Congratulations to our Diploma graduates of 2026!

The class of 2026 received their certificates marking the end of a year that took them from knife skills to final practical and theory examinations.

Opening the ceremony, CEO Maria Dunbar told graduates that the day marked a beginning rather than an ending. ‘Whilst today is about celebrating your remarkable achievements, it’s also about celebrating the doors that will now open to you and the opportunities you will now have as Leiths Diploma graduates.’

An honorary first

Chef, author and restaurateur Maria Bradford was awarded an Honorary Culinary Diploma, the first the school has conferred in its history.

Bradford’s connection to Leiths began by accident. She had booked a week-long food photography course and never made it to the end of it. ‘I went to Leiths to learn food photography for a week, and there I saw the excitement and all the amazing pastry work coming out of the kitchen and the excitement and everyone there running around in their whites. I got so excited, I forgot about my photography course and ran downstairs and enrolled myself before I left the building, and I’ve never really looked back since.’

In the years since, she has launched eight products, published a debut cookbook and opened Shwen Shwen by Maria Bradford in Sevenoaks. The restaurant has since collected a Michelin Bib Gourmand and Michelin’s Opening of the Year, a Condé Nast award for Best New Opening, Trailblazer of the Year at the National Restaurant Awards and Menu of the Year at The Cateys.

Addressing the graduates, she spoke about what the school had given her. ‘It provided answers, gave me confidence in my own ability and meant I could call myself a chef.’ She also made the case for the alumni network in the most practical terms available: ninety per cent of the people who worked on her cookbook, right down to the recipe tester, were Leiths graduates.

Her closing words drew on her own beginnings. ‘Cook food that means something to you, build something that reflects you, protect your curiosity, protect your kindness, never, ever underestimate the power of your own story. I stand here because one day a little girl from Sierra Leone who liked to cook food with her grandmother and mother, chose to believe that she could build something extraordinary.’

Student of the Year

Rosey Jefferys was named Student of the Year and also took the award for the highest mark in the theory examination.

Jefferys came to Leiths after more than twenty years in the corporate world, taking a sabbatical and making the decision quickly. ‘I wanted a year just doing something for me that was creative and very different from what I’ve done before.’

She described the teaching as the making of the year. ‘The standards are very high but there’s so much support that goes along with that, so you feel both challenged and supported all at once. And you feel like you can do better, you want to do better, you want to be the best version of yourself.’

Hearing her name called for Student of the Year was, she said, a complete surprise. ‘To see my name on the Leiths Alumni students of the year is something you dream about but don’t really expect to happen.’

She has since founded a catering business, Rosey’s Village Table, named in tribute to her late parents, and has begun taking private chef work. Her first supperclub was held in her own garden for eighteen female entrepreneurs, with a guided wine tasting led by a former Head of Wine at Leiths. A second is planned for the autumn.

Her advice to anyone considering the same leap is a motto she has kept for years. ‘What are you waiting for? Go and do it, enjoy yourself, do that thing that you’ve always thought of doing.’ry industries of the future.

If you’re interested in doing the Leiths Culinary Diploma, find out more here.