Top Chef
There is only one way to become a top chef – lots of hard work and study and a great deal of practical application. Top chefs the world over have had to start at the bottom, and only with a great deal of diligence do they rise to the top. Starting at the bottom means attending catering school, where all the basics in the culinary world are learned. One of the catering colleges that consistently turns out graduates who are on the road to becoming top chefs is the Prue Leith College of Food and Wine.
Tiny Barnetson and Graham Ledger, two businessmen who became aware of a shortage in the catering industry and decided to do something about it, founded the Prue Leith College in 1996. The standard of some of South Africa’s game lodges, restaurants and hotels is second to none, but many of the owners complained about just how difficult it was to find highly-motivated and expertly trained staff, especially for their kitchens. The aim of the college is to train staff specifically for this market, the aim being to give foreign tourists exactly what they want and expect, namely simple food of excellent quality and with a South African essence, and backed up with the best of South African wines. The Prue Leith College does just that by providing the industry with tomorrow’s top chefs.
Training for the Prue Leith Diploma starts in January and July of each year, and lasts for eighteen months, which are split over three six-month semesters. It is the college’s thinking that students best retain their academic knowledge when what they learn in the classroom is put into practice as early as possible. During their first semester students concentrate their efforts in the classroom where they learn the basics and theory of fine cooking. When the second or intermediate semester comes along they are thrown in at the deep end and spend much of their time getting hands-on experience in the college’s own restaurant, Prue Leith’s and in Prue Leith Catering, another member of the group just a couple of kilometres away from the college. Here they man the positions they have been learning about during their junior semester, namely Entremetier, hot and cold kitchens, patisserie and front of house.
During the final “senior” semester students get to work under some of the top chefs of the catering world when they are placed in a number of establishments that have five star restaurants. These include Le Quartier Français in Franschhoek (voted one of the top 40 restaurants in the world), the Sheraton Hotel in Dubai and the Sabi Sabi game lodge in Mpumalanga. The experience that they gain here is incomparable, and it is with the background of this unparalleled diploma course that graduates are expected to rise to the top of their field or speciality within a few years of graduation. Thanks to the connections that Prue Leith has, doors of opportunity open to students possessing a Prue Leith Diploma.
