The catering industry is a highly competitive one that requires culinary arts knowledge if you are aspiring to be a professional chef. When you enroll at a culinary school, you will be taught the necessary skills and knowledge that are needed to become a standard chef.
This includes cooking and creating new dishes, keeping the kitchen tidy and secure, and learning the efficient methods to run a kitchen.
14 of The Best Culinary Schools in South Africa Reviewed
If you want to cook for a living, South Africa has some of the best culinary schools in the world. From aspiring chefs to home cooks looking to learn new skills, there are plenty of options from which to choose.
In this article, we’ll take you through 14 of the most popular culinary schools in South Africa, including Hilton College and Prue Leith Chefs Academy…
1. Pure Leith Chefs Academy
Since it was established in 1986, Pure Leith chefs academy has gone on to be one of the most prominent culinary schools in South Africa. Located in Pretoria, South Africa, the culinary school is famous for its provision of advanced cooking techniques while making use of the most standard ingredients.
As a newbie, you have nothing to worry about as the culinary academy will ensure you are provided with the basic and fundamental doctrines of culinary arts. Your education will last for 18 months which will be structured into three semesters where you will be trained in the classic and advanced culinary arts.
2. The Culinary Academy
The Culinary academy is one of the distinguished culinary schools in South Africa. Located in Paarl, South Africa, the school is determined to provide its students with top-notch culinary training.
The culinary academy offers numerous training plans including a diploma in Hospitality Management, a course that will take a duration of 12 months to be completed, Advanced food and wine diploma which is a 15 months course, and a grande diploma in good food, wine and hospitality management for the duration of 27 months.
The school training facility is hygienic and outstanding combined with an excellent syllabus to ensure an advanced training methodology is provided for the student to have the best training quality possible. There is no doubt about the quality of the Culinary academy as the institution is internationally accredited.
3. The 1000 Hills Chefs Academy
One of the major factors that distinguish an elite culinary school from others is the availability of top-notch advanced facilities required to give quality training. At the 1000 hills chefs academy, the provision of a standard training facility is not a problem as the school has the best-required facilities for culinary training in South Africa.
The school believes the best method of teaching culinary arts is through practical training which is their most deployed training method. There is also a good accommodation system in place to ensure the comfort of students.
Since the 1000 hills chefs academy was established in 2004, the institution has provided a large number of food experts, some of who will be your tutor in its two years of culinary training.
The first training year will put you through the basics of preparing a good dish while the second year will be for advanced training in your culinary education and you will be able to acquire numerous pastry skills.
4. Institute Of Culinary Arts
With 20 years of experience and multiple awards of excellence in its name, the Institute of culinary arts is no doubt one of the top culinary schools in South Africa. There are different culinary programs with different duration of completion available at the institute of culinary arts.
Based on your preference and the level of education you wish to acquire, you can apply for the 9 months training program, one year, one year and six months, two years, and six years culinary programs.
At the institute of culinary arts, the training is based on perfect gastronomic, expressive ideas, and creative methods. Which makes the institution an ideal place to complete your culinary training.
5. South Africa Chef Academy
Located in Cape Town, South Africa, the South Africa chef academy seats among the outstanding culinary institutions in the country. The institution provides proficient training in culinary arts. Numerous graduates from this culinary institution are thriving as chefs after the completion of their education.
Due to the high quality of training being offered at the South Africa chef academy, their students are guaranteed of getting employed in top restaurants after the completion of their training.
There are numerous courses available at the South Africa chef academy, they offer a six-month diploma course, a six-month certificate course, and a year full-time diploma course.
6. Silwood School Of Cookery
Founded in 1964, the Silwood school of cookery is the oldest culinary school in South Africa. The school is family-run and has over the years offered intense proficient and expert culinary training to students ensuring that all their students are well trained and are truly good in what they do.
Just like in most top-notch culinary institutions in South Africa, there are numerous culinary programs available at Silwood school of cookery. You can enroll in the one-year certificate course, a second-year diploma course, and a third-year grande diploma.
The aim of the Silwood school of cookery is to produce individuals that have been trained to become world-class chefs.
