The world’s leading culinary school, Le Cordon Bleu, celebrated its 120th anniversary yesterday during a gastronomical journey through time.
The cookery school on Bloomsbury Square was turned into an exhibition giving visitors a walk through the timeline of the school.
Starting at the origins of French cuisine and the impacts it had on society, through to a special re-creation of the first cookery demonstration that took place 120 years ago, the tour lead visitors through the school, every floor bringing them closer to the end of the timeline.
The 2nd floor welcomed the arrival of international students during the 20th century with Room Julia Child. Peaking duck, pork and prawn gyoza dumplings, Tom Yam soup and mango pavlova were just a few of the Japanese style tasters on offer.
The next floor gave an insight to new trends and modern techniques that Le Cordon Bleu have introduced within their courses. Dishes such as crispy sous-vide monkfish cheeks, mozzarella spheres with textures of tomato and bazil and a non-melting caramelised crème brulee ice cream which could withstand temperatures of up to 90’C were available to show off the chef’s new skills.
Arriving on the fourth floor, the evening flowed into a concluding speech by Mr André Cointreau, President of Le cordon Bleu, about his vision for the future.
The first culinary school opened its doors on October 15th, 1895. The small Parisian cookery school has grown tremendously since then, opening 40 schools in 20 countries including Japan, Peru, Korea and New Zealand, training students of over 70 different nationalities every year.
In 1953, the school’s credibility was confirmed during Queen Elizabeth II’s Coronation, as the school took charge of preparing the Coronation Luncheon; consisting of ‘Poulet Reine Elisabeth’ (Coronation Chicken), Truite en gelee, sauce verte (Trout in jelly with green sauce) and Boite de fraise Reine Elisabeth (Strawberry galette), which were re-created for the evening’s culinary journey.
André Cointreau has been president and CEO of Le Cordon Bleu since 1984. During the time that he has held this position, he has encouraged worldwide growth, and believes that the success of the school depends on leaving an international footprint.
"During my 30 years of presidency we have grown to 50 schools in 20 countries, on all continents. We have Bachelors and Masters in Hospitality, Restaurant and Culinary Arts Management in more than 10 universities. We are an institution training and educating in the Gastronomy and Hospitality world which are 8% of the jobs of the planet. Our students are particularly successful year after year and shine. The success of our students makes the reputation of Le Cordon Bleu."
"We do not cut corners. We have a team of chefs which I believe no other institutions can match. They are all full time and leaders of their industry. The academic materials are exceptional with an investment of several millions each year only to improve content, including e-learning. Our students are the super motivated of their generation and their passion is a strong part of the reason of the overall success. It is a fantastic life long lasting friendship for all. Our state-of-the-art schools across the world are in superb locations with the latest equipment that will prepare students for all the future trends and techniques." André continued.
Le Cordon Bleu regularly update the academic programmes on offer in order to keep up with the needs of the hospitality services. In 2014, Le Cordon Bleu London created a Diploma in Culinary Management to meet the demands of the industry. The Diploma enables those with an external culinary qualification, or a Le Cordon Bleu diploma, to practice advanced cooking techniques alongside a range of restaurant and hospitality management skills.
Culinary Arts Director at Le Cordon Bleu London, Alan Swinson said: “The last five years has seen a surge in the number of people looking to carve out a career in the restaurant industry – we have seen this term on term with increased registrations at the school. As the standard of cooking in the UK improves, the demand to excel in the industry has also grown. Our students are now looking to achieve the best qualifications in cooking and management, and this new diploma in Culinary Management will give them the best start into what promises to be an exciting and rewarding career.”
Additionally, Le Cordon Bleu offers a Diploma in Wine, Gastronomy and Management. The course was created by one of around 200 Mater Sommeliers in the world, Matthieu Longuere, who said: “The introduction of this course comes at a time when interest in wine has peaked across the UK. The beauty of the teaching is that students gain a real industry insight, building a knowledge base which encompasses so many of the skills they will require on entering the professional world of wine.”
The school is now looking on to new ventures, opening schools in schools in Shanghai and Brazil, and a new school in Paris which is due to open next year.
by Katie Pathiaki
