Write SOPs for holding, cooling, thawing and reheating of food in a food service unit.

1. 1 · Open in two lines. Bacteria grow rapidly in the danger zone, about 5 °C to 60 °C. Temperature SOPs keep food out of it or move it through quickly.
2. 2 · Draw the cook-chill flow. [Diagram: Cook 75 °C → Cool to 21 °C in 2 h → Cool to 5 °C in next 4 h → Store 5 °C or below → Reheat 75 °C → Hold 63 °C or above]
3. 3 · Hot and cold holding.
   • Hot 63 °C or above; preheat equipment; check at set intervals.
   • Cold 5 °C or below; pre-chill displays.
   • Corrective action for each.
4. 4 · Cooling. Two-stage rule; shallow pans, ice bath, blast chiller; record times and temperatures.
5. 5 · Freezing and thawing. Freeze at −18 °C or below in labelled portions. Thaw in the refrigerator, never at room temperature; do not refreeze raw thawed food.
6. 6 · Reheating. Quickly to at least 75 °C at the centre; only once; never in the hot-holding unit.
7. 7 · In a noon-meal kitchen. Fast cooling and proper reheating of rice and sambar prevent Bacillus cereus and Clostridium perfringens illness.
8. 8 · Close in one line. Time and temperature, measured and recorded, are the cheapest controls in any kitchen. Follow your unit's validated limits.

Scoring tip: Put all the numbers in one small table; it is quicker to write and easier to mark.