Leiths 13-week Duke of Edinburgh’s Award course is the perfect way to hone your cooking abilities, set and achieve personal goals and develop essential skills for life.
Entry-level Course
Beginner
Certification
If you are looking to take a cooking option for your DofE, Leiths’ 13-week Duke of Edinburgh’s Award course is the perfect way to improve cooking abilities, set and achieve personal goals and develop essential skills for life.
Designed to fit around your school commitments, the courses are delivered by Leiths teachers via our interactive app, so you can cook anytime during the week. If you need to take a week off for a holiday or exams, not to worry; the course allows you to be flexible and plan around your other activities.
You’ll cook alongside Leiths’ expert teachers as you take on a new recipe each week, building your confidence and ability as you go. Each session will take between one and two hours to complete including washing up, and you will create great dishes for you, your family and your friends to enjoy. At the end of each session you’ll upload a picture so your Leiths mentor can check on your progress and make comments so you can improve. If you have a question you can message your mentor any time.
This course really sets you up for a lifetime of cooking. You’ll cover the kitchen basics; we’ll talk you through health and safety, food hygiene, and the best way of using your knives. This initial theory will ensure you are an organised, efficient, and safe cook ready to tackle a whole range of recipes.
All the recipes you learn are sure to become favourites.You’ll start with making caramelised red onion hummus with colourful crudités to get you into knife skills and seasoning. Before you know it you will be learning how to create a creamy fish pie with a crisp filo topping. You’ll also master scrambled eggs and fluffy blueberry pancakes, marinate and cook sticky Asian chicken, and delve into baking, as you make cornbread, flatbreads, and the ultimate chocolate chip cookies. You’ll even master a pad Thai noodle stir-fry that can be whipped up in minutes once you know how.
Helping you to improve will be your dedicated Leiths mentor who will assess your progress, provide feedback on your food and guide you every step of the way. They will also complete your online DofE assessors report at the end of the course. We are excited to see how you progress as you learn how to spice and season dishes and plate them with flair as you become an independent and confident cook, all while achieving a core aspect of your Duke of Edinburgh’s Award.
“Developing confidence in the kitchen is essential, particularly as the moment to leave home approaches. Our online courses effectively deliver the teacher to your home kitchen, so teens can get to work in a familiar environment and learn skills to last a lifetime.”
Camilla Schneideman, Managing Director at Leiths
This 13-week course will guide young cooks through kitchen safety, knife skills, and teach you a host of delicious recipes that can be reused again and again.
Each week, you will unlock a new batch of video-based sessions that take you step-by-step through the process of cooking a variety of recipes. You can choose to cook these all at once, creating a feast with pudding too, or to spread them out over the week.
By joining the course, you will have access to the following through the Workshop app:
In addition to the core aspects of the course, you will also get:
A ‘kit list’ of ingredients will be made available to you at the beginning of each session so that you and your parent or guardian can plan ahead. If you’re unable to find specific ingredients, advice on alternatives can be provided on request.
You will need access to a well-stocked kitchen, including at least a double hob (two rings) and an oven, preferably with a grill. In order to access the course content, you will need a smartphone or tablet and the Workshop app. Other equipment such as a food processor and electric hand whisk are recommended but not essential. A comprehensive list of everything you will need for the course will be sent to you ahead of the start date.
Learning online with Leiths couldn’t be more straightforward. All you need to do is log into the Workshop learning app on your phone or tablet, follow our expert tutors’ step by step instructions, and get cooking.
You’ll be guided by a friendly Leiths mentor, who will be on hand to help you cook an impressive range of tasty recipes for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Take and upload pictures of your finished dish so that your tutor can comment and offer tips for next time, and your cohort can be inspired by your progress.
When you sign up to the Leiths Duke of Edinburgh's Award, you’ll unlock a new unit every week, for six weeks, which you follow at your own pace. This includes an introductory unit covering knife skills and kitchen safety.
