Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts in Los Angeles

Thank goodness the Le Cordon Bleu schools in N. America are going to be shut down. It’s about time… the schools have been operating on fraud for too long.

Had a fantastic day cooking ramen at the Bleu Ribbon Kitchen today! Our chef was fun, the sous chefs were helpful, the kitchen was fully equipped, and the ramen was delicious! And to think that I cooked it all myself!
My friend purchased an online deal for this class. It was absolutely worth it! We spent half the day preparing three different ramen stocks and then garnishing our ramen. We even learned to make the perfect soft boiled egg. The best part was that I was able to enjoy my Miso ramen immediately, and then take the other two home!
Great few hours of fun!

Went to a Saturday class. .Thai cooking with chef Aguayo ¹⁄₂₃ and had a great time. Fun class, great recipes, wonderful support staff to clean and assist. They have fresh cookies at the morning break and by lunch you have made a great meal that is ready to eat.

I went to this school at the end of 01′ — 02′ when it was the California School of Culinary Arts. This was when they only offered one degree. My dream was to be a chef from the time I was a little girl. I chose this school because at the time it was rated a good culinary school. The reviews were wrong and I definitely regret going there. The education wasn’t bad but I knew a lot of the cooking techniques before going in. It was the fact that the recruiters promised me that i would have a great job right after I got out and I would be able to pay off my student loans in no time. That was a crock of shit.
I couldnt get a higher paying job after I graduated in the restaurant industry because people were doing the same job for cheaper. I had to get an admin job in a regular office which is what I have been doing for the last 12 years. After graduating cooking school, I never worked in a restaurant kitchen again. I did some personal chef and catering jobs but thats about it. Now I am a stay at home mom and my husband is in the Navy. Forgot to mention that I met my husband in culinary school so now we have double student loans because of the school. Also, another side note: about 3 months after I graduated, one of the companies that had my student loans, the big student loan, started calling me and hounding me for their money. They wanted me to pay $ 50K in 3 days and I told them that I was 21 with a crappy job and I could barely afford the payments, they threatened me and I got scared so I had to file bankruptcy. Somehow, it got covered and it got wiped away but I still have a good amount of loans left.
They sucker you in and promise the dream job of a lifetime. They lie and are scammers and I hope they close because this school is a waste of time. You cant even transfer credits from this school. I should have gone to a community college that offers culinary degrees. it would have been so much easier financially.

This review is for their «Bleu Ribbon Kitchen» — cooking classes offered by Le Cordon Bleu.
I am an embarrassment of a cook. Luckily, the man who wants to marry me is fully aware of this fact and still proposed so I think I’m already ahead. Anyways, I always thought it would be fun to take a cooking class together so I can work on feeling more confident about my cooking and cooking is great life skill to have. Travelzoo had a great deal for $ 60 for $ 125 value for any classes so I picked up 2.
Beware: if you are a complete noob in the kitchen — this class is most likely not for you. These workshops are NO JOKE — they are all day (9am-​3pm) and you make multiple dishes with just basic supervision (cooking demo by the instructor first and then culinary students that assist when you are making the dish). There seems to be an underlying assumption you already have basic knife skills, is versed in food safety, etc… You do get the recipes printed out for you but there seems to be a time crunch and in a class of 15, you don’t want to be the one holding everyone up.
We took the «Chicken Butchery & Cooking Class» and learned how to make — Perfect Roast Chicken, Pan-​Roasted Chicken Breast with White Wine-​Butter Sauce, Basic Chicken Stock and Braised Chicken Cacciatore. And by «learned», I mean stressed out and constantly worried about food contamination with raw chicken. If you are a cooking noob and really want to take this class, it is better to come with a partner that feels comfortable in the kitchen so you can get some 1 – 1 assistance if need be.
The class still gets 5 stars because:
— They take care of the most annoying part of cooking: everything is prepped for you beforehand and they take care of all the dishes/​clean up
— I think for someone who actually has basic cooking skills, this is a great class to pick up new tricks and learn some new dishes.
— You get so much food to take home! We each got 2 full chickens to go.
To bring: a pen (to take notes during the demo) and snacks (they provide some, but you don’t get to taste anything until 12−1pm and you’ve already been on your feet all day)
To wear: comfy (close toed) shoes is a must and clothes you don’t mind getting dirty/​food on (probably short sleeves). Hair tie if you have long hair.
Parking: follow their directions to their lot — it was free on Saturday morning, but YMMV

Their open houses are fun and informative and everyone is so welcoming and kind ! :) they made some delicious Blondies, Brownies, and Cheese Croissants ! There were apple juice and OJ as well yumm !

