The School · Since 2001
A working kitchen that teaches.
The Chef School has trained students to become chefs in Oatlands, Krugersdorp, since 2001. Practical, personal and serious about the craft.
01 · Our story
Twenty-five years at the bench.
Since 2001 the school has been built around one principle: you learn to cook professionally by cooking, every class, with a chef beside you.
Today The Chef School is home to the International Diploma in Food Preparation and Culinary Arts, accredited by City & Guilds of London, alongside hands-on short courses and the Red Carpet High Tea.
You learn to cook by cooking. Every class, at the bench, with a chef beside you.
The Chef School
02 · How we teach
Demonstrate. Practise. Repeat.
- 01
Watch it done properly.
Every technique is demonstrated by a chef first, step by step, so you see what good looks like before you try.
- 02
Do it yourself.
You cook at your own station. Mistakes are part of the lesson, and they happen in the kitchen, not on a customer's plate.
- 03
Do it again.
Technique becomes habit through repetition, until it holds up under the pressure of a real service.
03 · Meet your chef
Chef Steve
Master professor
Chef Steve leads the International Diploma classes at The Chef School, teaching from the bench. The short courses are presented by Chef Minnie Brink.
Expect patience, precision and very high standards, and a chef who will show you again until it is right.
04 · The kitchens
Built for learning at every station.
Cooking stations Station 12 Ovens and pasta machine Copper overhead The herb doors The cookbook library
05 · A class at the school
What happens in a class?
Diploma classes run Monday to Wednesday, 08:00 to 13:00. Each session follows the same rhythm.
- 01
Demonstrate
The chef demonstrates the technique and explains why it works.
- 02
Cook
You prepare the dish at your own station, from mise en place to plating.
- 03
Daily formative assessments
Your work is assessed at the bench every day, so you know what to adjust before the next dish.
- 04
Clean down
Every session ends the professional way: with a clean, reset kitchen.
06 · Accreditation
An accredited City & Guilds of London school.
City & Guilds is one of the world's best-known vocational awarding bodies. Diploma students sit an international exam, so the skills built in Krugersdorp are recognised well beyond it.
How City & Guilds qualifications work07 · Visit
Where is The Chef School?
2 Du Plessis Street, Oatlands, Krugersdorp, on Gauteng's West Rand.
The Chef School2 Du Plessis Street
Oatlands, Krugersdorp, 1739WhatsApp: 083 284 2274Travelling from Johannesburg or the West Rand?
Come and cook with us.
Apply for the International Diploma, book a short course, or send us a WhatsApp to arrange a visit.