As we whip up a dinner party showstopper or cook for a crowd, most of us have pondered how we’d fare in a professional kitchen. We might have even gone a step further, deciding that we’d love the rush and exploring how we’d make the leap. After all, while a love of cooking and appreciation of good food is essential, we know there’s an enormous step between home and professional cooking, in everything from techniques and precision to pace – not to mention scale. Building a solid foundation, whether that’s our knife skills, the perfect dice or an understanding of sauces, is vital for anyone looking to level up their cooking.

It’s something that Leiths School of Food and Wine knows well. It offers professional diplomas and courses geared at everyone who loves to cook – whether they are looking to embark on a culinary career or simply keen to sharpen their skills. From its one-year diploma to shorter professional courses (great for home cooks who want to take their skills up a notch), Leiths’ tutors share their wealth of knowledge with their students, including many who have gone on to run their own restaurants. They include chef Henry Harris, who, in the mid-eighties, decided he wanted to pursue a career in the kitchen. ‘I wanted a career in the restaurant world and knew that professional training would be essential to be able to run a kitchen and cover any situation,’ he says. ‘It was actually my father who found Leiths – he did a lot of research. At that time culinary education was very theoretical and my father found Prue Leith’s school, where it is practical and hands-on as the priority.’

Today, Henry heads up The Three Compasses and beloved French bistro Bouchon Racine (which he reopened late last year) in Farringdon, and says he owes much of his success to the groundwork laid at Leiths. The lessons he learned there still influence his cooking today – he remembers Prue Leith telling students that ‘food should make you hungry and make you want to eat it, not impress with its ornateness’, and also learning about the importance of quality ingredients. ‘Leiths genuinely taught me how to cook from scratch,’ he nods. ‘The quality of the teaching at Leiths was first class, as we were taught by people who really know how to cook. They instilled into us the best ways of working and the processes followed in kitchens, all of which was invaluable. You can tell when someone is Leiths-trained by their ability in a kitchen and, as an employer, when a Leiths-trained chef comes along, I want them in my kitchen.’

He fully appreciated the value of his training as soon as he graduated from Leiths. ‘When I finished my training and I was working in a restaurant kitchen two months later, it really sunk in just how effective my training had been,’ he smiles. ‘I saw a chef fail at making brioche and trying to work out what had gone wrong. It was probably the first time I spoke up – I could clearly see the issue with salt missing, as I knew the steps of breadmaking.’ It’s examples like these, Henry believes, that highlight the importance of training; having a solid understanding of not only the process, but the technique and science behind it, enables cooks to adapt when facing something unexpected. He gives the example of making mayonnaise, which he was taught to do with a wooden spoon, rather than relying on a whisk or blender. ‘I came away able to tackle any culinary situation, with or without kit – using a spoon when there isn’t a whisk, for example,’ he says. ‘The theory was taught alongside all the practical learning, so we understood the process of emulsification, for example.’

It’s a message echoed by Joshua Hunter, executive chef at Holland & Holland shooting grounds in Northwood and chef-owner at Kew fine dining restaurant Hawthorn. He started Leiths’ one-year professional diploma in 2010 and has since worked in the Michelin-starred kitchens of La Trompette and Murano. Joshua was nineteen when he signed up, and had just returned to England to study politics after playing rugby in Australia. His heart wasn’t in the degree, though, and he instead decided to pursue cooking. Aware that some of his peers already had kitchen experience under their belts, he was keen to catch up and looked for a one-year course (the atmosphere at Leiths also set it apart from other schools, he says). ‘Leiths had really good fundamentals, like knife skills and learning to make the mother sauces,’ he says. ‘The course is structured in a way that building blocks are constantly being put in place. The recipes and techniques they bring in build on previous lessons, so by the time you get to the more advanced techniques you have a more conceptual understanding of it. No-one is completely out of their depth.’ That support also continues after graduating – the Leiths List puts cooks and chefs forward for roles in the UK, linking graduates with roles.

There are more ways than ever to get into professional cooking, but both Henry and Joshua agree that formal training is essential. After all, there’s no guarantee around the level of on-the-job training chefs might be given, Joshua points out. ‘You don’t know what situation you will be in and someone might not have the time to stop, show you and make sure you understand it,’ he explains. ‘Especially now, when there’s a staffing crisis in hospitality, people are more stretched and that might make training more difficult.’ Henry agrees that there is ‘100%’ an important role for training. ‘It really instils confidence and takes the pressure off when you are in a commercial kitchen,’ he nods. ‘You know what to do and you will progress better and faster. Training is of course a commitment – the best way will always be a full-time, full-length course, but shorter, part-time professional courses are a great way to get into careers in cooking, especially if you need to support yourself financially.'