Internationally recognised Highfield qualifications, delivered in Cape Town by chefs who have run the kitchens these standards are written for. From a first-day food handler to the manager who signs off the system.
Awarding body
Highfield Qualifications
Recognition
Internationally recognised
Range
Level 1 to Level 4
Course length
Half a day to five days
Sectors
Catering, manufacturing, retail, maritime
From
R1 700 per learner
Why it matters
Food safety training is not a nice-to-have. It is what keeps a licence valid, an audit clean, and a guest safe. These awards are the qualifications inspectors, insurers, and clients actually ask to see.
Taught by operators
Every course is delivered by people who have run real kitchens and real services, so the theory arrives attached to the reason it exists. Your team learns the standard and why it holds.
Built around your roster
We train on-site in your own kitchen, in-house for groups, or at our venue. Scheduling works around service, because a kitchen that closes for training is a kitchen that loses money.
HighfieldInternational Approved Centre
The awarding body
Who is Highfield?
Highfield Qualifications is a UK awarding organisation and one of the leading names in compliance and workplace qualifications worldwide. It writes the qualifications, sets the standards, quality-assures every centre that delivers them, and issues the certificate your learners receive.
Its qualifications are regulated in the United Kingdom, so the certificate holds the same standard whether it was earned in a Cape Town kitchen, on a superyacht, or in a hotel abroad. It is a name employers, inspectors, and insurers around the world already know.
Salt & Ledger is a Highfield approved centre. That means our centre, our trainers, and our assessment processes have been reviewed and approved by Highfield, and every learner is registered and certificated directly by them.
600+qualifications across hospitality, food safety, health and safety, and more
100+countries with Highfield approved centres and trainers
550,000+Highfield certificates awarded every year
Onlineevery certificate can be verified by an employer through Highfield
Regulated by Ofqual (England), Qualifications Wales, and CCEA (Northern Ireland), among other UK regulators. Winner of the King’s Award for Enterprise, 2024.
Investment
What it costs
How you book
Price
What's included
Open course, per learner
See tables below
Tuition, learner handbook, exam, and the Highfield certificate. Join a scheduled date at our venue.
In-house, at your venue
On enquiry, plus certification per learner
Up to 10 learners on one day. We come to your kitchen and train around your service. The most cost-effective route for a team.
Groups of 6 or more
10% off the per-learner price
Applies to any open course. Groups of 12 or more, ask us for a bespoke quote.
Progression bundle
Level 2 plus Level 3, on enquiry
Save against booking separately. Ideal for a cook moving into a supervisory role.
Every price includes the Highfield registration, examination, and certificate. No surprise awarding-body fees on top. Travel outside greater Cape Town is quoted separately.
How long they take
Time to certificate
Duration
Guided learning
What that looks like
Half day
About 3 hours
One morning or afternoon, with the exam at the end. Fits around a service.
1 day
About 6 hours
A single full day, exam included. The most common format for a whole team.
3 days
About 20 hours
Three full days plus a 90-minute exam. The days need not be consecutive.
5 days
About 40 hours
Five days, often spread across a few weeks, with a two-part written exam.
Programme
Extended
Certificates and diplomas built from multiple units, with portfolio and practical assessment, delivered over an agreed schedule.
Durations follow Highfield's recommended guided learning hours. We can run them consecutively, split them across weeks, or blend classroom time with practical work in your own kitchen, whatever keeps your service running.
Food Safety
Catering
The core progression for restaurants, hotels, cafés, event caterers, and private chefs.
Qualification
Level
Duration
From
Who it's for
Level 1 Award in Food Safety for Catering
Level 1
Half day
R1 700
New starters, front of house, and anyone handling low-risk food
Level 2 Award in Food Safety for Catering
Level 2
1 day
R3 200
The industry standard for anyone who handles or prepares food
Level 2 Award in Food Safety for Catering (Refresher)
Level 2
Half day
R1 500
Staff renewing an existing Level 2 certificate
Level 3 Award in Food Safety for Catering
Level 3
3 days
R5 500
Supervisors, sous chefs, and team leaders
Level 4 Award in Managing Food Safety in Catering
Level 4
5 days
On enquiry
Head chefs, managers, and owners who write and sign off the system
Food Safety
Manufacturing
For production kitchens, food producers, bakeries, and packing operations.
