Print one set per station and cut the cards apart. Each card has two columns: read the column for the lab your class is cooking today. These same eight cards run both Lab 3 (Cheesy Pasta Marinara, Lesson 6.8) and Lab 4 (Black Bean Quesadillas, Lesson 6.9).
Four core roles run at every station. Expansion roles turn on at five, six, seven, and eight students. At seven students, the Station Manager keeps time.
The four phases, every lab, every year: PREP 0 to 10 | COOK 10 to 28 | PLATE AND EAT 28 to 35 | CLEAN 35 to 40
Every role, every phase: the six-step routine (hair back, sleeves up, wash hands, sanitize surfaces, clean as you go, station check before dismissal), handles in, say "behind you" and "hot" out loud, and the burner is off before the pan leaves the stove. The teacher drains every pot and opens every oven door. Butter knives and kitchen shears are the only things that cut in this room.
Role Card 1: Station Manager (CORE, always on)
| Phase | Cheesy Pasta Marinara | Black Bean Quesadillas |
|---|---|---|
| PREP (0 to 10) | Check the drawer map. Set out 7 plates, 7 forks, and napkins. Clear the pasta box and the empty jar the moment they appear. Confirm the colander is in the sink. | Check the drawer map. Set out 7 plates, 7 forks, napkins, and 7 small salsa cups. Clear the empty cans and bags the moment they appear. |
| COOK (10 to 28) | Wash the measuring tools, the wooden spoon, and the jar as they free up so the sink is clear before clean time. Call each five-minute block out loud (you are the Time Keeper at seven students). Tell the Head Cook when the pasta timer is at one minute. | Same: wash prep dishes as they free up, call the five-minute blocks, and call the running count out loud with the Prep Cook ("four done, four to go"). |
| PLATE AND EAT (28 to 35) | Count the plates. Every teammate has one before you sit. Then eat. | Count the plates. Every teammate has one before you sit. Then eat. |
| CLEAN (35 to 40) | Lead the clean-up zones. Walk the station check: burners off, pot and saucepan and colander washed and dry and in the drawer per the map, stovetop wiped, counters wiped, sink empty, floor swept, trash out, fridge closed. Report "done" to the teacher. | Same, plus: both burners off, both skillets washed and dry, leftover cheese and beans covered and in the fridge or the trash. Report "done" to the teacher. |
Why your role matters: You are the reason the station passes the check at minute 40. A clear sink at minute 20 is what makes that possible.
Tag-in note: You work with the Time Keeper on the final check. At seven students, you are the Time Keeper too.
Role Card 2: Head Cook (CORE, always on)
| Phase | Cheesy Pasta Marinara | Black Bean Quesadillas |
|---|---|---|
| PREP (0 to 10) | Read the whole station card out loud to the team. With the Helper Cook, fill the large pot three quarters full and carry it together to the burner, handle in. Turn it to HIGH. Add 1 Tablespoon of salt. This is done by minute 3. | Read the whole station card out loud to the team. With the Helper Cook, pour both opened cans of beans into the colander, rinse under cold water until the water runs clear, and move them to the bean bowl near the stove. |
| COOK (10 to 28) | Watch for a rolling boil: big bubbles breaking the whole surface. Add all the pasta at the boil and stir immediately, then every 2 to 3 minutes. When the Helper Cook calls "soft with a little bite," turn the burner OFF and step back. The teacher drains. Then put the drained pasta in the serving bowl. | Run skillet 1 on MEDIUM. For each quesadilla: tortilla flat in the pan, about 3 Tablespoons of beans spread on one half with a butter knife, about 1/4 cup of cheese on the beans, fold over with the spatula and press gently, about 2 minutes until golden brown, flip, 1 to 2 minutes more, slide onto a plate. Start the next one right away. |
| PLATE AND EAT (28 to 35) | Tell the Plate Builder when the bowl is tossed and ready. Eat. | Keep your last quesadilla coming off by minute 27. Eat. |
| CLEAN (35 to 40) | Zone: stove and pots, with the Second Cook. Confirm both burners off. Wash and dry the large pot. Wipe the stovetop. | Zone: stove and skillets, with the Second Cook. Confirm both burners off. Wash and dry skillet 1 and its spatula. Wipe the stovetop. |
Why your role matters: You run the heat. Everyone eats on time or late depending on whether you start on time and read the food instead of the clock.
Tag-in note: The Helper Cook is your prep partner. The Second Cook works beside you at the same time and you finish together.
