Short On Chefs?

Leiths Online Hospitality Recovery Grants are here to help UK employers recruit under-trained staff and to boost the careers of employees.

Apply Today

Flexible, professional cookery training to help close the culinary skills gap.

The UK is facing a severe shortage of skilled hospitality staff.

To help you or your business up-skill in the kitchen, Leiths Online Cookery School is part-funding over 1,000 places on its online chef training courses.
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For employers, our grants can help up-skill your existing workforce and widen your recruitment to lower skilled staff that can be quickly trained to a high standard by Leiths Online teachers.

For hospitality employees, a grant could help boost your CV and take your culinary career to the next level.

£750k
worth of grants available to train 1,000+ UK chefs

Leiths Online provide efficient culinary training to any kitchen through hands-on courses led by world-renowned teachers.

The Courses

Grants are available on the following online courses, all designed from the ground-up to elevate the student's skill-set and help boost their culinary career.

All courses can be taken around shifts, anywhere with kitchen space, using just a smartphone.

Every course is led and mentored by a qualified Leiths teacher. Course mentors are friendly, approachable and always ready to help. They’ll comment on dishes cooked, provide expert feedback, and make sure all students receive the maximum benefit from their course.

Essential Cooking  |  Professional Course & Certificate

Essential skills to become a confident commis chef and a key part of a kitchen brigade.

Duration: 
24 weeks
Access period: 
12 months
Price: 
£895
(£1,410)
ex-VAT
Grant of
£515
applied
Learn more about Essential Cooking

This professional course guides students through all the fundamental cooking skills, techniques and practices that every cook needs to thrive in a modern professional kitchen.

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Curriculum by Unit

  1. Stock Making & Knife Skills
  2. Eggs: Emulsifying and Cooking
  3. Shortcrust Pastry
  4. Vegetable Cooking
  5. Pan Frying: Meat and Pan Sauces
  6. Meringues & Sugar Syrup
  7. Fish: Preparing & Cooking
  8. Choux Pastry and Creme Patisserie
  9. Shellfish: Crustaceans and Molluscs
  10. Time Planning & Roasting
  11. Pasta
  12. Bread
  13. Stewing & Slow Cooking
  14. Whisked Cakes and Rubbed-in Cake
  15. Creamed Cakes and Melted Cakes
  16. Caramel, Custard & Ice-Cream
  17. Gelatine
  18. Jointing Chicken
  19. Butchery and Meat Cooking
  20. Brunch
  21. Baking for Dietary Requirements
  22. Dinner Parties
  23. Presentation and Food Styling
  24. Assessment

Chef Skills  |  Professional Course & Certificate

For those already working in kitchens, this course will elevate your cooking techniques, enabling ambitious chefs to progress quickly to the next level.

Duration: 
24 weeks
Access period: 
12 months
Price: 
£895
(£1410)
ex-VAT
Grant of
£515
applied
Learn more about Chef Skills

This professional course guides working cooks and chefs through the skills, techniques and practices that they need to refine and enhance their cooking.

Curriculum by Unit

  1. Bread – Part 1
  2. Risotto & Arancini
  3. Cooking with Spices
  4. French Pastries – Part 1
  5. Eggs-Based Desserts
  6. Grains
  7. Fish Preparation & Cooking
  8. Bread – Part 2
  9. Italian Meringue
  10. Layered Pastries
  11. Offal
  12. Baking
  13. Middle Eastern Feast
  14. Meat Cooking
  15. Sorbet & Granita
  16. Farinaceous Accompaniments
  17. Canapés & Planning
  18. Soufflés
  19. Purées & Sauces
  20. Vegan Dinner Party
  21. French Pastries – Part 2
  22. Pasta & Gnocchi
  23. Preserving & Enriched Dough
  24. Online Assessment

Introduction to Patisserie  |  Entry-Level Course

Ideal for those who want to become an integral part of the pastry section, this course offers professionally-delivered foundation skills for budding patisserie chefs.

