A Specialist Food Academy with An Illustrious Name

A Specialist Food Academy with An Illustrious Name

The patron of our specialist food academy in Gauteng is well-chosen, since she has devoted much of her illustrious working life to the science and art of fine food, a field in which she continues to receive accolades. She is the author of numerous cookery books, but more recently, she has become a published author of fictional works into which she magically weaves food-related themes.

Prue Leith, A Household Name

The lady in question is Prue Leith, CBE. Although Prue now resides in the United Kingdom, where she continues to feature prominently in the world of food – most recently as a judge in the Great British Bake Off, alongside baker Paul Hollywood – she is South African-born. Prue spent her early years in this country, before relocating to England, where she achieved a Michelin star in her own London restaurant. Before the Bake Off series, Prue was a member of the judging panel in the Great British Menu television shows that brought the competitive and innovative side of the professional chef’s world into the homes of foodies in many English-speaking countries, making Prue Leith a household name.

Specialist Food Academy

Naming our specialist food academy after Prue was the obvious choice. Our three South African founders who were responsible for establishing our academy in 1996 approached her for permission to use her name for their new culinary school. After scrutinising their business plan, vision, ethos, and curricula, Prue agreed. The Prue Leith Chefs Academy’s doors opened to the first intake of aspirant food specialists – chefs – in 1997. As they say, the rest is history. Since then, the Prue Leith specialist food academy has continued to grow in size, food specialities and specialisation, and curricula, and most vitally, reputation. We are known in the hospitality industry as the top culinary school in South Africa. Additionally, Prue continues to visit the academy that bears her name each year, whilst we also consult her when important decisions are in the offing.

Things You Did Not Know About Our Top Culinary School:

• We offer five full-time and two part-time professional chefs’ courses and two post-graduate programmes that are registered with local education and training bodies, and City & Guilds-accredited.
• We present 21 short courses, each specialising in a type of food, specific preparation method, or aspect of dining, plus a brand-new course called Food Photography & Styling.
• Our dedicated lecturers are qualified and experienced hands-on experts in their own specialities, with the talent and passion to pass their expertise on to Prue Leith students.
• We offer on- and off-site consulting services at all levels and in key areas, accompanied by relevant City & Guilds-accredited training, specially designed and developed for the hospitality industry.
• We have fully equipped, cutting-edge training, patisserie, and restaurant kitchens (incorporating a hot, cold, and patisserie kitchen), to cater for our Prue Leith fine-dining restaurant that serves epicurean delights created by our students to discerning diners.

Our specialist food academy’s campus features two large, air-conditioned lecture rooms and a first-class library, giving students access to foremost culinary publications and multimedia options to update their knowledge of specialist food trends and innovations in the world of creative food preparation.