Designed to fit around your school commitments, you can cook anytime during the week. If you need to take a week off for a holiday or exams, not to worry, the app allows you to be flexible and plan around your other activities. Your access to the course lasts for 9 months, so you can move at your own pace.
It’s a great way to learn skills you’ll use for life, getting ready to leave home. Cooking is a great way to bond with new people; it’s comforting to know that when that day comes, you’ll be able to feed yourself and your friends really well.
Class Rules
This course is exclusively for students aged 13-18. By booking a place, you agree that the student who will be taking this course is aged 13-18, has their parent or guardian’s consent to sign up to Workshop and will have adult supervision throughout the duration of the course. Any students breaking these rules risk being removed from the course without refund.
Average cooking time: 1-2 hours per week
At the start of each week, we’ll remind you to schedule your practical sessions and to gather all the kit you’ll need to start cooking.
In every session, you will follow a Leiths teacher through a series of step-by-step videos in your own kitchen, learning directly through your experience.
After each session, you will be asked to upload photos of your creations for discussion and feedback from your classmates and mentor.
Once you have completed all sessions on the course, you will earn your Certificate of Completion.
Preparing the crudites and onions is a great way to build your knife skills which will underpin a lot of your work in the kitchen.
In this unit, you’ll be making a generous stack of fluffy American pancakes.
You will learn how to make a white sauce, as well as simple fish preparation and cooking, by making a filo fish pie with minty greens and peas.
Learn how to cook delicious scrambled eggs with an addition of smoked salmon and fresh sourdough.
You will learn how to make simpleTuscan White Bean Soup, with a Parmesan and Parsley Garnish
Learn how to cook chilli with mince and bake an authentic jalapeno cornbread
Mac and cheese is an ideal comfort food staple and is perfect to make in large quantities to pop into the freezer for a speedy supper.
You'll learn how to batch bake delicious comfort food that's great for freezing. You'll be making gooey chocolate chip cookies.
You’ll be introduced to some classic Indian dishes including, a quick flatbread with roasted tomatoes and a cucumber raita dip.
Learn how to cook some sesame glazed chicken. You’ll also develop your kitchen organisation and knife skills! Asian recipes require sweet, salty, acidity, and heat in their ingredients. You'll be tasting as you cook to get the perfect flavour combination!
You'll continue on your cooking journey by learning how to cook fish, grains, and how to use herbs to enhance flavour.
In this unit you made a fruit cobbler with a scone topping. This is a dessert you can make and bake in just 1 hour.
Learn how to stir-fry a classic thai noodle dish. Once you have the fundamentals of stir frying down, you’ll be able to knock up these quick and healthy meals with confidence
Preparing the crudites and onions is a great way to build your knife skills which will underpin a lot of your work in the kitchen.
In this unit, you’ll be making a generous stack of fluffy American pancakes.
You will learn how to make a white sauce, as well as simple fish preparation and cooking, by making a filo fish pie with minty greens and peas.
Learn how to cook delicious scrambled eggs with an addition of smoked salmon and fresh sourdough.
You will learn how to make simpleTuscan White Bean Soup, with a Parmesan and Parsley Garnish
Learn how to cook chilli with mince and bake an authentic jalapeno cornbread
Mac and cheese is an ideal comfort food staple and is perfect to make in large quantities to pop into the freezer for a speedy supper.
You'll learn how to batch bake delicious comfort food that's great for freezing. You'll be making gooey chocolate chip cookies.
You’ll be introduced to some classic Indian dishes including, a quick flatbread with roasted tomatoes and a cucumber raita dip.
Learn how to cook some sesame glazed chicken. You’ll also develop your kitchen organisation and knife skills! Asian recipes require sweet, salty, acidity, and heat in their ingredients. You'll be tasting as you cook to get the perfect flavour combination!
You'll continue on your cooking journey by learning how to cook fish, grains, and how to use herbs to enhance flavour.
In this unit you made a fruit cobbler with a scone topping. This is a dessert you can make and bake in just 1 hour.
