Chef’s Training Centre

You may not be aware that, tucked away in the quiet suburb of Hennopspark in Centurion the is a chef’s training centre. It’s located in the grounds of the old Littleton Manor House and it’s called the Prue Leith Chef’s Academy. The academy was established in 1997 and has recently been added to with the inclusion of Prue Leith Catering and the Prue Leith Chef’s Studio, the three divisions together forming the Prue Leith Group. Graduates from this chef’s training centre usually have no problem finding a job, armed with the Prue Leith Diploma that is recognised in catering establishments the world over.

But why should the Prue Leith Diploma be so highly thought of? There are a number of reasons. Prue Leith herself was decorated in UK for services rendered to the catering industry in that country. The chef’s training centre has an extremely comprehensive curriculum that includes practical work that no other catering colleges can boast. Attached to the chef’s training centre is the Prue Leith Restaurant, a restaurant that has been awarded its Blaizon from the Chaîne des Rotisseurs in France and that is manned almost exclusively by students from the school (there is a supervisor always present). This restaurant has been included in Gauteng’s top ten and South Africa’s top twenty restaurants. During their course students also get to spend up to sixteen weeks at some of the world’s top catering establishments (many students return once they have their diploma). These can be game lodges, restaurants or hotels in South Africa, Europe or the idle East. It is no wonder that the Prue Leith Diploma is so highly thought of.