Certified Executive Chef Exam

Time Management

“Procrastination is the thief of time”Joseph Heller

“Time is free, but it's priceless. You can'town it, but you can use it. You can't keep

it, but you can spend it. Once you've lost ityou can never get it back.”

Harvey MacKay

•Know what your restrictions are

•Working ideas to plan your time

•Repetition yields results

•Memory can be unreliable, keep accurate records

•The timing of your dishes is almost as important

•Helpful ideas that can make your testing simpler

Items that will be Covered:

•Understanding Your Time

•Tips to Planning

•Practice

•Records

•Plating

•Other Helpful Tips

• You must also structure your time around cooking times to ensure everything is done on time. Braising and Stewing take the longest time and

should be done first. Pan frying and Sautéing are quick and can be done

later.• Look at your menu and break it down by course

Appetizer Salad Entrée Each course should have a designated time frame.

• The time for a CEC exam is 3 hours of cook time and 15 minutes for your service window.

• Time management starts with the structure of your menu and the firing order.

Structure of the menu Since there is a shortened time frame you must choose

menu items that can be accurately achieved in the allotted time.

Understanding Your Time

This is a sample of a time structure for a single course

By creating a proper time structure you can use the

time as an advantage. Poor time management will

create stress, confusion, and ultimately result in

failing the test.

Appetizer (Name of Item)

Item Non-Food Items/Preparation Time

Salmon

Olive Oil/S & P

Sauté Pan/Cutting Board/Butcher's KnifeButchering

10 Min

Butchering the Salmon/Searing on the Flesh Side Down

Searing

5 Min

Lobster

Court Bouillon

Lg. Sauce Pot/Scissors/GlovesPar Cook and Clean Lobster

20 Min

Poach and Shock LobsterFire in Bure Monte

8 Min

Spinach

Garlic/Shallots/Oil/S & P

Sauté Pan/Cutting BoardCut Garlic/Shallots

2 Min

Mince Garlic and Shallots/Sauté SpinachSauté Spinach

2 Min

Béchamel

Milk/Onion/Flour/Butter/S & P

Sauce Pot/Whisk/StrainerMake Sauce

6 Min

Make Roux/Make BechemelFinish Sauce

2 Min

Burre Monte

W.Wine/Butter/Cream/S & P

Sauce Pot/Whisk/StrainerStart Reduction

20 Min

W.Wine Reduction/Add Cream and Reduce/Whisk in Butter

Finish Sauce

15 Min

Total Time

90 Minutes

• Plan for accidents. Accidents and mishaps are bound to happen. Plan

for them and leave time in your schedule to fix them.

• A competition is the same method. Make sure your menu is designed to allow you

time to get everything in. Know what type of competition you are in. Make

sure to add specific graded items to your production time schedule.

Understanding Your Time

Backwards planning• This a method of which you plan the deconstruction of your

items.

• Start one at a time

• The entrée will be last so plan how long all these items take to plate, then to cook, the to prepare.

• The salad portion has minimal cooking times but longer preparation times.

• The appetizer has a combination of both cooling times and preparation time.

• Let’s take a look at a time line

Tips to planning• Backwards planning

• Division of time

• Plan for mistakes

Plan out how you would do it and plan backwards adding

your time up.

Start with the last thing which would be

service.

Do this for each course.

Division of time• The logical division is one course per hour. This is not always

realistic, when thinking about cooking times combining with preparation times the course need to be prepped out in a specific order to keep within sanitation requirements and to keep you on time

• For example you would not butcher the Lobster, and fish then do everything for that dish, then prep your chicken and prep everything for that dish. The time you would spend sanitizing your station over and over again could be better well served.

• Look at your most potentially hazardous situations and complete them first. Then move on to the simpler prep. This give you time so you do not rush heavily graded items like the fabrication of Lobster, Salmon and Chicken.

Tips to planning• Backwards planning

• Division of time

• Plan for mistakes

In this example you can see how the division of time is set for the salad

course.

Salad (Name of Item)

Item Non-Food Items/Preparation Time

Boston Bibb

Greens/Cilantro

Salad Spinner/Paper Towels/Plastic Cambro

Prep Lettuce

10 Min

Tear Lettuce/Wash/Store

Apples and Pears

Granny Smith Apples/Bartlet Pears/Lemons

Cutting Board/Chef's Knife/1/6 Hotel Pan

Prep Knife Skills

6 min

Cut Julianne Apples and Pears and soak in lemon Water

Vinaigrette

Apple Cider Vinegar/Pear Vinegar/EVOO/S & P/Shallots/Honey

Blender/Chef's Knife/StrainerMake Vinaigrette

6 min

Mince Shallots/Blend the Vinaigrette

Asiago Cheese

Cheese

Cheese GraterGrate Cheese

2 min

Grate Cheese

Total Time

28 Minutes

Plan for mistakes• Mistakes will happen. If you plan for a full three hours and

something goes wrong (An oven that does not work, etc…) you could be leaving yourself in a restricted position.

• Plan to complete your items in a time the you feel comfortable, and give yourself time to keep your mind focused.

Tips to planning• Backwards planning

• Division of time

• Plan for mistakes

• Next move to doing two courses at the same time keeping your time limits in mind. Here you can begin to overlap preparations to help cut more time.

• Do this multiple times with alternating courses to see how each course can help or hinder another.

• Once you feel comfortable with two move to all three

• Now you should have a better understanding in what order things can go together.

• Practicing your time management is critical for this test.

• It is good to start slow. Do one course at a time to see where you have a potential for error

• Start by not timing yourself and just complete the dish, but keep in mind how long it took.

• The asses your time and see where you can either speed up or remove items that is too risky for the test.

• Do this for each course until you’re comfortable.