Learn how to stir-fry a classic thai noodle dish. Once you have the fundamentals of stir frying down, you’ll be able to knock up these quick and healthy meals with confidence
Once you've met all the requirements to complete this course, you'll receive a verified Certificate of Completion.
Take a look at what previous students have said about their experience with Leiths Online, with reviews ranging from young cooks celebrating the start of their journey, to professional chefs successfully advancing their culinary skills.
Leiths Online Cookery School is a winning partnership between Leiths School of Food & Wine - the esteemed cookery school - and education technology pioneers, Workshop.
From its London school, Leiths has been equipping aspiring cooks with the skills to flourish in the food world since 1975. Through Workshop's unique hands-on learning experiences, Leiths is bringing the best of in-person teaching directly into people's kitchens around the world.
Putting the learner first is a founding philosophy common to both organisations. High-quality content delivered by top educators in the cookery world, tailored expert feedback and a close community network make it a joy to learn with Leiths Online.
Before enrolling, feel free to request a tour of the course below and you'll see how Leiths Online reimagines the learning experience.
Your class will be moving forward at a pace of 1 unit per week, however after each unit is unlocked you have the freedom to complete each session entirely at your own pace. You will also have the ability to schedule your sessions for times that suit your lifestyle.
This course has been carefully designed to make sure the advantages of real-world learning experiences are still embraced online. You will therefore be taken through the subject matter week-by-week to give you the chance to digest what you’ve learnt whilst progressing at a steady pace alongside your classmates. Unlike a real-world course though, you will also have the opportunity to revisit sessions and practice whenever and wherever you like!
You can contact your mentor directly through the app at any time, and will receive a response within 48 hours. Your mentor will also be able to grade and comment on your photo uploads with any feedback they may have.
Yes, we’ll send you a full equipment list before the course starts. Make sure to ask your parent or guardian to keep an eye on their emails (including the spam folder) for this!
If you book your place over 30 days before your course start date, you can cancel your booking and claim a full refund within 30 days of your purchase. If you book your place within 30 days of the course start date, you can claim a full refund within 14 days of your purchase.
All Leiths Online courses are 18+ or require parental consent for those between 13-18. The exceptions are our Teens courses, which are exclusively for 13-18-year-olds.
The accreditation weekends at Leiths school in London have a wine element to them and are only for those aged 18 and over.
There’s no need to worry if you have a family holiday booked or have to miss a week or two during the course. You’ll have access to your course dashboard, and the ability to contact your Leiths mentor, for 6 months from your course start date. This means you’ll have plenty of time to catch up if you need to.
There is no assessment at the end of your course. Instead, you will be required to upload photographs of your creations after you have completed each session (regardless of the quality of the physical outcome).
Once you have uploaded a photo for every session on the course, your mentor will confirm that you have completed the course and you will be awarded your certificate. This will be emailed to you by Workshop and attached as a PDF for you to print off at home.
You can typically expect to be cooking for a combined total of about 1-2 hours a week.
The Leiths Duke of Edinburgh’s Cookery Online Course allows students to learn cookery as part of the ‘skills’ section for their Duke of Edinburgh award (DofE). You can put down your mentor’s name in this documentation. You can find this by checking their name below their photo in the ‘My Class’ section of the app. When you are prompted to give an email address and phone number, please use the following details:
This email address is monitored by the Leiths AAP Manager, and if they are not your mentor and assessor already, they will pass on any emails to the correct assessor. If you need to call to speak to your assessor, please give your mentor’s name when calling the number above. If you're unable to access your course, please get in contact here.
We strongly encourage every student to finish their course within the allocated access period, as this ensures you stay on track and make the most of your learning experience. However, if you believe you need additional time, we are able to offer 3-month extensions at a cost of £100.
We review every case individually so if you need to request an extension please reach out to us at support@workshop.ws.
Please be aware that with a course extension, you will receive less regular contact time from your mentor as the usual course access period will have expired. To receive a certificate, you will still be required to photo uploads and complete any assessments if applicable.