Qualification
Level
Duration
From
Who it's for
Level 1 Award in Food Safety for Manufacturing
Level 1
Half day
R1 700
New starters and staff in low-risk production roles
Level 2 Award in Food Safety for Manufacturing
Level 2
1 day
R3 200
Production staff handling food on the line
Level 2 Award in Food Safety for Manufacturing (Refresher)
Level 2
Half day
R1 500
Staff renewing an existing Level 2 certificate
Level 3 Award in Food Safety for Manufacturing
Level 3
3 days
R5 500
Line supervisors and shift leaders
Level 4 Award in Food Safety Management for Manufacturing
Level 4
5 days
On enquiry
Managers responsible for the food safety management system
Food Safety
At Sea
Written for the galley. Essential for yacht crew, charter chefs, and anyone feeding guests offshore, where the nearest inspector is a long way away and the standard still applies.
Qualification
Level
Duration
From
Who it's for
Level 2 Award in Food Safety at Sea
Level 2
1 day
R3 700
Galley crew, charter chefs, and stewardesses handling food
Level 3 Award in Supervising Food Safety at Sea
Level 3
3 days
R5 500
Head chefs and chief stews supervising a galley
Food Safety
Retail & International
Qualification
Level
Duration
From
Who it's for
Level 3 Award in Food Safety for Retail
Level 3
3 days
R5 500
Supervisors in delis, farm shops, and retail food operations
Level 1 International Award in Food Safety
Level 1
Half day
R1 700
Entry-level food handlers, delivered to the international syllabus
Level 2 International Award in Food Safety
Level 2
1 day
R3 200
Food handlers needing an internationally portable certificate
Compliance
Fire Safety
The other half of a compliant kitchen. Required knowledge for anyone working around gas, oil, and open flame.
Qualification
Level
Duration
From
Who it's for
Level 1 Award in the Principles of Fire Safety Awareness
Level 1
Half day
On enquiry
All staff, as part of a venue's basic fire safety induction
Level 2 International Award in Fire Safety
Level 2
1 day
On enquiry
Fire marshals, supervisors, and staff with fire safety duties
The career path
Professional Cooking & Hospitality
The full progression from a first job in the kitchen to a professional chef's diploma. This is the route we built our own careers on, and the one we now teach.
Qualification
Level
Duration
From
Who it's for
Level 2 Certificate for Kitchen Assistants
Level 2
Programme
On application
First job in the kitchen: the foundation for everything after it
Level 2 Certificate in Hospitality and Catering Principles (Food Production and Cooking)
Level 2
Programme
On application
Commis chefs building the underpinning knowledge of the trade
Level 2 Diploma for Professional Cooks
Level 2
Programme
On application
Working cooks formalising their craft into a full qualification
Level 3 Diploma for Professional Chefs
Level 3
Programme
On application
Chefs de partie and sous chefs moving toward senior kitchen roles
Level 3 Diploma in Patisserie, Confectionery and Bakery
Level 3
Programme
On application
Pastry chefs and bakers specialising in the sweet side of the craft
For venues & employers
Train the whole team at once, on-site, around your service times. We can map a progression across your brigade so the right people hold the right level, from handler to supervisor to manager, and your audit file looks the way it should.
For individuals
Whether you need a Level 2 to start work next week, a food safety at sea certificate before a charter season, or a full professional chef's diploma, tell us where you are and we will tell you the shortest honest route to where you want to be.
Durations shown are a guide based on Highfield’s recommended guided learning hours and may vary with delivery format and group needs. Prices are per learner, all inclusive, and valid for the current year. Exact dates and formats are confirmed on enquiry. Highfield Qualifications is the awarding body; Salt & Ledger delivers the training.
