Fine dining cook
There are numerous good reasons why the Prue Leith Chefs’ Academy in Centurion produces such a large number of good fine dining cooks on its Diploma courses. This fine dining college has a board of advisors whose job it is to keep a close eye on exactly what is required by the catering industry. They comprise Dr Billy Gallagher, an exceptional chef who is the Director of Operations for Southern Sun, Gwynne Conlyn, who is a well known local radio personality and author, Rudi Liebenberg, a member of the South African Olympic Culinary team , Headmaster Bill Schroeder and, of course, Prue Leith herself. Prue is a world-renowned culinary expert and was awarded the Order of the British Empire for her services to the Catering Industry in the United Kingdom. This excellent team of cooking experts keep an eye on what the catering industry is doing and what her needs are both in South Africa and around the world, and advise the college trustees in which direction they should go.
The chefs’ academy, once known as the Prue Leith College of Wine and Food, can be found in the grounds of the old Lyttleton Manor House in the quiet Centurion suburb of Hennopspark. Inside the college grounds are a fully equipped demonstration kitchen as well as a large teaching kitchen, a lecture room, a 48-seat fine dining restaurant with separate lounge area, an outdoor boma and a tea garden. Students joining the academy for one of the two Diploma courses that start each year spend eighteen months of hard work before they turn into fine dining cooks by the conclusion of their course. During their course, students cook with only the best of local and imported ingredients.
The chefs’ course, which takes place over three semesters, has an extremely comprehensive curriculum and is based for the most part on traditional French cuisine. Of course, it doesn’t stop there. Other modules are included to make this fine dining course second to none. There is a thorough Finance module – not given by cooks but by experienced accountants, professional guest teachers who lecture in specialised fine dining subjects such as international cooking (Thai, Chinese, Japanese and Indian) as well as pan-African cuisine and bush cooking. The pastry module is excellent and delivered at Master Class level, and a there is a specialised temperature-controlled chocolate room with granite preparation surfaces for covertures and spun sugar.
But the future fine dining cooks don’t spend all of their time at the academy. Students spend an eight-week period in each of the second and third semesters working in a selected five star establishment gaining “hands-on” experience of the realities and disciplines of the real workplace. These establishments include some of South Africa’s top restaurants, hotels and game lodges as well as some excellent establishments overseas. These include the Dubai Sheraton and the Park Kenmare Hotel in Ireland. Many of the graduates from the Prue Leith Chefs’ Academy end up being offered employment by their practical sites.
