I do not know how much electronics you are expected to know. The circuit looks very straight forwards and should take from scratch less then 10 hours to construct. Thanks to the large scale integrated circuits, you do not need to know much about digital logic or ICs.
I would take this as a starting point, add fast and up/down modes to it, add a number comparator (4 switches) and a bistable. then you can set a time( fast mode), count it down (slow mode) and when it is the same as your set time, ring a bell/flash a light/turn you cooker off!!! It will be a useful tool and will demonstrate your knowledge as well!
Frank