Leveling
Level describes what is expected of a stack. Rating describes how it performed against the cohort this quarter. They move independently and a stack is never promoted for a good rating alone.
P1
Produces a pancake
- Scope
- A single stack, prepared to a fixed instruction.
- Autonomy
- Requires the instruction. Does not vary from it.
- Influence
- None expected.
The stack exists, is the correct shape, and is edible warm. Consistency at this level is a function of the instruction rather than of the stack, and is not scored as an achievement.
A P1 stack that produces the same result every time is meeting the bar. It is not exceeding it.
Currently held by Boxed Mix, Just Add Water.
P2
Produces a pancake reliably
- Scope
- A single stack or a batch of identical units.
- Autonomy
- Handles known variation without intervention.
- Influence
- Within its own batch.
Batch consistency appears here. A P2 stack cooks evenly across the pan, including at the edge, and the last unit is comparable to the first.
Stacks assessed as a group are usually assessed at P2, because group assessment measures consistency and consistency is the P2 bar.
Currently held by Blueberry, Placed On Top, Silver Dollar Cohort.
P3
Holds a position
- Scope
- A stack with a distinguishing characteristic it is responsible for.
- Autonomy
- Chooses its own preparation within an agreed style.
- Influence
- Explains its own trade-offs.
P3 is where a stack has something specific about it and can account for it. A known weakness is acceptable at P3 provided the stack can say what causes it.
A known weakness the stack has not attempted to address for three consecutive quarters is the usual reason a P3 stack does not progress.
Currently held by Blueberry, Folded In, Buckwheat Galette, Protein Stack, Whey Isolate.
P4
Owns an outcome
- Scope
- The stack and its immediate accompaniments.
- Autonomy
- Operates without direction in a known context.
- Influence
- Shapes the plate it is on.
The distinction between P3 and P4 is participation against ownership. A P4 stack does not merely appear on a good plate, it is the reason the plate is good.
The most common P4 growth area recorded by this programme is a stack that performs well and defers. Deferring is scored as absence of influence, not as modesty.
Currently held by Buttermilk Classic, Stack of Three, Dutch Baby, Vegan Oat Stack.
P5
Sets the standard within a style
- Scope
- The stack, its accompaniments, and the expectations of stacks like it.
- Autonomy
- Defines its own context.
- Influence
- Other stacks of the same style are compared to it.
At P5 the stack becomes a reference point. Reviews of other stacks begin citing it without prompting, which is the observable evidence the committee looks for.
A P5 stack is expected to be good. Being good is therefore not evidence for P6.
Currently held by Sourdough Discard Stack.
P6
Demonstrated influence beyond its own plate
- Scope
- The programme.
- Autonomy
- Defines context for stacks it has no relationship with.
- Influence
- Changes how unrelated stacks are prepared.
P6 requires evidence, and the evidence has to be about somebody else. Specifically: at least two stacks outside the P6 stack’s own style must have changed their preparation, and the change must be attributable to it.
Excellence alone does not reach P6. A stack can hold the highest composite in the cohort for four consecutive quarters and remain at P5 if nothing around it has moved.
Currently held by Japanese Soufflé Stack.
P7
Redefines what a stack is
- Scope
- Undefined by design.
- Autonomy
- Not applicable.
- Influence
- The rubric would be revised to accommodate it.
P7 describes a stack that makes the current rubric inadequate. The dimensions would not be able to score it correctly, and the correct response would be to change the dimensions rather than the score.
The level has been defined since the programme began and has never been awarded. It is retained because a scale with an unreachable top is more honest than one that has been quietly lowered to make it reachable.
Never awarded.