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Consultation on the reviewed Level 3-5 Cookery qualifications

Closed Friday 24 January 2025

Feedback closed on reviewed cookery qualifications 

 

Ringa Hora worked with the sector to review the Level 3 to 5 Cookery qualifications. Endorsements and/or feedback was sought between December 2024 and January 2025.

The current qualifications and the draft reviewed versions consulted on are: 

  • New Zealand Certificate in Cookery (Level 3) [Ref:2100] – see draft reviewed version 2100-v3 
  • New Zealand Certificate in Cookery (Level 4) [Ref:2101] – see draft reviewed version 2101-v3 
  • New Zealand Diploma in Cookery (Advanced) (Level 5) with strands in Cookery, and Patisserie [Ref: 2102] – see draft reviewed version 2102-v3.

The main changes proposed as a result of the review are: 

Across the suite: 

  • Language changes to reflect culinary environment  
  • Minor amendments to reflect NZQA requirements for listing, particularly in the Qualification specifications  
    • Award – updated wording, largely technical wording changes (evolved in past 10 years)  
    • Consistency – updated wording, largely technical wording changes (evolved in past 10 years)  
    • Legislative Requirements: Updated to include Food Act 2014 and Health and Safety at Work Act 2015 
    • General conditions for programmes – changed and strengthened to better reflect Māori values, Te Tiriti o Waitangi, sustainability, programme endorsement considerations.   
  • The Graduate Profile Outcomes (GPOs) were updated to better express what the graduate will be able to be, do and know. 
  • The last date for assessments to take place for programmes leading to version 2 of these qualifications is proposed to be 31 December 2028. 
  • Level 5 qualification – title change, along with a change to 60 credits each for the core and strands.  

Specific proposed changes to each qualification:

  • The Strategic Purpose Statement (SPS) was changed to clarify the role of chefs at this level; to encompass a wide range of establishments in the hospitality sector as opposed to specifying a commercial kitchen; and to include and clarify standard operating procedures at this level. 
  • The Graduate Profile Outcomes (GPOs) were updated: 
    • GPO1 – added ‘culturally responsive’ and replaced ‘commercial kitchen’ with ‘culinary environment’. 
    • GPO2 – added ‘resolve’ before problems and included ‘a sustainable and productive manner in a culinary environment’. 
    • GPO3 – replaced ‘present’ with ‘finish’; replaced ‘basic dishes’ with ‘food products’; replaced ‘skills employing commodities commonly used in industry’ with ‘techniques using a range of ingredients’. 
  • Employment, Cultural, Community pathway – replaced ‘as chefs’ to ‘supporting chefs’ to better reflect the expected job role. 

  • The Strategic Purpose Statement (SPS) was changed to remove ‘complex’ replacing it with ‘applying a range of preparation and finishing techniques’ and ‘professional practice and craft’; to replace ‘commercial kitchen’ with ‘a range of establishments’; and clarifying the role of graduates and working under limited supervision. 
  • The Graduate Profile Outcomes (GPOs) were updated: 
    • GPO 1 – changed to ‘Interact and engage effectively with colleagues, managers and customers to facilitate service delivery in a culinary environment’, to replace ‘Arrange delivery of service through management of interactions between colleagues, managers and customers’. 
    • GPO 2 – removed ‘apply’ from outcome 2 and the phrase ‘to foster a safe, sustainable, and productive culinary workplace’ replaces ‘to the performance of work roles in a commercial kitchen’. 
    • GPO3 – changed to ‘Apply cookery skills by combining methods and techniques to prepare and finish diverse food products by organisation of workstation, time management and teamwork, while integrating safe and sustainable practice’, to replace current outcome ‘Apply cookery skills to prepare, cook and present a range of dishes employing complex preparation and presentation techniques.’ 

 

  • Title change – from ‘Cookery (Advanced)’ to ‘culinary practice’, but retaining the cookery and Pâtisserie strands – NZ Diploma in Culinary Practice (Level 5) with strands in Cookery, and Patisserie 
  • The Strategic Purpose Statement (SPS) wording was adjusted to the style of current NZQA listing requirements and some language adjustments e.g. shift from ‘chefs in senior positions’ to ‘culinary practitioners in positions of responsibility’  
  • The Employment pathway was updated to culinary practitioner to reflect the change of title (and be a more realistic expectation of a graduate than ‘chefs in senior positions’)  
  • Qualification specifications – changes to the general conditions for programmes with mention of – food control plan, combining technical skills, sustainable management practice, Māori values and te Tiriti o Waitangi, Programme Endorsement considerations 
  • Size/Credits – still 120 credits, but shift to balance the core and strands at 60 credits each (was 45 credit core and 75 credit strands) 
  • The Graduate Profile Outcomes (GPOs) were updated: 
    • GPO1 – change from staff management to leadership skills and teamwork, and focusing on behaving ‘in a professional and culturally responsive manner’. 
    • GPO2 – still managing resources, but changed from ‘control workflow and supplies’, to ‘applying knowledge of planning, forecasting and sustainability to contribute to managing resources’; with an increase from 15 to 30 credits 
    • GPO3 – changed from ‘managing operating procedures and compliance…’ to ‘contribute to continuous improvement of operating procedures and compliance requirements to resolve problems or create opportunities…’ 
    • Strands – changed from 75 to 60 credits, made up of two new 30 credit GPOs rewritten for each strand (was 50cr and 25cr = 75cr) 
    • Both strands have the same two new GPOs proposed but changing cookery to pâtisserie (Applying ‘culinary practices to modify and adapt’ and ‘culinary design skills’)  
    • Intent is to remove the ‘programmes must include’ conditions specific to each graduate outcome (some retained for now to guide skill standard development) 

We appreciated your thoughts and feedback on the proposed changes. The qualifications were submitted to NZQA for approval in April 2025.

Work on the development of skill standards to support the reviewed qualifications is still underway. 

Thank you in advance for your interest in and contribution to the review and ongoing quality of the cookery qualification and standards.