Professional Cookery

Dream of becoming a top chef and mastering the art of good food? This one-year course will take your cooking skills to the next level for a career in the food industry. You’ll learn how to create high-quality dishes with precision and care, while also developing your food safety and service skills. With expert guidance from professional chefs, you’ll be prepared for a Level 3 course or to start a successful career in hospitality.

What You’ll Learn 

You’ll master essential cooking skills, including knife handling, food preparation, and how to cook a range of dishes like meat, soups, and desserts. You’ll also focus on food safety, health and safety, and how to work effectively as part of a team.

You’ll be preparing restaurant-quality meals to tight deadlines, developing the attention to detail that professional chefs need.

This course covers:

• Maintaining a safe hygienic and secure working environment in the kitchen
• Working as part of a hospitality team
• Food safety
• Handling and cleaning knives
• Meat and poultry preparation and cooking
• Hot sauces and soups
• Vegetable dishes
• Bread, dough and pastry
• Hot and cold desserts

Spending a lot of time in our industry-standard kitchens, you’ll gain real experience by cooking and serving customers in the college’s training restaurant.

You’ll also attend masterclasses from Gloucestershire’s finest chefs and take part in trips to local hospitality businesses.

Highlights 

You can look forward to:

• A one-week work experience block with the chance to work at Farncombe Estate and other local employers
• Trips will be organised to places such as Borough Market in London, Bristol street foods, local employers, hospitality expos such as Hotel Olympia and the Good Food show.
• Guest speakers and masterclasses from our portfolio of employers, from Michelin star restaurants to street food
• Industry standard kitchens with the latest technology
• Real experience working in our on-site restaurant

Assessment 

This one-year course is the City and Guilds Level 2 NVQ Diploma in Professional Cookery. It combines hands-on practice and theory, with assessments through practical tasks and short tests. You’ll build a logbook to show what you’ve produced, and complete practical assessments too.

Anything else?

A GC uniform is required and available at a discounted price from Russums, our national supplier. Student grants may cover the cost if eligible.

You’ll attend college 3 to 4 days a week, with additional time dedicated to professional development, part-time work, and homework.

In addition to the course, you’ll also develop transferable soft skills and professional standards that will prepare you for your next steps in catering and hospitality. We set a target of 100 hours for professional development through activities like part-time work, training days, or courses. You’ll also complete the college’s Which Three Skills programme to develop skills like communication, teamwork, resilience and more.

At Gloucestershire College we want students to develop their English and Maths skills so that they achieve their learning goals and future career aims. For this reason, all full-time students (16-18) who have not achieved grade 4 or above English language or maths GCSE will study these subjects as part of their course.