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- Email: info@prueleith.co.za
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Course Overview
Course Overview
The occupation of Chef was gazetted as a trade in South Africa in 2012, and the Prue Leith Culinary Institute was the first registered Trade Test centre for chefs in South Africa, conducting the first Trade Tests for chefs in 2018. All trades in South Africa require students to complete a 3-year qualification, comprising 18 months of training in a school setting and 18 months of on-the-job training, ensuring they are well-prepared for the industry they enter.
As a Quality Council for Trades and Occupations (QCTO) registered skills development provider and assessment centre, students can both train and complete their External Integrated Summative Assessment (Trade Test) at Prue Leith.
Studying your trade through the Prue Leith Culinary Institute allows you to complete your first work placement in our award-winning, onsite fine dining restaurant, with additional guidance from chef lecturers. External placements, arranged by the Institute, are in top South African restaurants, with many students placed in the Western Cape. There is also the possibility of combining the course with international placements, including those offered through our Italian partner school, ALMA La Scuola Internazionale di Cucina Italiana.
At Prue Leith, we not only offer the chef trade qualification but also include additional modules that prepare chefs for a wider culinary career, beyond traditional hospitality roles. To provide exit levels after each year, Prue Leith also offers students the opportunity to enrol in Ofqual-regulated City & Guilds qualifications.
Accreditations
Duration
Enrolment
Requirements
- Matric / Grade 12 qualification or equivalent.
- An inextinguishable passion for food, the ability to work hard, and an eye for detail.
Course Cost 2027
- R360 000 for the full three-year course
or from R25 833 per month (payment plan dependent) - Includes all uniforms, knife sets, and additional equipment, as well as ingredients used in practical classes and tuition in state-of-the-art facilities.
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Course Subjects
First Year
First Semester
Introduction to professional cookery:- Introduction to the hospitality industry
- A brief history of food and cooking
- Numeracy, weighing, scaling and recipe costing
- Computer literacy
- Personal hygiene and safety
- Food safety and quality assurance
- Workplace safety
- Ingredient and stock control in the professional kitchen
- Introduction to equipment and preparation techniques
- Planning for food production
- Environmental awareness and sustainability
- Principles of flavour and the essence of ingredients
- Herbs, spices and other flavourings
- The scientific principles of cooking
- Cooking methods and techniques
- Basic ingredients in the professional kitchen
- Introduction to Garde Manger
- Introduction to Patisserie
- Beverages
- Restaurant Service
- Personal development of a chef
- WSET Level 1 Award in Wine
- First Aid & Fire Level 1
Exam: Internal Theory and Practical Exam
Second and Third Semester
Semesters two and three combine the course tuition and workplace experience, with students alternating between the training kitchen and the Prue Leith Restaurant kitchens to complete their first workplace experience in smaller groups. Students will complete six months of restaurant work and complete a Portfolio of Evidence (POE) during this time.
Second Year
Semesters Two and Three Modules
- Introduction to gastronomy
- Menu planning: introduction to dish design
- Menu costing
- Kitchen safety management
- Kitchen systems and equipment management
- Nutrition and healthier food preparation
- Garde manger: Salads, cold sauces and sandwiches, Cheese, Hors d’oeuvres, Charcuterie, Preserving, Classic starters
- Hot Kitchen: Vegetables, pulses and fruit, Stocks, soups and sauces, Pasta, rice, grains and eggs, Meat, offal and poultry, Fish and other seafood
- Patisserie: Baking science, Fermented dough products, Cakes, biscuits and sponge products, Hot and cold desserts and puddings, Pastry-based products, Chocolate and petit fours.
Exam: Internal Theory and Practical Exam
Semester Four
6 Months External PracticalThis semester will be the student’s first external workplace experience, and it will take place at one of the Institute’s practical partners, which includes hotels, restaurants and catering venues. Students will be completing a second Portfolio of Evidence (POE) during this semester.
Third Year
Semester 5
- Introduction to management
- Food production management
- Kitchen systems and equipment management
- Kitchen safety management
- Human resource management
- Finance for hospitality and catering
- Gastronomy
- Menu planning and implementation
- Entrepreneurship and setting up a food business
- Legal obligations of a food business
- Marketing for a food business
- Introduction to product development
- Food and Media
- Modernist Cuisine
- Global Cuisines (Intro to cuisines and culture, India, Middle East, North and South Asia, Eastern Europe, Western Europe, Mediterranean, France, Italy, Americas)
- New African Cuisine (Intro to New African Cuisine, Northern Africa, Horn of Africa, East Africa, Central Africa, West Africa, Southern Africa)
Exam: Setting up a Food Business Project, Internal Theory and Practical exam
Semester Six
6 Months External Practical
The final external workplace experience will be at a different style of establishment from the fourth-semester practical. Students will be completing a third Portfolio of Evidence (POE).
Exam: External Summative Assessment: National Trade Test: Theory & Practical
* Lectures are not necessarily delivered in the order of modules but in the most productive manner.
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Qualifications
Qualifications
After the successful completion of all three years
- Occupational Certificate: Chef (Level 5)
- First Aid and Fire (Level 1)
- WSET Level 1 Award in Wines
- Prue Leith Culinary Institute Certificate of Achievement
- City & Guilds Level 1 Diploma in Preparing for a Career in the Hospitality Industry (7107-12) (Optional – after year 1)
- City & Guilds Level 2 Diploma in Professional Cookery (7100-12) (Optional – after year 2)
- City & Guilds Level 3 Advanced Diploma in Professional Cookery (7100-85) (Optional – after year 3)
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Course Times
Course Times
- Course times will change according to the semesters, but students should expect to work shifts and evenings, as well as Saturdays, starting in their first year.
- When on campus: Closed on Sundays and Public Holidays
- During a workplace experience semester, students will be expected to work the hours of the establishment where they are placed, including public holidays and weekends.
- Holidays in December and June every year.
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