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.
For 50 years, the Leiths Culinary Diploma has formed the foundation of many extraordinary careers across the food industry. In that time, we’ve learnt what students want: study options that match their schedule, work experience with the biggest names in food and world-class culinary training that aligns with their postgraduate goals.
We’ve got the ingredients. You write the recipe.
Experience what makes the Diploma so special with a 1:1 tour of our Culinary School.
Watch Diploma-style demonstrations, meet the teachers and taste life at Leiths.
Our admissions team love to answer your questions and offer course suggestions to suit your goals.
Sample culinary training Leiths-style with a hands-on class.
Made your decision? Book on a course here and start your future in food.
Complete integrated work experience with Leiths partner employers – from Michelin-starred restaurants to leading food brands.
Tailor your pathway to your future in food with professional development courses and assessments in areas like food education, fermentation and even marine cheffing.
Choose a study pathway to suit your lifestyle, we have full-time, part-time and accelerated options alongside multiple entry dates each year.
World-class culinary training led by industry experts in the bespoke teaching kitchens of our flagship Culinary School in London.
As a Diploma alumni, gain access to Leiths List Connect, the School’s in-house recruitment agency with an established industry network positioning our Diploma community for the best work experience and career opportunities in food.
Find out more about the new Leiths Culinary Diploma below.
Founded by Prue Leith in 1975, Leiths Culinary School is a leading British cookery institution in London. Students who choose to study here benefit from the School’s 50 years of experience delivering its flagship course, the Leiths Culinary Diploma.
The Diploma has always remained in step with the food industry, ensuring students receive a comprehensive education in food that is industry-relevant and of the highest calibre. Students develop a deep understanding of cookery, learning not just how but why.
Diploma graduates are consistently favoured by employers for their versatile culinary skills and in-depth understanding of food.
The Diploma is comprised of three Certificates of increasing culinary refinement – Core, Professional and Diploma. By completing all three courses, you will gain a Leiths Culinary Diploma. You can complete each Certificate individually or all three consecutively.
Full-time, part-time & accelerated options
The Core Certificate builds your understanding of classical cookery techniques across six modules, from Meat & Shellfish to Bread & Baking. You’ll master essential skills to create dishes like Chipotle, Maple & Paprika Whole Roast Chicken and Miso & Sake Pan-fried Sea Bream with Soba Noodles. By the end, you’ll know your hollandaise from your harissa, how to fillet fish and achieve the perfect rise on your bread dough.
Full-time, part-time & accelerated options
The Professional Certificate refines your Core knowledge across six modules, from Stocks & Sauces to Pastries & Desserts. You’ll explore game butchery, enriched breads and French pastry techniques to create dishes like Salad of Wood Pigeon, Pancetta and Crispy Egg. By the end, you’ll watch your soufflés rise, know how to butcher game and master yeasted doughs. Plus, you’ll be able to secure work experience using Leiths List Connect.
Full-time only
The Diploma Certificate focuses on advanced culinary techniques and specialist skills across six modules, from Complex Shellfish to Patisserie. You’ll have the skills to perfect dishes like Crab & Scallop Ravioli with Bisque Sauce and Halibut with Cucumber & Dill Beurre Blanc and Samphire. Plus, you’ll have the opportunity to complete an assessed work placement in industry. On completing this Certificate, you’ll gain the externally-accredited Leiths Culinary Diploma and a CTH Level 4 Diploma in Professional Culinary Arts.
Find out more about the Diploma by joining our next open event, trying a Taste of Diploma cooking day or simply enrolling on one of our upcoming course dates.
16 July 2026 • Leiths Culinary School
3 June 2026 • Leiths Culinary School
30 May 2026 • Leiths Culinary School
18 July 2026 • Leiths Culinary School
14 April - 10 July 2026 • Leiths Culinary School
6 July - 31 July 2026 • Leiths Culinary School
13 July - 7 August 2026 • Leiths Culinary School
7 September 2026 - 16 February 2027 • Leiths Culinary School
Learn how to apply for the Leiths Culinary Diploma.
Guidance for international applicants studying at Leiths in London.
Experience Leiths teaching facilities and life in London.
Compare full-time, part-time and accelerated study paths at Leiths.
Find key term dates and application deadlines for Leiths courses.
See what you’ll need for professional training at Leiths.
Explore Leiths tuition costs, payment plans and funding options.
Discover available Leiths bursaries and how to apply.
