Cookery Courses On Line: Camilla Schneideman

Introduction to ICSA

The need for a regulatory body for British cookery schools goes back a few years before the birth of The Independent Cookery Schools Association. The idea began simply as a conversation between Scottish chef Nick Nairn and the renowned Raymond Blanc OBE nearly a decade ago. A couple of years later, Nick was interviewed by Delicious Magazine and met visionary owner of the publication, Seamus Geoghegan. Another casual conversation led Seamus to contact me to ask if I would be the driving force to get the Independent Cookery Schools Association off the ground. The rest, as they say, is history.

Over the next two years, Nick and I travelled between London and Scotland to get the Ideas into a workable format. I worked with academics at the University of Exeter to write functional criteria to assess and accredit schools. The next step was to build a management board of highlyregarded heads of successful UK cookery schools; they would decide how the self-regulating body could encompass best practice, and encourage other independent cookery schools to join the founder member establishments. Since then, ICSA has continued growing, spreading the word, supporting members and connecting with organisations who share our values of sustainability and provenance. As food educators, our role is to help shape Britain’s culinary landscape by training excellent, responsible chefs and informed food enthusiasts who will source their produce with care and embrace ICSA’s sustainability ethos. This year, we’re focussing on our core values and our mission of excellence in cookery skills © David Griffen© David Griffen and training. As well as being sustainable, seasonable and regionally sourced where possible, all our schools aim to teach zero waste principles in foods and packaging. We work with local councils and waste management companies to support this goal. 2020 was the most difficult period in any year, but – using a great deal of initiative and flexibility – our membership has I am delighted to say increased. Whilst not exactly prospering, they have adapted their premises and procedures in response to changing government requirements, and we have more new schools seeking to join us than ever. As well as a body of assessment, we are an association – a community. There’s great strength in the support we offer each other, from staying abreast of new legislation to insurance and new trends. We aim to be a non-competitive ‘group of individuals’ who look out for each other and freely share best practice, ideas and information. There are huge challenges ahead. COVID won’t disappear overnight, and the impact of BREXIT is on the horizon. Yet some of our schools report pent-up demand and are taking more bookings for longer courses. It’s not easy to manage, as we’ve twice had to move clients’ courses which puts pressure on capacity throughout the year. Our on-line content is also growing, delivering credible courses taught by our accredited tutors, lead by our Academy schools, Leiths and White Pepper as well as The Vegetarian Society Cookery School and The Artisan Bakehouse, with more to follow.

“As food educators, we see our role as helping shape the culinary landscape of Britain by training excellent, responsible chefs and informed food enthusiasts who will source their food with care, love their food, delight in sharing their food with their family and buy wisely for a healthy body and a healthy planet”

But ICSA as an association continues to grow. We are proud to say that our ‘Kite Mark’ – the seal of assessed cookery schools in the UK – can be seen on an increasing number of cookery schools’ websites. Customers who are looking to spend their money wisely can look to that quality seal as an assurance of the excellence we provide in cookery skills and training, safe in the knowledge that they are investing in a cookery course which will stand then in good stead for the future.

Stella West-Harling MBE

Joint founder and associate President

The Soaring Popularity of Virtual Cookery Courses Immersive On-Line Experiences

Interview with Camilla Schneideman, Leiths School Of Food & Wine

Image: ©Charlie Richards Photography Image: ©Gerrit Buntrock Throughout the various lockdowns, we’ve dusted off our recipe books, experimented with trends (sourdough, anyone?) and cooked along with our favourite chefs on TV or social media.

It’s therefore no surprise that the nation’s flourishing interest in home cooking – at a time when social distancing and travel restrictions have kept us largely housebound - has led to the rise in popularity of online learning.

One destination cookery school that’s no stranger to the concept of online learning is Leiths School of Food and Wine, the multi-awardwinning, industry-leading cookery school that offers a diverse range of courses for different levels of skill.

At Leiths, everyone from newbie cooks to would-be masterchefs can take a broad range of classes, courses and professional training certificates, whether it’s a one-day knife skills class, a seasonal meat masterclass, an evening wine course or a food styling workshop.

“We’re now in our third year of providing virtual learning experiences, and this year we’ve seen a steep rise in the number of people wanting to learn cookery skills online,” says Camilla Schneideman, Managing Director at Leiths.

“People love the atmosphere and camaraderie of an in-person course, but they’re also becoming less nervous about learning online – as long as they feel they’re signing up to something

that’s really well produced and will give them the skills they want.

“Taking a course online also means people don’t have to worry about travel or social distancing, and they can take the course in their own time and around their lifestyle.”

Leiths currently offer six online, interactive cookery courses providing structured, step-by-step learning; three of these are aimed at cooking enthusiasts, and three are for those training to become professional chefs.

The enthusiasts’ courses include a six-week Teen Cookery Toolbox course for young adults aged 13-18, an eightweek Absolute Beginners course for those with little to no experience in the kitchen and a six-week Plant Based Eating course for those looking to learn how to prepare wholesome, plantbased dishes.

When students select a course, they choose an available start date, join a cohort, receive course materials and are introduced to their mentor. Their mentor is a Leiths expert tutor who provides feedback, encouragement and support to the students, and they can get to know the other students in their class by messaging them through the Workshop app, just as you would if you came to the school.

New lessons are then released weekly and students can learn at their own pace, although they’re encouraged to move through the course at the same pace to maintain their learning momentum.

Meanwhile, Leiths’ professional courses include an accredited 24week Essential Cooking Certificate course for those who want to learn the essential skills to mastering restaurant-quality cooking, a 24-week Chef Skills to build on the culinary basics and a 20-week Nutrition in Culinary Practice course which teaches the principles of nutrition for cooking healthy, balanced meals.

But adapting an in-person course for an online environment brings a range of challenges for both the school and the student, and that’s something Leiths have been working to overcome.

“We’ve worked really hard to break through some of the barriers of online learning, and to help people feel comfortable and confident doing these things in their own home with our continued support,” says Camilla.

“We also work to highlight the differences between free content and paid courses. Someone looking for breadmaking skills can watch a YouTube video for free, so we know that if they’re investing in an online course with Leiths, they have to see a huge amount of extra value around that.

“We bring that value through the fact that they’re learning in a clear, structured way from renowned experts in that area. We also support them through their experience with interactive feedback on their progress, as well as providing invaluable course notes and a whole host of other elements. “The quality of the content and support is at a different level. Learning through a professional school like Leiths, which itself has been accredited by ‘ICSA’ the Independent Cookery School Association for consistent delivery of cookery skills and training, is an entirely different experience to watching a YouTube video; we train people properly – with expert guidance – to give them skills they’ll have for life, whether on-line or in person at the school.”

For more information on virtual, and attendance courses at Leiths, visit:

leiths.com