Hotel School Centurion
You may have seen an article the other day about catering schools in South Africa. Did you know that there was an Hotel School in Centurion? Tucked away in the quiet little garden suburb of Hennopspark just a couple of kilometres from the main highway between Johannesburg and Pretoria is an Hotel School, right there in Centurion. The Prue Leith College of Food and Wine started up in 1996. The college was the brainchild of Tiny Barnetson and Graham Ledger. For some time South Africa’s catering industry had been suffering from a shortage of well-qualified staff. With democratization came an upsurge in the number of tourists visiting South Africa. Many owners of game lodges, hotels and restaurants were complaining about the need to get more trained staff that could be relied upon. With this in mind Tiny and Graham started up a hotel school in Centurion calling it the Prue Leith College with the object of stemming the gap in the industry.
The College accepts new students only after they have passed their Matric exam and have reached eighteen years of age. They must also attend an interview board and complete a comprehensive questionnaire. Upon acceptance they will be expected to attend classes and practical training sessions as rostered. From as early as their second week they can expect to be rostered in the college’s own restaurant, Prue Leith’s, which is in the college grounds. The Diploma Course at the hotel school in Centurion lasts eighteen months and is spread over three six month semesters. In order to graduate students must complete the Cape Wine Academy Certificate Course in their second semester. During this course within-a-course students learn about the marriage of food and wine, with particular emphasis being placed on the wines of South Africa. The Prue Leith Diploma is recognized all over the world.
Outside the classroom, students get valuable practical experience in the catering industry in several different ways. From only the second week at the hotel school in Centurion they will be working in Prue Leith’s. Here they take orders at table, prepare and cook the orders and serve them at table. They also act as Maître d’Hotel, Wine Steward and Front of House. In 2005 a new division was added to the college – Prue Leith Catering. Students gain further valuable experience working either in the industrial kitchen or at the catered events. In the college grounds is a 24-seat boma, and it is here where students learn about bush cooking and Pan African cuisine. In their last semester students spend up to six months at a first class catering establishment working on-the-job. These establishments are scattered over South Africa and can be game lodges, restaurants or hotels. Students occasionally spend time at a hotel in Ireland, the United Kingdom or Dubai.
At this hotel school in Centurion the Diploma course is extremely comprehensive, covering all situations a student might come across when in the actual workplace. Office procedures and kitchen maintenance is included as well as the usual cooking classes. On graduation students are well prepared to step into any catering position.
