I been asked by several high school students interested in going to cooking school about Le Cordon Bleu’s Culinary Arts school and various programs so I thought I would write a little about their history and philosophy.

The school dates back to the end of the 19th century when a French journalist by the name of Marthe Distel started La Cuisiniere Cordon Blue, a weekly publication about cooking. She would ask famous chefs to offer up their recipes and teach their subscribers the art of French cooking by following along with the recipes and cooking tips. This cooking magazine continued for over 70 years and became one of the biggest French recipe collections in the world.

Marthe Distel realized her subscribers wanted more so she started live cooking classes for them. Now they had an opportunity to learn from the Chefs in person watching the chef’s every move. The first class was held on January 14, 1896 at the Palais Royal and the classes were an instant success.

As the reputation of the school grew, students from everywhere wanted to enroll. In 1897 they had their first Russian student and then in 1905 their first Japanese student. As the popularity grew, the demand for schools outside of France grew. In 1933, Rosemary Hume, a graduate of Le Cordon Bleu, opened a school in London.

After World War II, Le Cordon Bleu was accredited by the Pentagon for training GI’s in culinary arts after their tour of duty. One famous graduate from this program was former OSS member Julia Child who graduated in 1950 and we all know what she went on to create.

Growth & New Schools

The school continues to grow around the world especially in the United States. There are now 13 Le Cordon Bleu schools scattered around the US. You can see all of them at US Le Cordon Bleu Culinary Schools.

There are also Le Cordon Bleu schools in Australia, South Korea, Canada, Japan, and Peru with a school opening in Bangkok in this year and New Zealand in 2009.

Famous Alumni Chefs

Besides the 18,000 students who go to Le Cordon Bleu each year, there are a few famous chefs who have graduated. Did you know that besides Julia Child, Mario Batali, Bobby Flay, Nacy Silverton, Giada De Laurentiis and Ming Tsai are some of the many notable Le Cordon Bleu alumni?

So Where Does the Name Come From

Translated from French, Le Cordon Bleu means Blue Ribbon and comes from a group of elite knights who called themselves L’Ordre des Chevaliers d’Saint Espirit  or The Order of the Holy Spirit who wore a sash of blue ribbon to let everyone know who they were. They would throw huge dinner parties where nothing was too good for them and over time, the term Cordon Bleu was associated with anyone who excelled in their individual field. Who hasn’t heard of a “blue ribbon” award? In France, the term became associated with top chefs and has become the symbol of excellence at Le Cordon Bleu. 

If you are interested in learn more about any of the Le Cordon Bleu schools in the US, please visit my Le Cordon Bleu web page. Click on a school, read about it and if you would like a representative from the school to contact you to answer questions or send you an application, just click on the “For More Free School Info” button.
 

In my last blog, Chocolate Fudge Cake, I mentioned Chef Terrell Garrett who sent me the recipe as part of my Ask A Chef feature but I forgot to introduce him.

Chef Garrett wrote me and said he was “now retired and would be willing to provide my expertise.”  When he told me about his background and that his first career for 26 years was in hospital administration, just like my wife, how could I not accept his help.

After his first career, he “”immediately enrolled in a culinary degree program at one of The Art Institute School in Houston, TX. Upon graduating, Terrell was offered a job at the Brownstone, a very upscale restaurant where he worked for 2 ½ years. After that, he became the Executive Chef and GM at Marathon Oil Company’s headquarters.

I’m not sure how long he worked there, but when he left to go back to his wife’s hometown of Tell City, Indiana, he became the executive chef at one of the local country clubs where he stayed for 3 ½ years until a back injury forced him to retire.

So I am thrilled to have Chef Garrett around to teach you and me a thing or two that will help us become better cooks. If you want to learn more about Chef Garrett and read his interview, just go to Interview with Chef Terrell Garrett.

Many of you write to me about going to culinary school or cooking classes in your area of the country and I have posted several culinary arts programs and restaurant management schools by state and city on my web site. There is also a new Culinary School Resource Center that has culinary school articles, cookbooks to read and a links to some great culinary schools.

Posting the local cooking classes would be much more difficult  because there are so many of them and they are often just temporary adult education classes. I did write about how you can find great cooking classes in your area in my blog, Finding Local Cooking Classes.  The article explains where to find local classes that my be just what you are looking for.

Every once in a while I’ll be posting career culinary schools and local cooking classes that catch my attention or I’ve just added to my web site. The one I’m writing about today is The Institute of Culinary Education but I remember it as Peter Kemp’s New York Cooking School.

I’m familiar with it because when I lived in New York City I had a temporary roommate who was going to school there to become a professional cook. She was in New York City just to go to this school. I can remember how exhausted she was everyday after a working hard at the school only to have to study and practice for the next day. I lost track of Max but I’m sure she is somewhere working as a successful chef. She was very determined to do well in school.

Peter Kump founded the school back in 1975. He was an educator who loved to cook and started the school with just 5 students in his small Upper West Side apartment kitchen.  The New York Times wrote an article about his tiny school and the rest is history.

Who Taught Peter Kump How to Cook?

According to their web site, Mr Kump learned from some of the best including James Beard, Marcella Hazan, Simone Beck and Diana Kennedy. They all came back later to help teach at his school along with some other notables like Julia Child, Sara Moulton and David Boulet who were frequent guest lecturers and instructors.

The school continued to grow and in 1995 was acquired by Elm View Culinary Enterprises. They changed the name to The Institute of Culinary Education (ICE). Now the school is huge in both space and reputation. They not only teach classes for individuals thinking of becoming professional chefs, they have hundreds of recreational courses on cooking, baking, wine, cooking for kids, international cuisines plus dozens more.

If you would like to read more about the school’s professional programs, visit The Institute of Culinary Education. There are some more details about the courses they offer plus a link to a form for more information and the opportunity to speak with someone from the school about signing up.