Vegetarian Cooking Classes
Vegetarianism is defined as being the practice of not eating meat, with or without the use of other animal derivatives, such as dairy products or eggs. Veganism is sometimes called “strict vegetarianism” and excludes all animal products from diet and clothing, whether or not this involves the actual death of an animal (eg. dairy products, eggs, honey, wool and feathers). Vegetarian cooking classes have become more and more popular, and, without doubt, it is good practice to have a few vegetarian dishes “up your sleeve” for that day when you have a vegetarian guest to cater for. Certainly today’s professional chefs and cooks need to know how to prepare a dish for vegetarians, and you will find a vegetarian dish on most restaurant menus today. With this in mind nearly all catering schools include vegetarian cooking classes in their curriculum.
The Prue Leith College of Food and Wine is one such school, and among the main headings that come under “Course Content” you will find Vegetarian Dishes. The college has just celebrated the tenth anniversary of its founding, and over those ten years the Prue Leith Diploma Course has been finely tuned into a curriculum that covers every aspect of culinary art, and gives students a background second to none by the time they graduate. Indeed, graduates are expected to rise to the top of their profession within a few years of leaving the college. It is natural that cooking classes should contain aspects of vegetarian dishes.
The eighteen month long diploma course is spread over three semesters and commences in January and July of each year. Students are eligible to enroll at the college provided they have passed their Matric exams and have reached eighteen years of age. Before being accepted they must pass an interview board and complete a comprehensive questionnaire. The first semester, or junior semester, is spent almost entirely in the classroom, where they learn all of the basic steps of classical cooking. It is a fundamental philosophy of the college that the academic knowledge gleaned in the classroom should be put into practice as soon as possible, thus enabling the student to retain that knowledge. To this end, in their intermediate semester students take turns working in the college’s restaurant, Prue Leith’s and in Prue Leith Catering. Here they work in hot and cold kitchens, front of house and in the pastry department.
During their final senior semester students get still more exposure to the workplace when they are placed in a number of top catering establishments in South Africa, the United Arab Emirates and in Europe. Here they work in the five star restaurants under top class chefs. This is where those vegetarian cooking classes pay off when the young chefs are exposed to world-class culinary excellence and creativity. By the time these students graduate, they are ready to tackle any job that comes along, and with the Prue Leith Diploma in their hands will be accepted throughout the international catering industry.
