Mystery Soup Challenge

3 Step 3 — Build Your Soup Concept

What category of soup are you creating?

Clear Chunky Soup

Cream Soup

Chowder

Puree

Other: _________

Main Flavor Profile Choose the flavors you want your customer to notice(choose all that apply):

Savory

Creamy

Fresh

Spicy

Sweet

Tangy/Acidic

Earthy

Herbaceous

Rich

Other: ____

Describe your soup in ONE sentence:

4 Step 4 — Target Customer

Your soup needs a customer.

Who is your target customer?

Describe your customer: Consider: Age • Lifestyle • Food preferences • Budget • Flavor preferences • Why they might purchase

Why would your target customer choose YOUR soup?

5 Step 5 — Soup Name

Create a working name for your soup.

Working Name:

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Standardized Formulation Step 6A • Ingredients & Preparation

6 STEP 6 — DRAFT YOUR RECIPE

Your recipe needs to be realistic.

Remember: You are not simply listing ingredients. You are planning how the soup will actually be made.

Ingredients Include all Mystery Box items + chosen pantry/refrigerator items

Culinary Audit: Flavor, Texture & Knife Cuts Intentional Cooking Check

• Flavor & Texture Contribution: Every mystery box item must serve a purpose—providing primary base, savory umami, sweet balance, acidity, body/thickness, or textural bite. Do not just "hide" ingredients.

• Knife Cuts & Uniformity: Specify exact knife cuts in the Preparation column (e.g., 1/4" small dice, chiffonade, minced). Uniform cuts guarantee consistent cooking times throughout the soup.

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Execution Procedure & Chef Review Step 6B & Chef Check

6B Cooking Procedure

Include pan type, heat levels, cook times & doneness cues

Write the steps in the order they should happen:

CHEF CHECK — BEFORE YOU LEAVE

Your group should be able to answer YES to all of these:

We are using our mystery-box ingredients intentionally.

We have a working soup name.

We have a realistic soup concept.

We have a realistic ingredient list.

We know what type of soup we are making.

We have a basic cooking procedure.

We know our target customer.

We have considered what cooking methods we will use.

Teacher Feedback

Approved to continue

Needs revision

Teacher comments:

Chef / Instructor Signature:

Date:

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Approved

Revise

Teacher comments:

Instructor Signature:

Date:

Station Brigade Roles

Every team member must hold an active role

Chef / Team Leader

Prep Lead

Cooking Lead

Recipe / Quality

Sanitation Lead

Soup Showdown Challenge • Day 3: Recipe Verification & Lab Readiness Page 3 of 3

Sketch & label birds-eye presentation inside the bowl below:

Draw Soup & Garnish Here

Color/Broth:

Garnish Placement:

What should the finished soup taste like? Target flavor profile, seasoning balance, aromatics:

What should the texture / consistency be? Viscosity, thickness, mouthfeel, vegetable tender-crispness:

What garnish will you use? Texture, freshness, or temperature contrast rationale:

5 What Could Go Wrong?

Professional chefs plan for problems before they happen. Identify three things that could go wrong and what your group would do about them:

6 Lab Readiness Check

Before leaving today, confirm all criteria:

Final recipe is complete.

Production timeline is realistic.

Equipment list is complete.

Garnish has been selected.

Ingredients are accounted for.

We have identified possible problems.

Ingredients have prep instructions.

Everyone understands the recipe.

Everyone has an assigned responsibility.

Teacher Signature:

Ready for Mise en Place:

YES

NO

Soup Showdown Challenge • Day 4 (Tuesday): Production Plan & QA Page 2 of 2