Chef Job

If you are looking for a chef job, the first thing you must consider before even thinking of applying is whether or not you have the right qualifications. Good chef’s jobs in this day and age are few and far between, and it is extremely important to have the correct qualification. But where do you even start? Well, an excellent starting place would be the Prue Leith College of Food and Wine. This high-class college in Gauteng, South Africa, specializes in the training of chefs for any top chef job. The Prue Leith College was founded in 1996 by Tiny Barnetson and Graham Ledger. They had the idea after identifying a shortage in the supply of top class catering staff in the industry. There was just not sufficient highly motivated and expert staff on the market. Answer – to start a college that would supply those missing personnel.

The chef’s course at the Prue Leith College starts twice a year in January and July. It lasts for eighteen months, which are split up into three semesters of six months each. To qualify for acceptance into the college students must have a standard grade pass (minimum) at Matric or the equivalent and have attained the age of eighteen. They will also be expected to attend an interview and to complete a questionnaire. The chef’s course is very comprehensive, covering a wide range of subjects. One of the objects of the college is to ensure that students retain their academic knowledge by putting it into practice as soon as possible. To this end all students are rostered into day and evening shifts. During the evening shifts they work in the College’s own restaurant, Prue Leith’s. In the restaurant they take orders, prepare, cook and serve meals and act as Maître d’Hotel, Wine Steward and Front of House. Prue Leith’s has been awarded its Blaizon from the Chaine Des Rotisseurs, and has been placed in the top twenty restaurants in South Africa and the top ten restaurants in Gauteng by Business Day. The restaurant is fully licensed, and a full range of liquor, wines, beers, liqueurs and mixers can be ordered from the bar. It is open to the public five nights a week.

During their final semester all students are placed in an institution far away from the college for six months. This time could be spent working in a restaurant, a game lodge or a hotel almost anywhere in the world. At present this means South Africa, England, Ireland or the United Arab Emirates, and always in a recognized top class establishment. Other practical training is carried out with Prue Leith Catering, the catering branch of the College that was founded in 2005. Here students work in the industrial kitchen about 2 kilometres from the College, or at the function itself. Students also gain outdoor experience in bush cooking and Pan African cooking in the boma in the College grounds. When they have graduated from this course, students will be qualified for a chef job anywhere in the world.