Overview
The Intermediate Certificate in Food and Wine is an 11 week full-time chef qualification covering intermediate level cookery to elevate a basic professional skillset in a fast-paced kitchen environment. It is an ideal course for working food professionals or advanced home-cooks wanting to gain an accredited and respected qualification in restaurant-level cookery in a concentrated period of time. Focusing on refining technique and complex skills, students will cover everything from technical meat butchery and fish preparation to complex breads and patisserie, canapes and sauces.
This course will also develop your skills for working in industry, covering menu writing and scaling, costing, creative cooking and wine pairing. You will also experience guest demonstrations from various experts in their fields, introducing you to different cuisines and styles of cooking. Past and recurring guest demonstrators have included Jeremy Pang of School of Wok, cheese historian Tom Badcock, Billingsgate Fish Market, Andy Oliver of Som Saa, meat curing expert Steven Lamb and Dr Saliha Mahmood Ahmed.
Students enrolling for the Intermediate Certificate must undertake an induction week during the first week in January, to help you brush up on your skills before commencing the course and ensuring you are at a comfortable starting point. You will learn from some of the most skilled and experienced teachers, chefs, and industry leaders in the country. Expect to build a wonderful and powerful future network in your student peers, learning about what you love in an environment of like-minded people who are all driven by a love of good food.
Dates
Tuesday 14th January 2025 – Friday 28th March 2025
Suitability
The Intermediate Certificate in Food and Wine is suited to experienced cooks or food professionals with an existing skillset in the fundamentals of cookery. This course would be ideal for those looking to gain accredited culinary training in more complex cookery to boost their food career or become an advanced home-cook.
Our teaching staff will determine whether your cooking ability is suited to the Intermediate Certificate course during the one–to-one discussion process. To explore whether which course is right for you, book an introductory chat with our teaching staff.
Course Content
Course Structure
This 11 week course runs annually from January to April, five days a week from 9am-5pm.
The Intermediate Certificate forms the second term in the Three Term Diploma and the first in the Two Term Diploma. Therefore, training on this course will be undertaken alongside Leiths 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, caterers, food scientists and other culinary experts.
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:
- Refining of kitchen skills including seasoning, presentation and knife skills
- Technical butchery of meat and game
- Offal, game and meat cooking
- Fish and shellfish preparation and cooking including round fish, squid, octopus and clams
- Complex emulsion, reduction, velouté and Espagnole sauces
- Soufflés, sweet and savoury
- Enriched doughs, brioche, introduction to bigas
- French, layered, hot water crust and suet pastries
- Patisserie including gâteaux, bavarois, ice creams, sorbets and Italian meringue
- Canapes
- Pasta and risotto
- Preserving jams, jellies, marmalade and chutney
- CTH – commencing Level 4
- Wine – WSET level 2
- Guest demonstrations include nutrition, dim sum and east Asian cookery, plant based food, healthy eating, Middle Eastern and Italian cooking
Example Recipes:
- Pan fried mackerel, roasted baby beetroot, lovage, radish and pickled shallot salad
- Braised octopus, paprika sauce and aioli
- Salt and spiced slow roast pork belly with chilli and peanut dressing
- Wild Mallard, chicory, granola and juniper sauce
- Bone marrow, chilli ox cheek and parsley salad with beef dripping flatbreads
- Fried chicken, kimchi and fermented kohlrabi
- Doughnuts with fresh blackcurrant jam
- Seville orange soufflés
- Sacher torte and fraisier cakes
- Bay bavarois, roasted pink rhubarb and sable biscuits
- Ravioli of fontina and pumpkin, sage butter
Assessment and 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:
- Intermediate 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
- Wine and Spirits Education Trust (WSET) Level 2
- First Aid training
Career Support and 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 a 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 ‘Intermediate 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 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
“The teaching style here at Leiths is absolutely exceptional. There’s always two teachers in the classroom at any one time, so I’ve never had to wait more than about 30 seconds if I have a question or concern before the tutor is immediately by my side.”
- Kate McCombe, Diploma Student
“I love that you never really leave the Leiths family, that whenever you need a helping hand in your career or if you need some advice they’re there for you”
– Rebecca Woollard, Leiths Alumni and Food Stylist
