Home » Articles » Five Facts About Le Cordon Bleu Culinary School
Five Facts About Le Cordon Bleu Culinary School
Learn all about the famous Le Cordon Bleu culinary school.
History of Le Cordon Bleu Culinary School
Founded in Paris in 1895, Le Cordon Bleu culinary school occupies a unique place in the history of culinary arts as one of the oldest and most prestigious cooking schools in the world.
While you probably associate the name Le Cordon Bleu with rigorous training in the art of French haute cuisine, here are a few things you may not know about this elite French cooking school:
Five Facts About Le Cordon Bleu
Taking its name from a distinguished order of sixteenth-century French knights, who apparently wore blue sashes and were therefore popularly referred to as the "Cordon-bleus," Le Cordon Bleu culinary school is the only French cooking school that can claim to have been in operation for over 100 years.
The school was originally conceived as an "extra" for subscribers to founder Martha Diestel's popular cooking publication, La Cuisinière Cordon-bleu. Diestel invited master chefs to demonstrate cooking techniques in a series of classes for subscribers. The classes proved so popular that the school was soon established and quickly began attracting students from around the globe.
Le Cordon Bleu culinary school served as the set for the 1954 movie "Sabrina," in which Audrey Hepburn's character attends the famous French cooking school.
Julia Child trained at Le Cordon Bleu before going on to write her best-selling cookbook "Mastering the Art of French Cooking," which in turn led to the development of her legendary PBS cooking show "The French Chef." Following in Julia's footsteps, many of today's celebrity chefs, including Bobby Flay, Mario Batali, Giada DeLaurentis and Jamie Oliver also studied at Le Cordon Bleu.
While Le Cordon Bleu culinary school remains a Parisian icon, the school now operates 23 schools in 19 countries, offering classes in cities as diverse as London, Tokyo, New York, Ottawa and Sydney. According to the school's website, over 20,000 students from more than 70 countries now attend Le Cordon Bleu each year.
Explore Le Cordon Bleu Culinary Schools in the U.S.
