Join us for our Open Evening at Leiths on Thursday 5th February 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 continued to be the best of its kind. In that time, we’ve learnt what students want: study options that match their schedule, built-in work experience and personalised 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-to-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 specialist culinary module options. Available during our Professional and Diploma Certificates.
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 and celebrity chef guest demonstrators in the bespoke teaching kitchens of our flagship Culinary School.
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 central 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 Orange and Vanilla Cornetti and 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, secure integrated 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 with a Leiths partner employer. 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.
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 a leafy corner of Shepherd’s Bush, Leiths Culinary School is the home of the Diploma. Across four light, airy floors, the School has a dedicated demo classroom, cookbook library, student dining room and four state-of-the-art teaching kitchens.
What really brings the School to life is the people. From our motivated, expert in-house teaching team to inspiring celebrity guest demonstrators and, of course, 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 specialist module and integrated work experience 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.
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 gets you where you want to go.
Tailor your Diploma training to your future in food. Add specialist module options such as Food Writing, Marine Cookery or Artisan Breads that align with your postgraduate goals and complete integrated work placements with prestigious Leiths partner employers.
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 central 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 graduates 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 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 to start your future in food. 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 light and airy cookery School is on Wendell Road in Shepherd’s Bush. Click to find out more about getting to Leiths.
Anyone! At Leiths, you’ll be surrounded by people with the same passion for food as you. Come and meet us.
Experience what makes the Diploma so special with a 1-to-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.
Does it get more Christmassy than a freshly baked mince pie? With our Culinary Diploma Director Lou’s mince pie recipe, handed down from her mother you’ll be feeling festive faster than you can say brandy butter.
Bruern Abbey is a mainstream independent school in Oxfordshire for students with SEND requirements and a Leiths Partner School. This is Bruern’s first year delivering the Leiths Level 2 Certificate in Culinary Skills. Last month, they received a very exciting visitor to open their new kitchens.
Try this easy-to-make Chicken Pie with Velouté Sauce & Puff Pastry Lid and serve with mashed potato and seasonal greens for a hearty winter warmer.
