Mary F.
Yelp
I attended Le Cordon Bleu (Grand Diplôme program) for 9 months with the hope of learning the fundamentals of cooking, as I had no prior experience. Unfortunately, LCB does not cater to beginners, despite their claims that no experience is required. That simply isn't true!!
Classes moved at a relentless pace, leaving little room for actual instruction! Instead of focusing on techniques, we were always rushed and then told what we did wrong. This led to injuries, mistakes, and a lot of unnecessary frustration. If you're new to cooking, this environment is more overwhelming than educational.
It became clear that LCB is designed for those who want to work in high-pressure restaurant kitchens. But in my class of 16, only four students had that goal (and most classes had this same ratio). The rest of us were there to learn for personal enrichment, to open a restaurant/ café one day, or to explore culinary arts more deeply. Unfortunately, the program doesn't seem to acknowledge or support those paths.
My disappointment isn't with the instructors--(shout out to Chef Caals, Chef Yann, and Chef Hoel), who were excellent given the constraints they were under. The issue lies in the LCB system itself! The program feels more like a factory line (taking your money) than a school, pushing students through their machine, rather than investing in their growth!
For the cost and prestige, I expected much more. Le Cordon Bleu needs to rethink how it supports students who are genuinely there to learn, not just to survive the next service rush.