Overview
The Advanced Certificate in Food and Wine is an 11 week, full-time chef qualification for proficient cooks wishing to enhance their knowledge, find fresh inspiration and optimise their cooking career. Students can expect to graduate with the aptitude and finesse required to enter a top-level professional kitchen or excel in an alternative area of the food industry.
The Advanced Certificate forms part of the Leiths Diploma as the final, most advanced term, therefore covering high-level, sophisticated culinary skills and cutting-edge restaurant techniques; all delivered via our unique approach grounded in timeless classical techniques, enhanced by the international cuisines and new trends that shape the way we eat today. These are the skills you’ll need to flourish wherever your career may take you; all with top quality, tailored learning in an inclusive and nurturing environment.
Our students are trained by our exceptional senior teaching team who are some of the most skilled culinary professionals in the country, unified in their passion for teaching. To truly advance a career in food, students also have access to bespoke careers support from our agency Leiths List and benefit hugely from being a part of Leiths’ wide industry and esteemed alumni network.
Dates
Wednesday 23rd April 2025 – Friday 4th July 2025
Suitability
The Advanced Certificate in Food and Wine is suited to highly trained chefs and food professionals who want to take full-time, focused training honing advanced culinary skills and techniques.
Our teaching staff will determine whether your cooking ability is suited to the Advanced Certificate course during the one-to-one discussion process. To explore whether this course is right for you, book an introductory chat with our teaching staff here.
Course Content
Course Structure
This 11 week course runs annually from April to the start of July, five days a week from 9am-5pm.
The Advanced Certificate forms the final term in the Leiths Diploma, therefore training on this course will be undertaken alongside Diploma students.
Each day is broken down into a morning and afternoon session. During these sessions, your learning will be divided between practical cooking and teacher demonstrations, led by our expert senior tutors and a host of guest demonstrators. These include leading figures of the hospitality world, featuring head chefs from acclaimed restaurants and caterers.
Teaching
Our teaching team are some of the most highly skilled chefs in the UK. Most having completed the Leiths Diploma, there is a minimum requirement of 2 years work in hospitality and industry before teaching at Leiths, to ensure all our teachers provide nuanced and informed culinary expertise to all students.
Each class within the cohort will be provided with a dedicated class tutor to support them throughout their training, providing bespoke feedback and performance reviews.
Leiths prides itself in providing a tailored and comprehensive learning experience to all its Diploma students, emphasised by its excellent student to teacher ratio.
As well as teaching from our expert in-house team, you will also experience guest chef demonstrations by some of the food industry’s most notable individuals.
Skills Covered
This course will cover:
- Clearing and consommés
- Advanced vegetable garnishes
- Refined sauces including Jus and bisque
- Puff pastry and laminated yeasted doughs, croissant and Danish pastries
- Sourdoughs and slow fermentation breads
- Mousselines
- Pasta
- Fish
- Terrines and patés
- Curing and smoking
- Sous vide and brining
- Shellfish including crab, lobster and scallops
- Entremets and petit gâteaux
- Petit fours and macarons
- Advanced butchery and meat cooking
Guest demonstrations including chocolate, plant-based food, cheese, Michelin starred restaurant chefs, how to start a food business, gin tasting, food and wine matching
Example Recipes
- Artichoke and green olive pithivier, heritage tomato salad
- Mushroom consommé with pickled mushrooms
- Crispy cod cheeks, soused vegetable salad and citrus mayonnaise
- Croissant, pain au chocolate, Danish pastries
- Country and wild garlic sourdoughs, ciabatta
- Gâteaux opéra
- King oyster mushroom, salt baked celeriac, hazelnut vinaigrette
- Pan fried cod, bouillabaisse sauce and baby fennel
- Braised violet artichokes, potato gnocchi and spring vegetables
- Brined quail with aubergine fries, sweetcorn puree and pomegranate jus
- Korean slow cooked short ribs with compressed pear
- scallop and prawn raviolo with crab bisque
- Cardamon and white chocolate mille feuille
- Turbot with a cucumber beurre blanc and sea herbs
- Bone marrow, chilli ox cheek and parsley salad
Assessment & Coursework
You will be continually assessed during the practical sessions. A theory and practical examination and completion of the coursework will form part of the graduation assessment. Daily reviews with your class tutor will provide feedback and support, throughout the course.
