‘There are no eggs!’ A look back at the culinary school during WWII

Our culinary school at Westminster began as a small technical institute in the late 1890s, where students could take lessons in construction, cabinet making and engineering.

Set in the heart of London’s bustling Victoria, Baronness Burdett-Coutts, along with hospitality legends Auguste Escoffier, Cesar Ritz, and Isadore Salmon, created a school for men and women to train in professional cookery, to meet the demand from top restaurants for skilled hospitality staff and chefs.

In 1910, the Cookery Technical Day School was created, and expanded in the 1930s to include more cold rooms, kitchens, and pastry areas. But with the onset of the second World War, everything changed. Many people went on to serve in the military, while some men and women continued to train. The school remained open for students, but as one guest found, the cuisine was different than expected.

‘Braced myself for the good old canteen sausage and mash’

Writing for Women’s Illustrated, a journalist wrote about their upcoming visit to the culinary school’s working restaurant:

‘Still talking of food—and it’s remarkable the way we all do nowadays—my heart sank the other day when the senior inspector from the Board of Education rang me up and said he wanted to take me out to lunch at a technical institute in Westminster. I braced myself for the good old canteen sausage and mash, or toad-in-the-hole.

‘Instead, to my delight, we proceeded through a lunch of real luxury restaurant standard and style. I inquired what sort of a technical institute this might be, and learned that it is the Government’s training centre for first-class chefs. The head of the institute is a famous French chef, but his pupils are British, and they’re already in the front rank of chefs. I inspected the kitchen afterwards. They are spotlessly clean and – a tremendous improvement that has only come in our generation—they were on the same floor level as the dining room.’

‘There are no eggs!’

During the Second World War, food was strictly rationed. For culinary schools like ours, this often meant that recipes which would normally be taught to students were missing key ingredients, like eggs.

In November 1945, Parade Magazine mentioned the culinary school during the war after D-Day, which stated:

‘Meanwhile, despite the difficulties of ingredients in short supply, a degree of austerity in relation to correct wear in kitchen and restaurant (laundry is difficult and tails out of the question), the Hotel School continues its fine 35 years’ record in turning out apprentice chefs and waiters. Chef instructors’ bugbear is repetition of ‘Here we should add the white of six eggs – but there are no eggs!’

Setting a standard in luxury

From its opening in 1910 to 1950, the culinary school graduated over 2000 chefs who went on to work in restaurants all over the country. After the war the restaurant expanded to include the newly opened Escoffier Room, named after founding chef Auguste Escoffier.

Today, the restaurant is known as The Vincent Rooms, where students learn key hospitality skills while serving the public. Made up of the Escoffier, the Brasserie, and the Café, these training restaurants are home to the College’s school of hospitality and culinary arts, where students prepare and serve meals to the public.

Some of the more notable alumni include celebrity chefs Jamie Oliver, Ainsley Harriott, Anthony Worrall Thompson, Andy Wong, and Ben Murphy, with many former students winning national culinary competitions like Great British Menu, such as Selin Kiazim (2017 winner), and MasterChef the Professionals: Alex Webb (2020 winner), Nikita Pathakji (2022 winner) and Tom Hamblet (2023 winner).

Now in our 115^th year, we can’t wait to see what our students do next.

Want to train in the culinary arts? From supper clubs and masterclasses to young baker academies, have a read of our courses online and see what course tickles your tastebuds.

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