Practice

Records• Practicing is great but you should record your timelines and

keep notes on potential mistakes or faults along the way.

• Recording a successful time line can be brought with you to the test. This can help you stay on schedule and shows the proctors that you have am invested interest in the test.

Records

Entree (Name of Item) Item Non-Food Items/Preparation Time Chicken (Airline/Drumstick)

2 WOGS/Demi/Chicken Stock/Flour/Butter/Oil

Sauté Pan/Braising Pot/Cutting Board/Filet KnifeButchering

12 Min

Butchering the Salmon/Searing on the Flesh Side Down

Searing (Airline)

6 Min

Braising (Drum) 22 Min

Braising Sauce

Liquid from Braising

Small Sauce Pot/Butter/Whisk/StrainerFinish Sauce

4 Min

Take Braising Liquid/Reduce/Whisk in Butter/Strain

Lyonnais Potatoes

Garlic/Yukon Potatoes/Caramelized Onions/Thyme/Oil/S & P

Chef's Knife/Cutting Board/Sauté Pan/Oven/Prep All Items

15 Min

Carmelite Onions/Bake Potatoes/Slice Potatoes/Sear Potatoes

Fire 3 Min

Carrots

Carrots/Butter/S & P

Sauce Pot/Sauté Pan/SpoonBlanch and Shock

8 Min

Blanch and Shock Carrots/Sauté Carrots

Sauté Carrots 2 Min

Burre Monte

W.Wine/Butter/Cream/S & P

Sauce Pot/Whisk/StrainerStart Reduction

20 Min

W.Wine Reduction/Add Cream and Reduce/Whisk in Butter

Finish Sauce 15 Min Total Time 1 hour 47 Minutes

Plating

•You have a set time for plating, 15 minutes

•If you use the last 5 minutes of your cooking time to clean and set up a plating area your can begin plating at the very beginning of the time.

•Send courses out in succession

•Do not lag in-between courses

Plating

Appetizer (Name of Item)

ItemNon-Food

Items/Preparation Time

Salmon

Olive Oil/S & P

Sauté Pan/Cutting Board/Butcher's Knife

Butchering

10 Min

Butchering the Salmon/Searing on the Flesh Side Down

Searing

5 Min

Lobster

Court Bouillon

Lg. Sauce Pot/Scissors/Gloves

Par Cook and Clean Lobster

20 Min

Poach and Shock Lobster

Fire in Bure Monte

8 Min

Spinach

Garlic/Shallots/Oil/S & P

Sauté Pan/Cutting Board

Cut Garlic/Shallots

2 Min

Mince Garlic and Shallots/Sauté

Spinach

Sauté Spinach

2 Min

Béchamel

Milk/Onion/Flour/Butter/S &

P

Sauce Pot/Whisk/Strainer

Make Sauce

6 Min

Make Roux/Make Bechemel

Finish Sauce

2 Min

Burre Monte

W.Wine/Butter/Cream/S & P

Sauce Pot/Whisk/Strainer

Start Reduction

20 Min

W.Wine Reduction/Add Cream and Reduce/Whisk in

Butter

Finish Sauce

15 Min

Total Time

90 Minutes

Salad (Name of Item)

ItemNon-Food

Items/Preparation Time

Boston Bibb

Greens/Cilantro

Salad Spinner/Paper Towels/Plastic Cambro

Prep Lettuce

10 Min

Tear Lettuce/Wash/Store

Apples and Pears

Granny Smith Apples/Bartlet Pears/Lemons

Cutting Board/Chef's Knife/1/6 Hotel Pan

Prep Knife Skills

6 min

Cut Julianne Apples and Pears and soak in lemon

Water

Vinaigrette

Apple Cider Vinegar/Pear

Vinegar/EVOO/S & P/Shallots/Honey

Blender/Chef's Knife/Strainer

Make Vinaigrette

6 min

Mince Shallots/Blend the

Vinaigrette

Asiago Cheese

Cheese

Cheese GraterGrate Cheese

2 min

Grate Cheese

Total Time

28 Minutes

Entree (Name of Item)

ItemNon-Food

Items/Preparation Time

Chicken (Airline/Drumstick)

2 WOGS/Demi/Chick

en Stock/Flour/Butter/

Oil

Sauté Pan/Braising Pot/Cutting Board/Filet

Knife

Butchering

12 Min

Butchering the Salmon/Searing on the

Flesh Side Down

Searing (Airline)

6 Min

Braising (Drum)

22 Min

Braising Sauce

Liquid from Braising

Small Sauce Pot/Butter/Whisk/Strain

er

Finish Sauce

4 Min

Take Braising Liquid/Reduce/Whisk in

Butter/Strain

Lyonnais Potatoes

Garlic/Yukon Potatoes/Carameliz

ed Onions/Thyme/Oil/

S & P

Chef's Knife/Cutting Board/Sauté Pan/Oven/

Prep All Items

15 Min

Carmelite Onions/Bake

Potatoes/Slice Potatoes/Sear Potatoes

Fire

3 Min

Carrots

Carrots/Butter/S & P

Sauce Pot/Sauté Pan/Spoon

Blanch and Shock

8 Min

Blanch and Shock Carrots/Sauté Carrots

Sauté Carrots

2 Min

Total Time

72 Minutes

Cleaning is another important part of any certification or competition. Making time to clean your station, wash your

hands, gives you time to organize your thoughts.

Keep a kitchen timer with you, there might not be a visible clock

If you fall behind do not let it show

When in doubt glove up

It is better to be early than late, just know how to hold temperatures

Other Helpful Tips

In Conclusion• Time can be a partner in the test or it can by your enemy. If

you lose track of time and have to work at a faster pace you fall victim to error.

• A golden rule is “It’s faster to do it right the first time than to mess it up and redo it all over again.”

Good Luck!

In Conclusion