Join us for our Open Evening at Leiths on Thursday 5th February 2026, 6:30–8:30pm, and discover how the Culinary Diploma can launch your career in food.
Join us for our Open Evening at Leiths on Thursday 5th February 2026, 6:30–8:30pm, and discover how the Culinary Diploma can launch your career in food.
After just one week on the Leiths Culinary Diploma, student Tess Nelson signed up for a work experience slot as a home economics assistant on Saturday Kitchen Live. It’s the kind of opportunity available at Leiths and typical of the initiative shown by students on the course.
This cohort arrives at a particularly special moment. The school is celebrating fifty years since Prue Leith first opened its doors, and whilst much has changed in the industry since 1975, the commitment to giving students the best possible foundation for a career in food remains the same.
Walk into the teaching kitchens now and you’ll find students two weeks into their journey, heads down, knives moving steadily as they julienne daikon, chiffonade herbs and finely slice red chilli. In this case, they’re making an Asian-inspired Salad Bowl. And that may well sound straightforward – rice noodles, crunchy vegetables, peanuts, a few Asian store cupboard ingredients – but it’s not really about the ingredients. It’s about what you do with them.
Balance the seasoning properly, finesse those knife skills and prepare the slippery noodles until they’re al dente. Then those humble ingredients become something really quite sophisticated.
In just two weeks, the students have already built a solid repertoire: White Bean Hummus, Green Goddess Dressing and a pizza you can cook in a frying pan. These aren’t just recipes to tick off a list. They’re made up of industry-relevant techniques that will serve them well from day one in a professional kitchen or in whatever future they choose to pursue after graduating. But they don’t need to think about next steps quite yet.
The cheffing classics haven’t been abandoned, either. Students are learning to prepare White Chicken and Veal Stock from scratch, understanding each stage of the process. They’re making mayonnaise, getting to grips with emulsification and mastering that elusive pale French Omelette with just the right amount of barely-set egg in the middle.
Our in-house team of chef tutors spent the summer holidays reviewing and updating the curriculum, ensuring the school teaches the timeless techniques that form the foundation of any serious chef’s skills whilst keeping pace with how modern kitchens actually operate.
The students starting this term are ambitious and motivated. They need to be. The Diploma is intensive, demanding and moves quickly. But in nine months’ time, these same students will be ready to take on in-demand roles in industry.
But just two weeks in, the results are already showing. Class of 2026, welcome to Leiths.