5 Skills to Learn at a Cooking School

5 Skills the Right Cooking School Will Help You Cultivate

Training at a superb cooking school is going to set you up for the rest of your professional life. Not only will students in the right cooking school be afforded better opportunities, but they will also feel more confident when stepping into a work environment for the first time. At the Prue Leith Culinary Institute, we recognise that helping each student tap into their creativity and nudging them towards success is the best way to kickstart a successful future career as a chef. Below, we take a look at five skills we strive to nurture in our students through our renowned curricula and how these acquired skills can be utilised in any line of work that involves culinary preparation.

1. The Fundamentals of Cookery

Professional cookery is so much more than serving up a Sunday roast or baking a birthday cake for a friend. There are some basics that one must cover first. These fundamentals act as the solid foundation upon which one can play with creativity and flair. No matter how adept you are at advanced cookery techniques, if your cooking school fails to teach you about the underlying principles that make a kitchen’s output successful, you will have a tough time adjusting to the professional world. These principles include subjects, such as hygiene and safety, numeracy and units of measure, basic ingredients, nutrition, and food preparation methods and techniques.

2. Working as Part of a Team

No chef will thrive or even enjoy working in an environment if they do not understand how to work well with others. At the Prue Leith Culinary Institute, our multi-cultural learning environments and practical work opportunities allow for real-world experience when it comes to developing people skills and flourishing with various kinds of people – from colleagues to customers.

3. Personal Development and Leadership

The hospitality industry can get stressful – and a chef’s kitchen is no exception. Students who are willing to grow and remain teachable will gain the most out of any experience. Our institute has carefully developed learning courses geared towards personal growth and leadership skills, affording students the opportunity to learn how to manage any challenge they face.

4. Applying Theory to Practical Settings

Theory and practical experience are two vastly different concepts – though both are essential in the context of training. It is essential while choosing a place to study that you seek a cooking school that offers both theoretical training as well as practical work. With many of our courses, we offer students the opportunity to work in the Prue Leith Restaurant, our academy’s on-site fine dining restaurant. In this way, students can step into their future career feeling work ready.

5. A Lifelong Love for Perfecting Your Skills

A chef’s learning is never done, and the dynamic and fast-paced environment of a kitchen is the best place to continually hone one’s craft and sharpen their skills. Unlike a cooking school that only cares about money and prestige, we aim to equip students with the skills they really need as well as inspire a passion for a lifelong journey of exploring and learning.

To enrol with a cooking school that will give you the edge in this competitive industry, get in touch with us today.