Top Chefs’ Courses with a Proud History

Top Chefs’ Courses with a Proud History

Although it is possible that some of today’s top chefs were born to be great at their chosen profession, most of them have had formal training, having attended chefs’ courses in order to graduate and qualify as head of a professional kitchen – a professional chef. Today, many restaurants and hospitality establishments compete for the patronage of diners with discerning palates and a sound knowledge of foods, styles, flavour subtleties, and ingredients. Because of media exposure, especially through the medium of competitive reality television programmes, more people than ever before have become familiar with the names of those who create and prepare culinary delights.

Familiar Faces; Household Names

The names and faces of the professional chefs – masters of their craft and leaders of professional kitchens – as well as the expert critics and judges who are called upon to provide comment and judgment on their dishes, are regular “guests” in many a home, throughout the wide, connected world of foodies. One such household name is Prue Leith, CBE, the entrepreneurial lady, Michelin-starred chef, author, and member of the judging panels of The Great British Menu and The Great British Bake-Off.

Reputation, Recognition, Accreditation, and Alignment

South African-born Prue is our patron, who lent her name and, by implication, a portion of her sterling reputation, to our chefs’ school in Centurion, between Pretoria and Johannesburg in South Africa. At Prue Leith Chefs Academy, we offer a number of professional courses that are recognised not only in this country, but internationally. Additionally, our culinary school, chefs’ courses, and on-campus fine-dining Prue Leith Restaurant are registered and/or aligned with the following professional bodies, because of our commitment to provide the best possible culinary education and training chefs’ courses:

• City & Guilds;
• The South African Department of Higher Education and Training;
• South African Chefs Association;
• South African Sustainable Seafood Initiative (SASSI);
• Culture, Arts, Tourism, Hospitality and Sports Sector Education and Training Authority (CATHSSETA);
• Quality Council for Trades and Occupation (QCTO).

Because of our commitment to excellence, including that of the students of our chefs’ courses, we have built an enviable reputation in the culinary industry in this country, in line with the vision of the three founders of our school in 1996. All three of them were all involved in the hospitality industry, where they frequently experienced difficulty in recruiting suitable candidates to fill vacancies both locally and internationally. They failed to find satisfactory and suitably qualified applicants in South Africa, while screening and evaluating those from international sources often fell short of expectations as well. A training facility was needed, one that offered professional chefs’ courses, presented by top lecturers who were specialists in their own culinary fields. This school, with such high standards of excellence, would become a local source of qualified, competent, and confident culinary talent for the top hospitality establishments of this country.

By the following year, 1997, and after obtaining Prue’s permission to use her name, they were ready to open the academy’s doors to the first learners who enrolled for Prue Leith’s courses. The rest, as they say, is history, although our professional chefs’ courses remain right on trend.