Role Card 3: Second Cook (CORE, always on)
| Phase | Cheesy Pasta Marinara | Black Bean Quesadillas |
|---|---|---|
| PREP (0 to 10) | Open the marinara jar and pour all of it into the small saucepan. Do not turn the heat on yet. At minute 8, set that burner to LOW. | Set both skillets on the burners with a spatula each, handles in. Spray both lightly, or put a small pat of butter in each. Do not turn on the heat until minute 9. |
| COOK (10 to 28) | Stir the sauce every 2 minutes. Keep it on LOW the whole time: warm, never bubbling. When the pasta is drained and in the bowl, pour the sauce over it and toss gently with the tongs. | Run skillet 2 on MEDIUM, the same way as skillet 1. Keep your skillet full: the second one comes off, the next tortilla goes in. |
| PLATE AND EAT (28 to 35) | Hand the tossed bowl to the Plate Builder. Eat. | Keep cooking until all eight are done, then eat. |
| CLEAN (35 to 40) | Zone: stove and pots, with the Head Cook. Wash and dry the saucepan and the wooden spoon. | Zone: stove and skillets, with the Head Cook. Wash and dry skillet 2 and its spatula. |
Why your role matters: On the pasta, low and slow is the difference between sauce and scorch. On the quesadillas, your skillet is half the line's speed.
Tag-in note: You work at the same time as the Head Cook and finish together. If the Head Cook falls behind, you take the next one.
Role Card 4: Prep Cook (CORE, always on)
| Phase | Cheesy Pasta Marinara | Black Bean Quesadillas |
|---|---|---|
| PREP (0 to 10) | Measure 1 1/2 cups of shredded mozzarella into the small bowl. Level it with a straight edge. Do not pour from the bag. | Measure 1 1/2 cups of shredded cheese into the cheese bowl and level it. Stack the tortillas near the stove within reach of both cooks. |
| COOK (10 to 28) | Wash the dry measuring tools and put them back per the map. Keep the counter beside the stove clear. | Refill the bean bowl and the cheese bowl as they empty. Call the running count out loud: "four done, four to go." |
| PLATE AND EAT (28 to 35) | Eat. | Hand a fresh tortilla to whichever cook needs one. Eat. |
| CLEAN (35 to 40) | Zone: dishes and sink, with the Plate Builder. Wash and dry the measuring cups and spoons. | Zone: counters and supplies, with the Toppings Chief. Wipe all counters. Put away leftover tortillas and cheese. |
Why your role matters: Measuring is the recipe. A leveled cup is why every plate gets the same amount and why the station does not run out at plate seven.
Tag-in note: The Helper Cook works beside you in prep. The Head Cook uses what you measure.
Role Card 5: Helper Cook (EXPANSION, turns on at 5 students)
| Phase | Cheesy Pasta Marinara | Black Bean Quesadillas |
|---|---|---|
| PREP (0 to 10) | Help the Head Cook fill and carry the pot. It is heavy when full, so two people, slow steps, and say "behind you." | Help the Head Cook drain and rinse the beans until the water runs clear. Unrinsed beans taste like the can. |
| COOK (10 to 28) | At the timer, take one piece of pasta out with a clean fork, blow on it, and taste. Call "soft with a little bite" or "not yet." Say it loud enough for the Head Cook to hear. | You are the line feeder. The moment a quesadilla comes off a skillet, the next tortilla goes in. A skillet should never sit empty. Watch both. |
| PLATE AND EAT (28 to 35) | Eat. | Eat. |
| CLEAN (35 to 40) | Zone: floor and trash, with the Time Keeper (or alone at seven). Sweep. Take the trash out and replace the liner. | Same. |
Why your role matters: On the pasta, your taste test is the only real test of doneness there is. On the quesadillas, you are the reason the line never stalls.
Tag-in note: You are the Head Cook's partner. If you are not here, the Head Cook tastes and the Second Cook feeds the line.
Role Card 6: Toppings Chief (EXPANSION, turns on at 6 students)
| Phase | Cheesy Pasta Marinara | Black Bean Quesadillas |
|---|---|---|
| PREP (0 to 10) | Divide the measured cheese into 7 small portions, one per plate, so nobody takes all of it. | Portion salsa into the 7 small cups. If the dessert station is running, rinse the blueberries in the colander and set out the graham crackers. |
| COOK (10 to 28) | Help the Station Manager wash and clear. Set the cheese portions beside the plates. | Build the graham cracker blueberry stacks on the far counter if the dessert station is running: cracker, whipped cream, a few berries, cracker, cream, berries, cracker, cream, berries. Three crackers per person. Otherwise help the Station Manager wash and clear. |
| PLATE AND EAT (28 to 35) | Sprinkle cheese on each plate while the pasta is still hot so it melts. Eat. | Set a salsa cup at each plate. Bring the dessert stacks out last, after the quesadillas. Eat. |
| CLEAN (35 to 40) | Zone: counters and supplies, with the Plate Builder. Wipe every counter. Put away the leftover cheese. | Zone: counters and supplies, with the Prep Cook. Wipe every counter. Put the whipped cream back in the fridge and the crackers back in the box. |
Why your role matters: The topping is the last thing anyone sees and the first thing they taste. Cheese on cold pasta does nothing; cheese on hot pasta is the dish.