7. Christina Martin School Of Food And Wine
Christina martin school of food and wine is a culinary school that is recognized globally and with no doubt one of the best culinary institutions in South Africa. At the Christina martin school of food and wine, students are taught by highly trained and professional cooks that will be assigned to your one-year culinary program.
Enrolling in training at the Christina martin school of food and wine gives you an extra advantage because apart from the food training, the school also provides courses on wine production which you can easily get to learn as well if you wish.
8. Capsicum Culinary Studio
Capsicum culinary studio is a prominent institution thanks to its professional and advanced culinary training. This culinary institution has numerous campuses in six different locations in South Africa. These campuses are equipped with the required culinary facilities that are needed to become great chefs.
The Capsicum culinary studio has highly trained and experienced trainers that guarantee excellent training for its students. The institution has produced numerous successful chefs and aims to produce more through their different advanced culinary courses that will put you among the best in the catering industry.
9. The Fusion Cooking School
Located in Durban, South Africa, the Fusion cooking school is a household name in South Africa and is also well recognized internationally. This culinary institution has won numerous awards due to its productivity, efficiency, and contribution to the catering industry.
The Fusion cooking school provides training to individuals to become qualified and professional chefs who are prominent in the catering industry. The institution boasts a hygienic and excellent environment that complements the needs of students.
The institution also offers numerous culinary programs and has well-trained professional trainers available to make your training a success.
10. Infinity Culinary Training School
Founded in 2009 by Barry Berman with the aim of assisting unemployed South African citizens in acquiring a skill that can help them keep up. however, the institution still offers catering education to individuals and is located in Cape Town, South Africa.
The Infinity culinary training school provides both basic and professional training to students and helps develop their catering skills. The school due to its influence has links to several restaurants around the globe which is an additional edge for the school students as they can easily get employed in different restaurants.
11. JHB Culinary Cooking School
Since its existence in 2012, JHB culinary cooking school has been dedicated to the training and production of professional chefs who have been trained and ready to meet the competitive demands of the catering industry.
There are two culinary courses available at the JHB culinary cooking school including the national courses which are structured to train students about the importance of cooking techniques, and the international courses which are designed to improve the skills of students that have already acquired the basic knowledge of cooking.
The teaching method at JHB culinary cooking school is most practical as it is believed that is the best way of acquiring culinary knowledge. They offer 70 percent of practical classes, and 30 percent of theory classes.
12. South Africa Academy Of Culinary Arts
We can’t complete our list of best culinary schools in South Africa without mentioning the South Africa academy of culinary arts. With many highly qualified trainers who are active and ready to work at any time, the school trains its student and dedicate a day to practicing all that has been taught.
Over the years, the number of students that have been enrolling at the South Africa academy of culinary arts keeps increasing thanks to the institution’s friendly and comfortable environment.
South Africa academy of culinary arts offers different culinary programs including a Highfield certificate in food production, a Highfield certificate in food production and cooking, a Highfield diploma in culinary arts, a Highfield diploma in pastry arts, an award in safety, the grande diploma Highfield in diploma and culinary arts.
13. Francois Ferreira Academy
Francois Ferreira academy is located in George, South Africa, and it’s one of the top culinary institutions in the country. The school offers quality and professional training to students who aspire to be world-class chefs through their well-trained tutors.
The institution has a well-structured professional and academic system put in place to provide quality training to its students. There are full-time and part-time available at the Francois Ferreira academy including a full-time one-year diploma in culinary arts, three years diploma in food preparation and cooking, six months part-time diploma in culinary arts, and a one-year part-time diploma in culinary arts.
14. Olive Chef School
Olive chef school is an outstanding culinary institution founded in 2000 and is dedicated to the provision of professional training to its students on creativity with food preparation. The school’s aim is to train and produce chefs who are highly creative and has the ability to create new recipes and can make cooking fun and enjoyable.
The Olive chef school offers an international certificate and diploma in cooking and food preparation to its students.
Conclusion
Cooking is just not a hobby, it is an art that you can make a career off and you can begin to earn and become popular doing what you love, to become a professional chef, you will be required to special training where you will acquire the needed skills and understanding to become a chef.
To assist you with the process, we have listed the top culinary schools in South Africa above. Go through the schools, check out what they have to offer, and enroll in your preferred institution.