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.
A heartwarming email thread appeared in my inbox earlier this month. One of our brilliant teachers at Leiths, Caz, discovered not one, not two but three women on our Diploma this year whose mothers had also done the course. Naturally, I had to know more.
The photos below say it all but I had the pleasure of speaking on the phone to two of the students. Belle Evans, whose mother Tash did the Diploma thirty years ago, is originally from Sydney and over in Europe for the year; and Libby Smith, whose mother Sarah Moore is a presenter on BBC show Money for Nothing and, dream job alert, an AGA ambassador.
Libby, who plans to make a career in cooking, is in awe of her mother Sarah’s ability to rustle up a meal.
‘She’s absolutely amazing, she can go into a fridge with practically nothing in it and pull out an incredible meal.’
‘I’d not seen any pictures of her in her whites. It’s really odd to see her in the kitchen doing what we’re doing. She’s slightly living through me at the moment because she obviously remembers how much fun she had doing it.’
Nearing the end of her three months at Leiths, Belle tells me who inspired her.
‘Honestly it was because of my Mum, she did it thirty years ago and always spoke about it.
‘She came right out of school and did the course and then was cooking for two years or so in Europe and then came back home.’
Will either of them be taking the reins at Christmas lunch this year?
‘Mum’s said “I’ve been doing it for thirty years, so it’s your responsibility now’’,’ says Belle.
‘Everyone’s been saying cook something you learnt at Leiths but it’s summer at home and lots of the stuff we’ve been making here is very autumnal.’
‘I’ll definitely pull out a pavlova which we’ve done a few of now at Leiths.’
Libby’s family will be taking a female-powered, multi-generational approach to Christmas lunch.
‘I’ll definitely be wanting to get really hands-on with the Christmas dinner so I imagine it’ll be us two and my grandmother as well, she’s a big cook, so it’ll be three generations.’ Is it too much to wonder (if the time comes) that yet another generation might continue the tradition?