Seeking the perfect cookery school experience? As more of us seek to improve our skills in the kitchen, cookery schools across the country have seen a steep rise in demand. From amateur cooks looking for inspiration to would-be chefs wanting to progress their careers, there are cookery schools catering to every level of skill. By Andrew Maxwell. ICSA But how do you choose the right cookery school? Are there any guarantees of quality, and does it really matter? In a nutshell, yes – and here’s why. Anyone – regardless of their skills or background – can start a cookery school. There are no laws preventing it, which means that someone could very easily give themselves a name, build a training programme and call it a ‘professional’ cookery course. They can also invent the qualification you’ll be awarded at the end of that course. When a cookery school is ‘selfaccredited’ in this way, they effectively hold themselves to standards of teaching that are not externally recognised by any formal governing or awarding body in the industry.
Throughout the UK, hundreds of organisations are doing this. Many do it extremely well; they have excellent, longestablished reputations and provide expert training which leads to their own self-accredited qualifications, and those qualifications are highly regarded in the industry. Some even hold international acclaim. The renowned Leiths School of Food and Wine, for instance, offer their own Diploma in Food and Wine – a qualification that has launched the successful careers of thousands of its graduates, not just in the UK but around the world. Leiths are more of an exception than the norm, though – and for those who are more serious about developing their cookery skills, selfaccrediting courses can become even more problematic. Experience more: gourmetxperiences.co.uk 39
