Become a World Class Chef through South Africa’s Top Chefs Academy

Are you interested in becoming a highly sought after world class Chef? Do you want to learn more about the culinary industry, but don’t know where to start? Have you contemplated attending South Africa’s Top Chefs Academy? All of these questions have led you to this article because you are interested in either becoming a chef, or brushing up on your cooking or pastry skills. At the Prue Leith Chefs Academy you can find chef courses that offer you the very best in culinary education in South Africa.

Prue Leith Chefs Academy is rated as one of the finest academies in the southern hemisphere, and boasts some of the top chefs nationally. We strive to improve the standards and professionalism of South African kitchens by supplying the hospitality industry with only the best and most passionate, disciplined and highly skilled chefs.

Prue Leith Chefs Academy Course Offerings

The academy offers a variety of chef courses including the Grande Diploma in Culinary Studies and Wine, Diploma in Culinary Studies, Diploma in Pâtisserie, and Certificate in Sugar Craft as well as many other short cooking and baking courses. All our chef courses, pastry classes and cooking courses are accredited internationally by City & Guilds giving graduates the opportunity to spread their wings and enter this diverse industry at any hospitality institution in the world, knowing that they have the best training behind them. Below we briefly discuss some of the chef courses offered at Prue Leith Chefs Academy which will help you to make an informed decision regarding your future in gastronomy.

Grande Diploma in Culinary Arts & Wine         

Prue Leith Chefs Academy is proud to offer our most popular flagship course – the Grande Diploma in Culinary Arts & Wine. This 18 month full-time world-class course is for aspirant chefs to prepare for a career as a professional chef able to work anywhere in the world. The course includes classic French training techniques in hot, cold and pastry kitchens as well as specialist subjects such as: Pan African cuisine, International cuisine, and finance and kitchen management. This course also offers a certificate from The Cape Wine Academy on an ‘Introduction to South African Wines’ and ‘Wines of the World”.

ALMA Professional Chef of Italian Cuisine

The ALMA Professional Chef of Italian Cuisine is a 12 month full-time course that the Prue Leith Chefs Academy is very honoured and delighted to offer our students. It is a joint programme in partnership with Italy’s Premiere Culinary Training Institution, ALMA – La Scuola Internazionale di Cucina Italiana, in Colorno (Parma – Italy). Prue Leith and ALMA embarked upon this incredible opportunity for our students in July 2011, which is a first in the South African culinary industry. The course offers aspiring chefs the opportunity to train both locally and abroad.

Diploma in Culinary Arts

Our highly sought after Culinary Arts Diploma is part-time and runs over 12 months. This course is held at our Centurion Academy which is situated just outside of Johannesburg. It is aimed at those who are already working in the industry, but for those who wish to further their career. The course offers classic French training techniques in hot, cold and pastry kitchens, and specialist subjects ranging from finance to kitchen management.

Diploma in Pâtisserie

This is a 6 month course for those that are looking for a career as a pastry chef, which will prepare students for an entry level position in pâtisserie. This intensive course offers classical French training paired with modern techniques. It offers theoretical and practical knowledge which starts at the basics and progresses to advanced techniques, which prepare our pastry chefs to have the confidence in the required skills and to find employment in a 5 star restaurant after commencement. This diploma enables students to work in any top restaurant in the world.

We see our Chefs Academy as a dynamic and specialized environment in which our students grow, enliven, and exceed even their own expectations and always keeping abreast with the latest technological trends. At Prue Leith, we put our students to work by putting their theoretical and practical knowledge into practice in the Prue Leith Restaurant, a fine food restaurant that is rated in South Africa’s top 100. Open five nights a week, the students get to spend time in every position in the restaurant and kitchen under strict supervision. During their last two semesters we offer our students an internship at some of South Africa’s top restaurants to gain more exposure.

If you want the very best culinary education then the Prue Leith Chefs Academy is the culinary school of choice for you. With a qualification that tells people you have been to the best chef’s academy in South Africa, a chef job will not be hard to find in any country around the world. Contact the Prue Leith Chefs Academy and take the first step in becoming the best chef in the business.