Dining School
The Prue Leith Chefs’ Academy, recently renamed from Prue Leith College of Food and Wine, is a dining school that is second to none. The school can be found in a quiet area of Gauteng in the suburb of Hennopspark, and is very convenient to reach from both Pretoria and Johannesburg. Prospective students can apply for entry to this dining school once they have achieved a standard grade pass at Matric and have reached 18 years of age. Students have to sit through an interview board, and if they are accepted they will join one of the courses, which commence twice annually, in January and July. The school enjoys a student to lecturer ratio of 10:1 or less, and is regarded by many as being among the top chefs’ training colleges in South Africa. This chefs’ academy is the only one in Southern Africa that can boast its very own fine dining restaurant, Prue Leith’s, which is set in the school grounds.
The intense chefs’ academy Diploma course is renowned around the world. Prue Leith, a graduate of the University of Cape Town, was awarded the OBE for her services to the catering industry in the United Kingdom. She has become the patron to this fine dining school and sits on the board of selected advisors who regularly meet in order that the academy keeps up to date with the requirements of the catering industry. The dining school’s advisory board also includes Billy Gallagher, a top chef who is Director of Operations for the Southern Sun group, Rudi Liebenberg, Executive Chef of the Saxon Hotel, Bill Schroeder, headmaster of Pretoria Boys High School, and, of course, Prue herself.
The curriculum of this dining school was developed with the South African catering industry in mind but based on the classical French methods of culinary art. The course is so designed to enable graduates to enter the industry thoroughly prepared and with plenty of confidence. The Finance module, which is delivered by chartered accountants, enables students to fully grasp the intricate details of the financial side of a professional kitchen. Students are required to put together a business plan some of which students have actually used after graduation to start their own business. Graduates from the school have ended up in some of the world’s top kitchens, including those of famous chefs Jamie Oliver and Gordon Ramsay. The high standards set by our lecturers are constantly monitored to ensure that students get the best possible training available. .
Students also gain valuable experience in another branch of the Prue Leith Group, Prue Leith Catering. This part of the group is situated a couple of kilometres from the dining school and specializes in fine dining at the “venue of your choice”. Students gain valuable experience here in a range of off-site catering activities. The course is rounded off with two-month long periods at one of many five-star restaurants, hotels and game lodges where students get valuable hands-on experience in an actual working environment.
