Le Cordon Bleu Is Closing All US Schools
According to Career Education Corporation, the parent for-profit company that owns the Le Cordon Bleu brand, the school will no longer enroll new students and begin the task of closing down current operations.
The 16 US campuses are expected to remain open until September of 2017 for current students to finish their culinary training according to a release from CEC.
Why Is Le Cordon Bleu Closing These Schools?
Todd Nelson, president and chief executive officer of Career Education Corporation said, “New federal regulations make it difficult to project the future for career schools that have higher operating costs, such as culinary schools that require expensive commercial kitchens and ongoing food costs.
Despite our best efforts to find a new caretaker for these well-renowned culinary colleges, we could not reach an agreement that we believe was in the best interests of both our students and our stockholders.”
Alternatives
Although Le Cordon Bleu was considered one of the largest national and international culinary programs around, there are still many culinary, baking and hostility management programs available. We are very sorry to see this institution close and look forward to see if another organization enters the market to fill the void.
History of Le Cordon Bleu
Founded in 1895 in Paris after the successfully publication of la Cuisiniere Cordon Bleu by the French journalist Martha Distel. The publication was published over the next 70 years and is considered on of the largest recipe collections in the world. It helped codify French Cuisine and establish the guidelines and principles of the school named after it, Le Cordon Bleu.
From the beginning the school was a huge success. Legendary chefs, including Chef Henri-Paul Pellaprat, came to teach young students hoping to enter the demanding culinary world. The reputation of the school grew quickly and soon the became known about world-wide.
Chef Pellaprat, who was a student and personal friend of the most famous French chef, Auguste Escoffier, taught at Le Cordon Bleu for over 30 years. Here is where he wrote his famous, L'Art Culinaire, which sold over a million copies before the second world war. With the attention the school received it grew and evolved over the next few decades into one of the leading international culinary institutions in the world.
International Growth
In 1933, Rosemary Hume, a student of Pellaprat, opened a Le Cordon Bleu school in Victoria, London. The school was called L'Ecole du Petit Cordon Bleu. This was to be the start of an expansion of schools that would grow internationally with both fame and recognition. After the second World War and the liberation of Paris, Le Cordon Bleu was accredited by the United States Pentagon as a training facility for American soldiers after their tour of duty.
Julia Child, one of America's most famous chefs and former member of the OSS received her "toque at Le Cordon Bleu. Who can forget Julia's popular television show where she introduced French cooking to the United States.
Le Cordon Bleu continues its rapid expansion process, with courses in the culinary arts, restaurant management degrees and a Masters in Business Administration and more recently a Masters in Gastronomy. Academic alliances have been established as well as an extensive culinary product line and a wide range of publications for culinary professionals and enthusiasts.
Le Cordon Bleu Master Chefs share their knowledge with students from over 50 different nationalities whilst also maintaining close links with the culinary industry world-wide when they travel to participate in culinary festivals.
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