Duration: 
12 weeks
Access period: 
6 months
Price: 
£495
(£745)
ex-VAT
Grant of
£250
applied
Learn more about Introduction to Patisserie

This entry-level course guides students to patisserie proficiency, taking them through timeless techniques and methods that every baker and pastry chef worth their salt will intuitively employ in a modern kitchen.

The course has been carefully written to provide both practical and theoretical understanding of all areas of patisserie. The structure of the sessions will encourage repetition, bringing together multiple elements to refine and develop pastry skills.

Curriculum by Unit

  1. Shortcrust Pastry
  2. Choux Pastry
  3. Toppings, Garnishes and Caramel
  4. Cake Making
  5. Baking
  6. Biscuits
  7. Meringues
  8. Sweet Pastries and Fillings
  9. Gelatine
  10. Petit Fours
  11. Genoise
  12. Breakfast Pastries

“At this time of crisis in recruitment, we have been canvassing the opinions of chefs and restaurant groups to establish how we can best serve the industry we take great pride in training people for.

Our flexible online courses are some of the best tools in our armoury because they can reach large numbers at speed.”

Camilla Schneideman, MD of Leiths School of Food and Wine

Access Anywhere, Any Time

Access Anywhere, Any Time

Unlike your usual class, you can do this whole course from any kitchen, on your own schedule and on any device.

Learn Through Experience

You’ll learn a wide range of skills and techniques by cooking along with small, guided, step-by-step lessons.

Learn Through Experience
Quality Matters

Quality Matters

High-quality video, easy-to-use technology and the best cookery teachers in the world from Leiths School of Food and Wine.

Real Feedback Throughout

Develop your skills alongside a class of likeminded cooks and receive real feedback on your progress from your dedicated Leiths mentor.

Real Feedback Throughout
Opportunity for Accreditation

Opportunity for Accreditation

You will earn a digital certificate on completion of this course.

After completion, you can also earn the full Leiths-accredited Essential Cooking or Chef Skills Certificates at an additional two-day practical assessment in London, at a 20% discount of the usual price.

For Employers

Your business may apply for unlimited part-funded places.
Part-funded places receive a grant towards the price of a course.
Up-skill your existing workforce, boost loyalty, promote from within or recruit unskilled talent and train up.

For Employees

Industry-recognised Leiths training.
Boost your CV, advance your career, improve your cookery skills and progress at work.
Courses for different abilities.

Apply Today

Apply for part-funded grants for your business by filling out the form below. We'll get back to you as soon as new grants become available.

This is a limited time offer and grants are awarded on a first come, first served basis as numbers are limited. Please note that to be eligible for this grant you need to be working in the hospitality industry. Please see the Grant Terms & Conditions for more information.

If you have any questions, please call call 0208 749 6400 or email hospitality.grant@leiths.com.

Thank you! Your submission has been received, please accept this as your confirmation. We appreciate your patience as we process a high number of applicants. If you have not been contacted within 14 days of your submission, please contact hospitality.grant@leiths.com.
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Frequently Asked Questions

Where can I take this course?

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Our courses have been designed to be taken in a commercial kitchen or at home, anywhere in the world.

How much will ingredients cost?

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A kit list of everything needed to complete each course can be found in the curriculum for each course, which you can request from us or download from each course web page.

Depending on the course, expect ingredients to cost between £300 and £425 over the length of the whole course.

Do grants cover ingredients & equipment costs?

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Funding is solely towards course placements from Leiths Online Cookery School. It does not cover equipment or ingredients costs.

How many placements can I have?

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If you are applying as an individual, you are only entitled to 1 part-funded placement per person. If you are applying as a business and would like 5 or more placements you can purchase multiple courses per person.

Do the courses qualify within the government levy program?

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We are not a government accredited training provider, so available funding is through part-funded placements covered by Leiths Online Cookery School.

How long will I have access to the course?

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On Essential Cooking and Chef Skills courses, you will have 12 months access from the cohort start date. On the Introduction to Patisserie course, you will have 6 months access from the cohort start date.

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