Chef College
In 1997 and in response to the demand for culinary training in South Africa the Prue Leith College of Food and Wine opened its doors. This chef college has now changed its name to the Prue Leith Chef’s Academy, but essentially remains the same as when it opened – an exclusive culinary academy that turns out world-class chefs. It’s not easy to get into this chef college – there are only sixty places a year available, and these are split equally between two courses that commence in January and in July. To get onto the course you will have had to have passed Matric, turned eighteen and got through an interview at the college. If you’re one of the lucky thirty accepted onto a course, you’ll have three semesters and eighteen months ahead of you before you walk away with the coveted Prue Leith Diploma, a diploma that can get you a job in many of the world’s top catering establishments.
The Prue Leith Chef’s Academy is a little more than just a chef’s college though. The academy has its own fine food restaurant in the grounds, a restaurant that has been awarded its Blaizon from the Chaîne des Rotisseurs in France. It has also been listed in South Africa’s top twenty restaurants and in Gauteng’s top ten. The restaurant is actually staffed by students from the chef’s college under supervision, but essentially they do everything from front of house to washing up. All students get further hands on experience in two periods of eight weeks in their final semester when they are sent out to work at some of the top catering establishments of both South Africa and Europe.