Located in Shepherd’s Bush, Leiths Culinary School is where our Diploma students train. Across four light, airy floors, the School has a dedicated demo classroom, cookbook library, student dining room and four professional-level teaching kitchens.
What really brings the School to life is the people. From our motivated, expert in-house teaching team to the incredible Diploma students: the food-obsessed and ambitious future of the food industry.
From the friendly, food-loving community of students and teachers to a taste of the seasonal recipes you’ll be cooking, learn more about what life is like on the Diploma.
See what a day on the Diploma is like from a student’s perspective and find out about the incredible culinary journeys of students past and present.
One of the best parts of the Diploma experience is training at Leiths Culinary School with its industry-leading teaching facilities. Take a look at where you’ll be learning.
The Diploma is designed to connect seamlessly with your future in food. Tailor your training with work experience and placement options. Graduate with access to Leiths List Connect: the School’s in-house recruitment agency who position our Diploma community for the best opportunities in food. The Diploma is designed to connect seamlessly with your future in food. Tailor your training with work experience opportunities when you start your Professional and Diploma Certificates. Graduate with access to Leiths List Connect: the School’s in-house recruitment agency who position our Diploma community for the best opportunities in food.
With an established network spanning Michelin-starred restaurants, leading food brands and well-known test kitchens, Leiths List Connect links the Diploma community with top work experience and career opportunities. From The River Café to HelloFresh, Saturday Kitchen Live to UHNW private chefs, Leiths List helps get our Diploma alumni where they want to go.
Tailor your Diploma training to your future in food. Add professional development courses and assessments such as Food Media, Marine Cookery or Artisan Breads that align with your postgraduate goals and complete work placements with the biggest names in food.
From TV shows to fine dining restaurants, viral TikTok videos to test kitchens, Diploma alumni work in every sector of the food industry. Whether you want to write cookbooks, develop products for supermarkets, edit food magazines or work in nutrition, the Diploma is where your future in food begins.
Setting the standard since 1975
Unlock your future in food
From Michelin kitchens to yachts, the shelves of Waterstones to TikTok, supper clubs to TV
Individual guidance from expert chef tutors to refine your technique
A place dedicated to teaching students how to cook to a high level, usually to prepare them for careers in the food industry. Leiths Culinary School, located in London, offers our Culinary Diploma – the best and most accessible qualification of its kind in the UK. Find out how to launch the future in food you’ve always dreamt of here.
We used to be known as Leiths School of Food and Wine. At Leiths Culinary School, we still offer our flagship course, the Leiths Culinary Diploma. We have made some important changes to what we offer to ensure we remain the UK leaders in culinary training. Our Diploma alumni have access to Leiths List Connect, our in-house recruitment experts.
Yes, we’re a cookery school. In fact, with 50 years of experience we are the cookery education specialists and have a range culinary training pathways to suit your ability level and budget.
Founded in 1975 by Prue Leith DBE and Caroline Waldegrave. Prue’s aim was to teach students how to cook delicious food from scratch, using simple high-quality ingredients. It’s a mantra we’ve stuck to. Find out more about us and our history here.
From the careers of TV presenter Matt Tebbutt, who you’ll recognise from Saturday Kitchen Live, to hugely successful cookbook authors like Olia Hercules and Skye McAlpine, Leiths Culinary School is the place where extraordinary careers in food are launched. Leiths alumni work in restaurants, on yachts and in test kitchens. They go viral on social media; they test and style recipe books; they edit magazines. We have graduates working at BBC Good Food, The River Cafe, BOSH!, Mob Kitchen and The Guardian.
Our Culinary School is on Wendell Road in Shepherd’s Bush. Click to find out more about getting to Leiths.
Our courses are open to anyone aged 18 or over who has a passion for food. International students are welcome, though please note that visa requirements may apply depending on your country of residence. If you have any questions about eligibility, get in touch and we’d be happy to help.
Experience what makes the Diploma so special with a 1:1 tour of our Culinary School.
Watch Diploma-style demonstrations, meet the teachers and taste life at Leiths.
Our admissions team love to answer your questions and offer course suggestions to suit your goals.
Sample culinary training Leiths-style with a hands-on class.
Made your decision? Book on a course here and start your future in food.
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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.
Our Culinary Diploma students often swap the classroom for professional kitchens – and our most recent placements have been as varied as ever. Read on the highlights, including first-hand accounts from student Joe and Leiths List Manager Sarah Keene.
