Food teacher training comes to the South West as Queen’s College, Taunton becomes a Leiths regional hub

Leiths Education, founded by Dame Prue Leith, has opened its Level 7 Advanced Certificate of Professional Development in Food Education to those looking to train as food teachers beyond London. Queen’s College, Taunton, a Leiths Partner School, becomes a new regional hub for the qualification, bringing this Masters-level training within reach of teachers and food professionals across the South West.

The Level 7 Advanced Certificate is a postgraduate qualification for those who teach, or want to teach, food and nutrition. Developed and delivered jointly by Leiths Education and the University of Roehampton, it builds subject knowledge, pedagogy and practical food skills to Masters level. Until now, it has run from Leiths Culinary School in London.

What makes regional delivery possible is the way the course is structured. The qualification combines in-person teaching with a structured home cookery programme: at Queen’s College, the taught element runs as an intensive block, while the 30 Leiths recipes at the heart of the course are completed at home, at students’ own pace, using step-by-step cookalong videos in the Leiths Education Portal. The Portal is the digital hub that holds those recipes and videos alongside lesson plans and teaching resources in one place. It means students at Queen’s College receive exactly the same content, accreditation and academic standard as the London cohort, without leaving the South West. This is the same Leiths quality, delivered regionally.

‘We’re delighted to open the Level 7 Advanced Certificate of Professional Development up to teachers beyond London for the first time,’ said Ben Blackburn, Director of Studies at Leiths.

‘The benefit of our Leiths Education Portal is that we’re able to deliver the structured home cookery programme aspect of the course regionally. Combined with in-person training at Queen’s College, Taunton, our new regional hub, those who are based in the South West and looking to train as food teachers can now benefit from this groundbreaking, hybrid qualification.’

For Queen’s College, the partnership is a landmark. Its Head of Faculty of Art, Design and Food, Joe Mann, framed it as a moment of national significance for the subject.

‘I am tremendously excited, immensely proud and deeply honoured that our school will become the first school outside London to deliver the training of the nation’s next generation of food teachers through the wonderful Level 7 Advanced Certificate of Professional Development in Food Education, in partnership with the University of Roehampton and Leiths Education,’ he said.

‘This is a hugely significant moment for food education in the UK. We are facing a critical shortage of specialist food teachers at a time when the need for high-quality food education has never been greater. The challenges facing the nation’s health, from rising levels of diet-related illness to a growing disconnect between children and the food they eat, make it absolutely vital that young people are equipped with the knowledge, skills and confidence to understand what healthier food looks like and how to prepare it from scratch.

‘Food education is not simply about cooking; it is about empowering the next generation to make informed choices that will impact their health, wellbeing and future. By investing in the training and development of exceptional food teachers, we are helping to secure the future of this essential subject and ensuring that every child has the opportunity to learn the life skills they need to thrive.

‘I feel incredibly privileged that Queen’s College can play such a pivotal role in shaping the future of food education across the UK and supporting the teachers who will inspire thousands of young people in classrooms nationwide.’

Applications for the first Taunton cohort are open now.

Funding towards course fees is available through the All Saints Educational Trust (ASET), which awards individual grants to trainee and practising food teachers in the UK. ASET funding applications for 2026-27 are open until 5pm on 1 September 2026; find out more at here.