Part of your study will be managed at home – about 4 to 5 hours a week. This will include writing time plans, menu planning and costing exercises. You will also present a final portfolio of recipes and menus to be assessed at the end of your course.
Qualifications
By completing this course, you will gain the following qualifications:
- Leiths Advanced Certificate in Food and Wine
- Level 2 Award in Food Safety in Catering
- Level 2 Health and Safety in the Workplace
- Control of Substances Hazardous to Health
- First Aid training
Career Support & Leiths List
Leiths has an unrivalled reputation in the food industry for producing highly-skilled, innovative graduates that go on to be the next leaders of the food world.
The past decade has seen an explosion in the varied career opportunities available within food, from private cheffing and hospitality, to recipe developing, media and food start-ups and entrepreneurship. Whatever your aspirations, the Leiths’ professional courses equip you with the lifetime skills, resources, network and solutions needed to kickstart your career.
Leiths List:
Our professional students all benefit from our bespoke careers and recruitment agency Leiths List, drawing on Leiths network of alumni and industry connections to provide work experience, job placements and advice from some of the UK’s leading food businesses. Students have access to this support from the point that they begin their course well into their professional careers.
Booking & Interview
Book your one-to-one:
Places on this course are offered following a 45-minute informal interview. This is a relaxed discussion between you and one of our friendly teaching staff where we can learn about your unique learning needs and discuss whether the course is right for you. Eligibility will be determined based upon cooking aptitude and suitability for the course. This is carried out via remote video call.
To request an informal interview, click ‘Book a Consultation’ at the top of the page or click here. Fill in the form with your details, selecting ‘Advanced Certificate in Food and Wine (1 Term),’ from the options and submit. Our admin team will then be in touch to set up your interview.
Book an introductory chat:
If you are unsure whether this course is right for you and you want to explore your options, we do offer the opportunity to book 15-minute introductory chat. This allows you to speak directly to our teaching team and ask any questions you may have about your opportunities. This is carried out remotely via video call. Please note: places on this course will only be awarded following the informal 45 minute interview.
To request a one-to-one introductory chat, fill in the form here with your details, selecting 15-minute chat from the options and we will get in touch to organise.
Secure your place:
You will be contacted by email following your interview by our Principal or Headteacher to offer a place on the course. To secure your place, a deposit of £1,000 will need to be paid. This is usually done over the phone, organised and facilitated by our Registrar.
You will also need to fill out the enrolment form. This form will be sent over to you by email along with further information after booking by our Registrar. By signing this form, you agree to our course booking terms and conditions. To read our terms and conditions, click here.
Payments for professional courses must be made by either bank transfer, cheque or a debit/credit card payment. We do not accept American Express.
Remaining fees:
Once the deposit is paid, all remaining professional course fees will be due six weeks before the course starts. We’ll send you an invoice, along with instructions for ordering equipment, books and uniform closer to the time. View our full price list here.
For more information on finance and payment plans, please contact our Registrar at registrar@leiths.com or call directly at 020 8749 6400.
Practicalities
Uniform and Equipment
Students on this course will require to purchase:
- A knife set (£300 – £445)
- Uniform
- Additional kitchen equipment (approx. £200)
Instructions and order forms for all required items will be sent out before the course begins. Further information can be found in the student handbook or by contacting the Registrar.
What is included:
Accommodation
The school is non-residential, but we keep an accommodation list if you need help finding somewhere to stay while you study. This can be sent to you once you have a place confirmed. Please contact the school for more information.
International students and VISAs
If English is your second language you should have proof that you’ve attained an IELTS (International English Language Testing System) band score of 6.5 which equates to C1 on the CEFR (Council of Europe’s Common European Framework). If you have studied at degree level before in the UK this will not be needed.
If you are a Non-UK prospective student requiring a Student Visa or a Standard Visitor Visa please inform us before your interview. Any Visa related questions can be directed to the Registrar at registrar@leiths.com.
Allergies and Intolerances
We are happy to make adjustments where possible.
Please read our full policy on allergies and dietary restrictions here.
Reviews
“What makes Leiths the best is the team, the staff, the tutors- the whole team. They’re there for a reason, they love it, they love Leiths and they’ve got passion for it.”
– Ben Tish, Acclaimed Chef, Restaurant Owner & Guest Chef