Tag-in note: You follow the cooks down the line. If you are not here, the Second Cook adds the toppings and the dessert station does not run.
Role Card 7: Plate Builder (EXPANSION, turns on at 7 students)
| Phase | Cheesy Pasta Marinara | Black Bean Quesadillas |
|---|---|---|
| PREP (0 to 10) | Set the large serving bowl and the tongs. Confirm the colander is in the sink and the path from the stove to the sink is clear, because the teacher walks it with a hot pot. | Lay out the 7 plates in a line as the assembly line. Set 7 butter knives at the end of it. |
| COOK (10 to 28) | Set the trivet out of the walking path. When the bowl is tossed, line up the 7 plates. | Stand at the end of the line. As each quesadilla comes off, move it to a plate and keep the stack in order so the first one made is the first one cut. |
| PLATE AND EAT (28 to 35) | Serve 7 even portions with the tongs. Pass each plate to the Toppings Chief. Eat. | Cut each quesadilla into 2 or 3 wedges on the plate with a butter knife. Never cut in a hot skillet. Pass to the Toppings Chief. Eat. |
| CLEAN (35 to 40) | Zone: dishes and sink, with the Prep Cook. Wash and dry the serving bowl, the tongs, the plates, and the forks. | Zone: dishes and sink. Wash and dry the plates, forks, bowls, and butter knives. |
Why your role matters: Seven people, one bowl. You are why everyone gets a fair share and nobody grabs something hot.
Tag-in note: You bridge the cooks and the toppings. If you are not here, the Station Manager serves.
Role Card 8: Time Keeper (EXPANSION, turns on at 8 students; at 7, the Station Manager does this)
| Phase | Cheesy Pasta Marinara | Black Bean Quesadillas |
|---|---|---|
| PREP (0 to 10) | Set the timer to 40 minutes. Announce each phase start out loud. Call "pot on" at minute 3 and check that it happened. Give a two-minute warning before prep ends. | Set the timer to 40 minutes. Announce each phase. Call "skillets on" at minute 9. Give a two-minute warning before prep ends. |
| COOK (10 to 28) | Call the time every five minutes. Set the pasta timer to the box time minus one minute and call it. Call "taste it" to the Helper Cook. Give a two-minute warning before cook ends. | Call the time every five minutes. Write down the minute each quesadilla comes off. Call out the count. Give a two-minute warning before cook ends. |
| PLATE AND EAT (28 to 35) | Help carry plates. Make sure every teammate has one before you sit. | Same. |
| CLEAN (35 to 40) | Zone: floor and trash, with the Helper Cook. Then the final walk with the Station Manager: every line on the station check. | Same. |
Why your role matters: Forty minutes goes fast. You are the reason the station is eating at minute 28 and not at minute 36.
Tag-in note: You and the Station Manager run the final check together. At seven students, the Station Manager carries your card.
Clean-up zones (post at every station)
| Zone | Roles | What "done" looks like |
|---|---|---|
| Heat: stove, pots, and skillets | Head Cook and Second Cook | Both burners off. Pot, saucepan, colander, or both skillets washed, dried, and in the drawer per the map. Stovetop wiped. |
| Counters and supplies | Toppings Chief and Plate Builder (pasta) or Prep Cook (quesadillas) | Every counter wiped and sanitized. Leftovers covered and in the fridge or the trash. Nothing left out. |
| Dishes and sink | Prep Cook and Plate Builder (pasta) or Plate Builder alone (quesadillas) | Every bowl, cup, spoon, plate, fork, and butter knife washed, dried, and put away per the map. Sink rinsed and empty. |
| Floor and trash | Helper Cook and Time Keeper (or Helper Cook alone) | Floor swept. Trash out, liner replaced. Fridge door closed. |
Teacher signs the station only when every line is done. Nobody leaves until all stations are signed.
Grade 8 stretch card: Line Manager
This card replaces the Time Keeper card for a student ready for it.
| Phase | What you do |
|---|---|
| PREP | Draw a blank flowchart in five-minute blocks on the back of the station card. Write the planned times for each phase. |
| COOK | Record the actual minute each milestone happens: water boiling, pasta in, pasta drained, sauce ready. Or, for the quesadillas, the minute each one comes off the skillet. |
| PLATE AND EAT | Compute the variance: how many minutes ahead or behind the plan each milestone was. For the quesadillas, compute throughput: quesadillas divided by minutes of cook time. |
| CLEAN | Report two numbers at the station check: the biggest variance and the minute the station lost the most time. Name the bottleneck, not a person. |