Restaurant in Pretoria

It is often difficult to decide which restaurant in Pretoria to visit, there being so many to choose from. However, you could not do better than to visit Prue Leith’s. Prue Leith’s has been awarded its Blaizon from the Chaine Des Rotisseurs and has been ranked in the top twenty restaurants in the country 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 service bar. But how did this restaurant come about?

Some years ago Tiny Barnetson and Graham Ledger decided to open a new catering college in order to fill the needs of the rapidly expanding catering industry. They had noticed that catering establishments just couldn’t keep up with the demands made upon them, and very soon it became obvious that there was a general shortage of personnel available to fill vacant positions. It was also obvious that it would take some time to train up new staff to the standards that had been set by the industry. Both the foreign tourist and the South African traveler wanted stylish, simple food of exceptional quality and with a South African flavour. They did not particularly want grand International Cuisine. They had the brilliant idea of starting up a culinary college, and the obvious place to put it was halfway between Johannesburg and Pretoria, in Centurion.

Students are accepted into the college once they have achieved at least a standard grade pass at Matric and if they have reached eighteen years of age. The school’s catering course lasts eighteen months over three six-month semesters. There is a maximum number of students per course of forty, so no more than 120 students are at the college at any one time. During the course students spend a six-month period during term 3 at countrywide game lodges, restaurants and hotels in order to gain hands-on experience in a catering establishment. As part of the course students must take the Cape Wine Academy Certificate Course, which is conducted in their second term.

We approached Prue Leith in order to use her name and assistance in starting the college. Prue was awarded the OBE for her services to the catering industry in the United Kingdom. We decided to found the college in Centurion and built it in the grounds of the old Lyttelton Manor House. You can find Prue Leith’s in the grounds of the college in Hennopspark, a picturesque suburb of Centurion. Students from the college staff the restaurant, which is open four days a week, Wednesday to Saturday. They take orders, prepare and cook the meals, wait at table and fill the positions of wine steward and Maître d’Hotel, all under professional supervision. Prue Leith’s has been awarded its Blaizon from the Chaine Des Rotisseurs and has been ranked in the top twenty restaurants in the country and the top ten restaurants in Gauteng by the Business Day. The restaurant is fully licensed. When dining out in Pretoria, be sure to book a table at this fine restaurant.