The food preparation tasks (J309/04 and J309/05) are internal assessments, via set tasks communicated by OCR to centres on 1 November in the academic year in which the assessment is to be taken.

We recommend that learners spend no more than 20 hours on this task. This includes the three hour session incorporating the preparing, cooking and presenting of the three dishes.

The allocation of additional time, where granted, should be assessed by the teacher on an individual basis.

Candidates work at different rates on different activities, so we don’t provide guidance on how to allocate any approved extra time throughout the practical element of the food preparation task. We have, however, indicated below the scenarios in which the allocation of additional time would be appropriate in the food preparation task as a whole.