This week, we caught up with Liz, whilst she was attending her in-person Chef Skills Two Day Accreditation Weekend at the school in London, to talk to her about her motivation for doing Leiths Online and her experience on these courses.
What was your initial motivation to do Leiths Online?
I knew when my youngest child started secondary school that I wanted to do something for myself and although my Mum, who is a phenomenal home cook herself, taught me a lot when I was a child, I too was predominantly a self-taught home cook.
I have followed Leiths Education and Leiths Online on social media for many years and as much as I would have loved to have enrolled on the Leiths Culinary Diploma course, and been able to attend the school as a full-time student, living out in Kent made that dream inaccessible to me so Leiths Online was a very exciting alternative avenue.
How do you find working with the Leiths Online Mentors and the Online App learning experience?
I have been fortunate to have been mentored by a number of the online mentors – Angela, Martha, Heli, Louisa, Belinda and Rita – all of whom I love learning from and respect immensely. They are very talented chefs and dedicate so much time to teaching their cohorts. No question goes unanswered and the tips I have picked up from them are invaluable.
I started with Essential Cooking. It was a great place for me as I found the content wasn’t out of my reach. That doesn’t mean that I didn’t have a lot to learn, I did! But, it introduced me to life in the kitchen as a Chef (rather than a home cook): knife skills, Mise en Place, the importance of reading a recipe ahead of time, the theory behind a recipe, seasoning, styling — things like making sure my plates weren’t smeared, which Angela frequently reminded us all of: something a professional chef would never do and I now remind myself of most days!
The video instruction for all of the online courses, on the online app, is amazing as it is the same instruction that the Leiths Culinary Diploma trainee chefs receive in the school, demonstrated by the same in-school teachers, as well as the online mentors. The only difference is that you are cooking in your own home, and you can pause them when a delivery comes to your door. When I completed Chef Skills, Martha was always available to answer any questions and provide guidance as the things we were cooking were next level – baking French or layered pastries, using gelatine, filleting fish, making fresh pasta, sorbet, Italian meringue, canapés, and cooking a vegan dinner party.
Prior to learning with Leiths Online, a lot of these recipes I would never have attempted, but thanks to the online training and mentoring I received on Chef Skills from Martha, I now don’t think twice about cooking them!
I have always loved cooking, but I would never have considered myself a baker, let alone a pâtissier, which meant Essential Bread & Patisserie was the most challenging course for me.
Under the expert guidance of both Heli and Louisa, I learnt to bake yeasted and wild yeasted breads, my pastry skills evolved (from what I had already learnt on Essential Cooking and Chef Skills), my meringue and choux pastry baking improved beyond recognition and are bakes I no longer fear tackling. We baked everything from Eclairs to Chelsea Buns, Croissants and Genoise.
All of the Online Mentors encourage you to post photos of any cook or bake where things didn’t go to plan, and they explain how to do things differently next time – an invaluable learning experience for the entire cohort. The ‘class discussion’ area on the online app is a great place to post concerns, ask questions or provide helpful insight, and everyone supports and encourages each other. I now also find it easier to critique my cooks and bakes, although Louisa tells me I shouldn’t be too hard on myself.
Finally, I am now undertaking the Nutrition in Culinary Practice course with my mentor Belinda and nutritionist mentor Rita. The course is made up of 50% nutritional theory with 50% hands-on cookery tuition based on the theory. This course has already changed the way I am cooking for my family at home – I have always cooked from ‘scratch’, but it has already made me think about which oils I now cook with, has extended my repertoire of healthy snacks to bake, and I have introduced different proteins to our diet.
Liz, what is next for you?
I still have a Leiths journey ahead of me – I want to come into the school in London again and undertake the Essential Bread & Patisserie Two Day Accreditation Weekend. For me, one of the greatest highlights of both of my accreditation weekends has been meeting Louisa and Martha, two of my online mentors, and having them taste and critique what I cooked as well as undertaking a simulated restaurant ‘service’ assessment.
After my Leiths journey, I would love to do something in food photography and/or food writing, perhaps even teaching. One of the highlights for me, on a number of the Leiths Online courses that I have taken, has been the units on presentation skills and food photography. I now love taking time to present my food and photograph it; perhaps one day I will use these skills somewhere.
I would 100% recommend Leiths Online to anyone interested in furthering their cookery skills. There is a Leiths Online course suitable for everyone, at any level – and it couldn’t be easier — you cook in your kitchen, can use the online app on any device and cook at a time that suits you. My Leiths experience is something I will never forget, and I will have these culinary skills for life.
To follow more of Liz’s journey, she also shares what she cooks on Instagram @myleithscookeryschooljourney23.
