question and its requirements
• use the first page of the answer booklet for an extended response to develop a plan to assist in the logical sequencing of information
• engage with what the question is asking rather than presenting a pre-prepared response or simply rewriting the question
• relate to the question throughout the response rather than just at the beginning
• demonstrate knowledge and understanding of HSC content from the syllabus
• communicate ideas and information using relevant workplace examples and industry terminology
• be prepared to address a range of industry issues
• demonstrate knowledge of employability skills relevant to various situations
• include relevant annotations when including a diagram
• present a logical and cohesive response that answers the question
• review their response to ensure that it addresses the question requirements.

Question 16(a)

In better responses, students were able to:

• demonstrate a clear understanding of how knives should be safely stored in a commercial kitchen and identify specific locations, for example knife blocks, magnetic strips, toolboxes and knife kits.

Areas for students to improve include:

• understanding and identifying utensils used in a commercial kitchen
• providing specific locations for storage of knives in a commercial kitchen.

Question 16(b)

In better responses, students were able to:

• describe multiple features and uses of palette knives. For example, features include a long, thin, flat blade with a rounded end and no sharp edges. Uses include baking, icing cakes, smoothing cakes when decorating, lifting food items and moving them for plating
• make clear connections to how they had used the palette knife in work placement or in the classroom.

Areas for students to improve include:

• including both features and uses of palette knives.

Question 17(a)

In better responses, students were able to:

• provide an appropriate strategy to eliminate bias and harassment in the workplace.

Areas for students to improve include:

• demonstrating understanding of the key word, ‘outline’
• responding to all aspects of the question, including both bias and harassment.

Question 17(b)

In better responses, students were able to:

• provide two relevant conflict resolution techniques
• demonstrate understanding of how to deal with dissatisfied customers.

Areas for students to improve include:

• understanding conflict resolution techniques rather than making a statement about dissatisfied customers.

Question 18(a)

In better responses, students were able to:

• provide a clear and accurate description of steaming.

Areas for students to improve include:

• using appropriate terminology to describe steaming, for example ‘vapour’.

Question 18(b)

In better responses, students were able to:

• provide an accurate description of the indicators of an unsafe or faulty salamander.

Areas for students to improve include:

• providing a response specific to the equipment in the question rather than a list of common problems with kitchen equipment.

Question 18(c)

In better responses, students were able to:

• provide detailed, industry-specific reasons why a chef would choose to grill a steak.

Areas for students to improve include:

• providing the reasons for choosing to grill a steak and the effects.

Question 19(a)

In better responses, students were able to:

• identify two or more hygienic work practices that prevent contamination
• use industry specific examples of both personal and environmental hygienic work practices.

Areas for students to improve include:

• distinguishing between hygienic work practices and safe work practices (WHS).

Question 19(b)

In better responses, students were able to:

• describe the legal responsibility of a food safety supervisor to hold a current Food Safety Supervisor certificate or qualification
• describe supervisory duties such as overseeing the food operations to manage risks and maintain food safety procedures
• describe the responsibility of the food safety supervisor to monitor the food operations to assist management to comply with the Food Act (NSW) 2003.

Areas for students to improve include:

• understanding the difference between a food safety supervisor’s legal responsibility and a general food handler's responsibility
• understanding the difference between the responsibility of a food safety supervisor and the role of the Environmental Health Officer
• understanding the difference between food safety and WHS.

Question 19(c)

In better responses, students were able to:

• identify a range of HACCP principles that an employee would adhere to when accepting a delivery of food
• use a range of industry examples to support their response, including types of foods, equipment used to follow the HACCP principles, for example, temperature probes and documentation such as purchase orders, temperature monitoring charts
• apply the principles of HACCP to the question scenario using industry terminology.

Areas for students to improve include:

• identifying HACCP principles rather than stock delivery or stock rotation processes
• supporting the response with industry examples
• applying HACCP principles to the scenario rather than just listing the seven steps of HACCP in isolation and not relating them to the question.

Question 20

In better responses, students were able to:

• identify and differentiate between work activities and operational practices for a hospitality establishment
• use industry examples to explain the importance of a chef integrating current information in their work.

Areas for students to improve include:

• understanding the difference between work activities and operational practices
• understanding current information that impacts work activities and operational practices for a chef.

Question 21(a)

In better responses, students were able to:

• identify two separate causes of the dark brown coating and pink centres of the chicken tenders.

Areas for students to improve include:

• providing more than one cause
• connecting the causes to a method of cookery
• identifying both time and temperature as impacts on the dark outer coating and pink centres.

Question 21(b)

In better responses, students were able to:

• describe more than one safety practice
• describe safe practices when using both utensils and equipment
• demonstrate understanding of safe work practices rather than food safety practices
• use industry terminology to describe both utensils and equipment.

Areas for students to improve include:

• describing safe practices for both utensils and equipment.

Question 21(c)

In better responses, students were able to:

• identify sous vide and boiling as methods of cookery and provide the correct temperatures and times for both methods
• explain the impact of both cooking time and temperature on all three elements of the menu
• explain positive and negative impacts of both time and temperature in relation to the food elements of the menu.

Areas for students to improve include:

• understanding basic methods of cookery in relation to time and temperature
• understanding the effects of time and temperature on specific food items
• ensuring they relate their response to the factors in the question: time and temperature.

In better responses, students were able to:

• provide a detailed explanation of consequences of not adhering to food safety practices
• demonstrate a holistic understanding of the 'paddock to plate' concept
• provide examples clearly related to working in the Hospitality industry such as customers, business, suppliers and visitors
• link cause and effect in a well-structured response with reference to various stages of the 'paddock to plate' process including farming, food processing, transport and food service
• use specific industry terms in the examples and explanation.

Areas for students to improve include:

• responding to the whole question and covering all areas of the 'paddock to plate' process
• identifying and clearly describing various processes throughout the 'paddock to plate' process and providing appropriate examples for each stage
• demonstrating depth of understanding of the consequences for all areas including customers, business, wider community, suppliers, and farmers
• using relevant industry examples to support the response and demonstrate understanding of the whole process
• using the 'paddock to plate' process to scaffold their explanation of consequences.