Leiths Confident Cookery

This bespoke suite of courses has been designed around menus rather than skills, and the course is taught through a broad range of menus for different customers and occasions. The lessons are designed to build confidence in preparing and cooking a wide range of recipes – students master recipes from the everyday to special occasions; from breakfasts and casual brunches to afternoon tea, sharing plates and celebratory dinners.

Leiths Confident Cookery 30 and 40 week courses can be delivered in a variety of ways. They require the equivalent of a single demonstration lesson and a double practical lesson each week, but delivery can be tailored to suit your individual requirements. Leiths teachers will visit regularly to support staff and students alike and the Academy team are on hand to provide general support and guidance. Each menu is tasted, marked and photographed and evidence is collated via our interactive online portal. The course culminates in a graded final practical assessment where students cook a given menu for a visiting Leiths teacher. It also includes a Level 2 online food hygiene and allergens assessment – invaluable for future employment.

Our Introduction to Confident Cookery course has been designed for commercial delivery on evenings, weekends and during school holidays. It can be offered in a variety of ways from an intensive 5-day course, perfect for Duke of Edinburgh Gold Residential, to a relaxed general interest course at evenings or weekends. Suitable for students of all ages, this course does not include support visits or formal assessments.

Example dishes include duck breasts with teriyaki and plum sauce, pulled chicken and red pepper fajitas and Prosecco peaches with honey mascarpone.

Leiths Confident Cookery has been designed to be flexible. It can be delivered both on and off timetable (or a combination of both), and over as many terms as you require to suit your individual needs. Leiths Confident Cookery can be delivered in a variety of ways both on and off timetable to suit a school’s individual requirements.

• Accredited by the Leiths School of Food and Wine
• The majority of the TQT will be spent in the kitchen although demonstrations, formal classes, independent study, group tasks, revision and assessments are all included.
• The final grade of Pass (55-69%), Merit (70 – 84%) or Distinction (85%) is awarded at the end of the course after all assessment elements are completed
  

To ensure that the required GLH for this qualification is met we stipulate that each school assigns suitable lesson time. The below lesson/teaching time for Theory, Demonstration and Practical lessons (all in minutes) are set out below:

• 1 x 50 minute demonstration lesson
• 1 x 120 minute (2 hour) practical lesson. This includes time for cleaning down and eating.

Students are required to build a portfolio of evidence to record the completion of all mandatory units, as follows:

• Practical cooking log of weekly menus – photographs of completed dishes, tasting marks, student evaluation and timeplans

The final assessment is made via four distinct elements as follows:

• One x 2.5 hour practical assessment marked by a visiting Leiths examiner. This will take place towards the end of the course – 70% of the final mark
• A timeplan is required for the practical assessment
• Level 2 Food Hygiene and Allergens course and examination. This course is conducted online and must be completed within six weeks of starting the course – 10% of the final mark
• One written menu planning task which will need to be uploaded to the portal – see menu planning specification – 20% of the final mark

If delivered off the timetable as an enrichment course, this course is also suitable for Bronze, Silver and Gold DofE Skills.