Leiths Academy The Perfect Cookery School Experience: Andrew Maxwell

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.

Without a qualification from a formally recognised awarding body, an aspiring chef can’t collect UCAS points towards a university application. Neither can they apply for entry visas to work in other countries who operate points-based systems. And budding chefs seeking to go straight into the working world will find that self-accredited qualifications generally don’t hold much sway with the majority of industry employers.

So how do qualifications become formally recognised? The UK government maintains a Register of Regulated Qualifications, which outlines all the qualifications across every sector which it formally recognises. But for

It’s a mark of trust and quality which gives you complete assurance that the cookery school you’ve chosen is operating to the highest standards of training.

the hospitality industry, it’s a little more complicated. A cookery school might be listed on the government’s Register of Education Providers, for example, but that does not necessarily mean it’s subject to OFSTED inspections.

Of course, not everyone who takes a cookery course is looking to become a professional chef. Many people simply want to master their favourite dishes, expand their kitchen repertoire or brush up on everything from the very basics to the more advanced elements of cookery.

For this audience, accreditation is still an important consideration. It’s a mark of trust and quality which gives you complete assurance that the cookery school you’ve chosen is operating to the highest standards of training.

So what type of accreditation or qualification should aspiring cooks and chefs seek out when choosing a venue?

The Confederation of Tourism and Hospitality (CTH) is a registered awarding body whose qualifications are recognised around the world. They are formally listed on the Register of Regulated Qualifications, and their core mission is to provide the highest standard of hospitality, tourism, and culinary qualifications.

In July 2020, the CTH joined forces with another trusted industry body, the Independent Cookery Schools Association (ICSA). ICSA accreditation is held by a growing number of cookery schools across the country, (See full ICSA accredited cookery school list in the directory). ICSA schools have undergone rigorous assessments to ensure consistent delivery of excellence in cookery skills and training, as well as other criteria such as adhering to strict standards of environmental sustainability and continued support for British farmers and produce. That’s why ICSA schools should be the first portof-call for anyone looking to enrol on a cookery course, whether for pleasure or future career potential. It’s an assurance of not only exceptional quality and standards, but of a qualification that will hold real value for the chefs of tomorrow.

By Andrew Maxwell. ICSA.

Search for an ICSA accredited cookery school and on-line courses at:

icsacookeryschools.org

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