About Food from the Prue Leith Culinary Institute

In this episode, we not only share and celebrate our favourite traditional African dishes, but also explore the joy and challenges of innovating and elevating traditional flavours to create New African Cuisine for the high-end dining tables of the continent.

We highlight the chefs that are already successful in this field and discuss how Prue Leith Culinary Institute are training young chefs through our new curriculum to elevate the flavours they grew up with.

Prue Leith chefs share their love for and challenges of the pastry kitchen.

In this episode:
Nicola Eksteen - Prue Leith I Executive Chef
Marcel Marais - Prue Leith I Patisserie Chef

The Prue Leith Culinary Institute has a reputation for patisserie excellence. In this episode we talk to two Prue Leith pastry chefs to find out about the sweet side of the kitchen.

We talk passion and where a pastry chef's career starts, which characteristics are needed to succeed in this specialisation and we learn that pastry is about far more than just desserts. Both chefs completed the Prue Leith…

Mastering the Art of Italian Cuisine - Studying culinary arts through the ALMA-Prue Leith partnership

Carlo-Maria Ricci (ALMA La Scuola Internazionale di Cucina Italiana | Chef Ambassador)

Italian cuisine is deeply immersed in culture and terroir and the best way to master it, is to study it at the origin. Through the partnership with Italy's premier culinary school, ALMA La Scuola Internazionale di Cucina Italiana, the Prue Leith Culinary Institute has sent nearly 30 students to study in Italy since 2012.

In this episode we talk to ALMA ambassador, chef Carlo-Maria Ricci, about the…

The impact on culinary South Africa - A detailed discussion on the QCTO trade qualification for chefs in SA

Elsu Gericke (SACA | Head Professional Body and Skills Development)
Debby Laatz (Prue Leith Culinary Institute| Head of Academics)

Chef as a career in South Africa was gazetted as a trade in 2012. In this episode, Elsu Gericke (South African Chefs Association, Head of the Professional body and skills development) and Debby Laatz, (Prue Leith Culinary Institute, Head of Academics) talk to host Adele Stiehler-van der Westhuizen about the impact of this change on culinary South Africa.…

Investing in an edible garden could also be an investment in your health

Angela Schaefer (Functional Medicine Health Coach)
Debby Laatz (Prue Leith | Head of Academics)
Werner Spohr (Prue Leith | Head Chef)

In the time of Covid-19 the world has been reminded that investing in one's health is crucial.

With spring in the air, we look at planting edible gardens, not only to increase fruit and vegetable consumption needed for good health, but also for chefs to run more sustainable kitchens.

We discuss the requirements for a strong immune system, the reasoning behind eating a rainbow of…

Anna Trapido (PhD in Anthropology, Food Writer and Chef)

In this episode we talk Covid-19. The virus that is not only threatened our lives, but also our livelihoods, especially in the hospitality industry. Host Adele Stiehler-van der Westhuizen talks to Prue Leith alumna, Food Anthropologist and food writer Anna Trapido about the impact of the virus on the food system. They also discuss the prognosis for restaurants, post Covid-19, and how people in general interact with food during this time of crisis.

Connect with Anna Trapido on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/anna-trapido-33b20914/…

In this episode Prue Leith, CBE, the patron of the Prue Leith Culinary Institute in South Africa, talks to Adele Stiehler-van der Westhuizen shortly before her 80th birthday.

Prue shares fond memories as she looks back at a lifetime in food, media and hospitality and gives some advice to those who consider a career in food.

The conversation starts with Prue's looking back at some of her fondest moments including some of her biggest cooking blunders, but extends to serious conversations about sustainability, the future of food, meat consumption, healthy eating and her latest book, The…