Early Years Chef Academy

We train chefs and teachers to be experts in child nutrition and to help children, staff and parents build healthy habits for life.

Apply now

Make your nursery a leader in healthy eating and practice

Improving Health and Food in the Early Years | Level 3 CACHE-accredited award

We are proud to introduce a new course for all Early Years professionals (i.e., teachers, educators, childminders, nannies, and kitchen staff) to learn more about childhood nutrition for children aged 0-5.

The course will debut in January 2026. Contact us to express your interest now – chefacademy@leyf.org.uk

We train our own LEYF chefs to be experts in child nutrition and to help children, staff and parents build healthy habits for life.

Learn more about our current Nursery Chef roles

“It is great that finally there is training available that focuses on Early Years nutrition.”

Nursery Manager

Course details

The course is delivered in (roughly) 2-hour interactive online sessions via Microsoft Teams and is therefore suitable for Early Years professionals working anywhere.

Course length: 8 sessions taught over 3 months.

Dates: The next cohort will start in January 2026

Timings: every Wednesday afternoon, 2pm until 4pm.

Entry requirements

Anyone working within the Early Years sector in the UK and has a passion for health and food.

Nurseries need to be invested in improving their food, the health of their children and empowering their people to improve practice.

Nurseries will need to provide cover for learners during their weekly sessions over the course of five months. Course participants must have access to a laptop or tablet.

Cost

Base price	£400
Charity discount (10%)	£360
Local authorities discount (20%)	£320
Booking of 5 or more places discount (20%)	£320

A £100 deposit will be required to secure your place upon application.

What should you expect from the course?

You’ll learn how to

understand and apply basic nutrition for children under 5
plan healthy, balanced portions for meals and snacks
support dietary needs, including allergies and intolerances
keep food safe and understand kitchen management
make food fun and engaging to encourage better eating habits

“This course totally changed how I think about food in nursery. I feel confident and empowered now.”

Early Years Teacher

The impact of Early Years Chef Academy

So far, our external evaluation of the Early Years Chef Academy course designed and delivered to Chefs has found that:

Chefs found the training useful and worthwhile
Chefs reported improved understanding around child nutrition
Chefs reported improved confidence in encouraging healthy choices
Chefs felt the training had improved their status
Chefs were interacting more with children, other staff, and parents around healthy eating
Expected improvements to children’s diets have started to materialise

"It really is a worthwhile course"

Meet Janet, Senior Chef at Stockwell Gardens Nursery and Pre-School. She tells us about what she learned and the value she gained from the LEYF Chef Academy.

Watch

Contact us

Please get in touch with any questions or queries you may have, at chefacademy@leyf.org.uk or on 020 7834 8679.

Partners

Impact on Urban Health

Food and nutrition

Healthy eating and nutrition are a priority at LEYF.

Social Justice Pedagogy, pioneered at LEYF

Our unique seven-strand Social Justice Pedagogy is interwoven into everything we do, to give all children wonderful learning experiences every day.

London Institute
of Early Years

A Global Centre for Excellence