Before officially opening the new Cookery School at Truro School, a candid Prue Leith shared some personal culinary catastrophes to match Bake-Off’s infamous binned Baked Alaska.

Famous for her cookery schools, catering business and books long before she took the brave step of not just filling but re-designing Mary Berry’s shoes on Bake-Off, Prue generously answered questions from the school’s first cohort of students. She told some hilarious stories of past misdemeanours, including the discovery of her cat’s collar embedded in a trifle and the fermenting vat of rancid stilton soup due to be served at a grand dinner - happily, quick thinking, innovation and team work saved the day.

Teaching the love not just the mechanics of cooking

There was an atmosphere of excitement and anticipation as Prue struck the dinner gong to herald the opening of the Cookery School. Cornwall’s restauranteurs, caterers, food producers and writers gathered to enjoy an evening filled with delicious, of course, canapes and shared stories. Asked why and how Prue began her life’s journey into the food industry, she explained that, at the time, students were being taught the mechanics of food preparation, but not the love and unique place that food can have in life. She wanted to encourage a generation of cooks who recognised the value of cooking beyond making the perfect roux.

Prue also bemoaned the solitary burger eater in the street, “Food should be shared with others, it should never be eaten alone!” she said.

Maria Taylor, Head of the Cookery School, carries on that ethos. Having worked in education for many years, she understands the restorative power of cooking, and shared how, in her experience, young people in the most challenging of life circumstances can be won over when they genuinely discover the joy of cooking.

A cookery school for the community

Undoubtedly, the new Cookery School is a wonderful addition to Truro School, embracing their motto, “To be, rather than to seem to be,” giving students the chance to flourish in a skill that has been woefully undervalued in education in recent decades. But it also hopes to offer the space as a community resource, and has already scheduled public Saturday morning sessions and a pop-up ‘Leith’s School of Food and Wine” in the autumn half term.

To find out more about the Cookery School at Truro School and its open sessions, please contact cookery@truroschool.com