Join us for our open evening at Leiths on Thursday, 16 July 2026, 6.30–8.30pm, and discover how the Culinary Diploma can launch your career in food.
From film sets to early morning ovens, Auriol Williamson found her way to baking on her own terms. She talks about her Patisserie training at Leiths, working with stone-ground flour at one of Oxford’s finest bakeries, and her dream of a bakery rooted in the land it grows from.
Barry D’Arcy is the founder of Ocean Earth Chefs, a global private cheffing agency. He shares his experience from 22 years of superyacht cheffing, telling us what it takes to survive this unique workplace.
David Nicholson graduated from the Leiths Culinary Diploma, deciding to pursue a career in yacht cheffing. David also completed his Assessment in Marine Cookery at Leiths. Read about his journey charting demanding clients, huge crews and culinary successes at sea.
Leiths Graduate Maria Bradford has opened her Sierra Leonean restaurant, Shwen Shwen by Maria Bradford. In February, Shwen Shwen was awarded the Michelin Guide’s Bib Gourmand ‘Opening of the Year’.
Josh Million is several weeks into Foundation Term at Leiths. With eight years of hospitality experience and a dad who’s a brilliant cook, discover his culinary journey from Teddington pubs to the Diploma.
Megan Coker’s career in food is built on a simple conviction: that good cooking comes from proper training from seasoned teachers, quality ingredients and learning by doing.
Taiwanese-born Amber traded her work as a translator for life in a professional kitchen after training at Leiths. Now working as chef de partie at Bokman, Bristol’s buzzy Korean restaurant, she talks about making the leap into cooking, finding her people at culinary school and how knife skills and good time management got her through the door of one of the city’s most popular restaurants.
Rhian Hayward is a Culinary Diploma graduate and is passionate about giving students essential life skills, from bread-making to food budgeting.
Culinary Diploma graduate Laila Mirza tells us how she launched her career in content creation with Leiths.
From Leiths graduate to debut cookbook author, Sam Holland’s Kitchen Kickstart is for university students learning to cook.
