Student Stories

Alumni Stories: YouTube’s Nina Wilson, The Crew Chef

Nina Wilson, AKA @thecrewchef to her 176K YouTube followers and 30.2K on Instagram, is a freelance yacht chef who travels the world and records her culinary adventures.

The Graduate: Sophie Archer

Overcoming blood cancer inspired lawyer and Leiths graduate Sophie Archer to change careers into food. Now she’s spinning all the plates with a series of female chef pop-ups celebrating International Women’s Day.

The Student: Refettorio Felix

As Leiths puts out its wreath for the Christmas holidays, some of our Diploma cohort will also be swapping chef’s caps for Santa hats and heading down to cook at Refettorio Felix.

Yacht cheffing is a demanding career, Barry D'Arcy tells us what it takes.

How to pursue a successful career in superyacht cheffing

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.

How I lead a team of chefs in Davos just after graduating from Leiths

Leiths graduate Ellie Spicer tells us how she thought she had bit off more than she could chew when she went to work as a chef at the World Economic Forum in Davos. But, with her training under her belt and a huge amount of determination, she was able to lead her team to success.

The Student: Georgia Irving

Over the holidays, Diploma student Georgia Irving completed work experience at Mayfair’s Apricity and catering company Lettice Events. We’ve got her inside scoop on a day’s work at Lettice here, an opportunity to explore one of the many career pathways available to our Diploma graduates.

Food & nutrition students at Stamford School

Raising the profile of Food & Nutrition at Stamford School

Since introducing the Leiths Level 3 cookery programme to its sixth form in September 2025, Stamford School has seen its food & nutrition department grow in ambition, profile and student numbers. We spoke to head of department Abbie Mann, classroom leader Louisa Gregory and head of sixth form Chris Hawkins about what the course has brought to their students, and to the school.

Alumni Stories: Alice Staple

Alice Staple is executive chef of five-year-old Maremma restaurant in Brixton.

Meet the Team: Katy Barrett

Meet Katy, our Head of Education Services. She tells us her favourite herb, ranks her top three carbs and tells us all about the Leiths Education Portal she played a pivotal role in designing.