Kitchen Safety and Tool Authority
Age does not grant authority. The parent may always make a role more restrictive.
| Role | Kitchen Foundations operations |
|---|---|
| Learner independent after demonstration | Read, wash hands, gather verified ingredients, measure, mix, mash, wash approved produce, use low-risk utensils, wipe ordinary cold spills, serve cooled food, label and refrigerate leftovers, wash assigned dishes |
| Learner with parent immediately present | Any new cutting setup, burner control, stirring or turning food on heat, opening an oven door after demonstration, adding food to a stable pan when splatter risk is low |
| Parent setup or assistance | Verify labels/allergens and food condition, open cans, cut hard or rolling produce, light or troubleshoot heat, move hot cookware, drain hot liquid, resolve smoke or splatter |
| Parent only | Emergency response, injury treatment, broken glass, grease or oven fire response, damaged appliances, prohibited processes, and decisions about allergen exposure or questionable food |
Clean-device rule
Place a phone or tablet on a clean, dry stand outside food, wet, hot, cutting, and used-tool zones. Touch it only with clean, dry hands, or ask the adult to scroll. Every online Cooking Lesson must also provide a printable path or an equivalent cook mode so the learner can avoid touching the device during food work.
Level 1 prohibited core operations
No raw meat, raw seafood, raw egg tasting, deep frying, pressure cooking, open flame, mandoline, powered blade, student chef knife, culinary torch, home canning, or wild-foraged ingredient.
Parent intervention timing
- After about 7 minutes stuck: ask for the last known-good checkpoint.
- After 12 minutes without a test: require one smallest safe check.
- After 20 minutes without progress: restore a safe state and record the blocker.
- Safety, hygiene, heat, blades, allergens, damaged equipment, and missing essentials override the timer immediately.