Hi everyone I’m back. After a long sabbatical from the blogging world I’ve decided to resume my blog from where I left off, albeit sporadically, to recount my recent forays into the world of food and restaurants.

So, you might be asking where have you been? Well to cut a long story short I’ve been studying for a food and wine diploma at Leith’s, a prominent cookery school which has seen the likes of Henry Harris, from Racine through it’s hallowed doors. I don’t think I’ll be hailed as the next culinary sensation to hit the London scene, however, over the past six months I’ve learnt an immense amount some of which I will share with you.

The first thing that you learn when embarking on a professional cookery course is that you can’t actually cook. Cast aside any delusions that you might have held prior to starting because they will quickly and harshly be knocked down. For any home cook these words will sound ominous, however for someone embarking into the world of professional cooking it appears to be a right of passage.

The diploma, which runs Monday to Friday, 9-5, for approximately 9 months, is an intensive course which equips students with the necessary skills to enter the culinary world. However, despite the practical skills learnt few go on to become chefs working in professional kitchen. There are a couple of reasons for this, the age of the students which ranges from 18-60, many are career changers who are not prepared to work the torturous hours with little pay demanded in the initial stages of chef-ing. Another factor might be that many of the students are women who sometimes feel out of sorts working in the predominantly male environment of a kitchen.

I myself fit neatly into both categories and can honestly say that the world of chef-dom is not beckoning. At this stage, I am just about to enter the advanced term, so still have a little time to decide what the future might hold for me in terms of my culinary career.

At the moment I’m taking a well deserved break for Easter so have a little time on my hands to recount some of my recent experiences. I would be interested in answering any culinary questions that you might have, not that I am an expert or anything (yet!) however the Leith’s methods are somewhat foolproof and I would be more than happy to talk you through them.