Went to the cooking school held on Saturdays for non-​students. Had a great experience taking the gluten free class. The chef (female; can’t remember her name) was great! She shared lots of culinary tid bits, was great in answering questions and the demo was educational. I wish she would have said at the beginning of class the way the day would run, such as she does the demo and then we go do it as a hands-​on experience. Wasn’t sure how much of hands on we’d be doing otherwise I would have paid more attention to her demo. :) I caught on after the first demo, however.
The only reason I gave it a three stars instead of a five is because several of us saw ants on the counter where we assembled our hands-​on from the demo, and that kind of grossed us out and was worried if our food had been contaminated by ants at one point during the day. Ew. For a well known cooking school I expected a higher standard of cleanliness. Again, had I not experienced this lack of standard, I would have rated five stars.
I highly recommend attending a class here. Looks like there’s lot of other classes that I would be interested in if they would only raise their standards in cleanliness.

My wife and I went to a Saturday class this past weekend and had a blast!!! Chef Patricia Gardner was funny and talented and very helpful. We learned a lot about French cooking. We made Frisée Salad with Bacon Vinaigrette, Roast Chicken with Lemon-​Thyme Butter, Duchess Potatoes, and Crème Brûlée. We went with friends and I thought it would be 90% socializing and 10% work, but it was the other way around. Lol. We were there from 8:30am until 3pm. Also at the end of the class we had about 25 minutes if we wanted to stay and eat the meal we had prepared. We chose to stay and eat, but everyone else in the class just packed theirs up to go. So don’t be afraid to stay and eat your meal if you’re finished in enough time to do so. The sous chefs were a great help as well with minor questions and getting you utensils and such. The chef was approachable and more than willing to give you pointers and individual attention when needed. There’s a different theme every Saturday, so you can pick what you want to work on and go that day. It was my first cooking class and a wonderful experience and I cannot wait to go back again.

This is for the Bleu Ribbon Kitchen 1 day Saturday workshop. We had a groupon and signed up for the «Brunch in Paris» and the «Steak Frites» workshops. Compared to a few other cooking classes that I have done elsewhere where it is more of a demonstration, this was the real deal. You are in a commercial kitchen with an individual prep station and full size commercial stove for each person. The class starts with a demonstration by the chef of each menu item and then you get to cook everything yourself. Te chef and his students come around and help you, but you really get to learn by doing. Best of all, the students do all the clean up! Our chef was Jeremiah Cone for the first class and David Baker for the second class. They were both great. I learned a lot and they made the classes fun. I’ve already signed up for two more classes.

I am currently enrolled in the A.O.S Patisserie & Baking degree at LCBLA. Thus far, every Chef that I have had has explained production in detail, helped in the kitchen and answered every question I have had. This is a French cooking school so of course you’re learning French methods. Not everything you learn in your program will be used in YOUR daily kitchen routine. Some Chefs ask us what we want to learn and when we have extra time we have free production time to practice it. I like everything about my lab production. The only thing that bothers me are some admissions reps. Some can answer every question, while others beat around the bush. This campus is one of the largest in the North American LCB program with about 16 kitchen labs. The campus is pretty big and nice. The technique restaurant has a new Chef and the food they have been serving is amazing!

On Saturdays, they have classes for regular people who would like to learn how to cook. For pleasure, not a degree.
Original price per class is $ 125 but now selling for $ 59 on
.
The class is from 9−3pm. The food you are bringing home are way more than $ 59!
Baking Head Coach is our instructor. We are making «Italian Desserts» (Hazelnut Cake, Tiramisu, Orange Biscotti and Cannoli.
After roll called in the lobby and divided into 3 class (15 students per class), each chef would lead the class to their kitchen. Every student receives an apron and chef hat. There prepare soda, water and pastry for breakfast.
The chef started to demonstrate how to prepare ALL desserts in 90 minutes. YES, please pay attention to all the steps during the demonstrations because you are going to make them yourself on your own stations. It is better you have some cooking experience or concept because you are on your own most of the time.
Chef and 3 other student assistants are there to answer your questions. It got a little bit overwhelmed because after chef demonstrated the last dessert… I couldn’t really remember how to make the first dessert? Oops~
It will be nice to come with another friend or family so you can help out each other. They do give each student pages of recipes but it got tense with so many people in the kitchen and also time limitation.
Around 1:30pm, they prepare lunch for all of us, salad, grilled chicken and cannoli for dessert.
They also prepare bags and boxes for you to bring home the food you prepare. Very thoughtful!
It is a wonderful experience! Totally hands on experience. Not only learn how to multi-​tasking and also time management. Definitely will go back for other classes! Not sure how long Travelzoo will have this awesome deal~ But the vouchers are expired on 2÷1÷2016. Now they have all the class schedule till end of Saturday. They have have Saturday classes.
The Parking: On their website, it says $ 5 on Saturdays but very lucky the Saturday I went no charge.

Awesome food. Great service. Chef Dean and his students are wonderful. Food was great. Service excellent and the presentation was memorable. You have got to try the Honey Pie. Oh my goodness the best ever.

***UPDATED**
Where’s the zero star button? Ok. I wanted to have a comparison before I wrote my review. Now that I am in my second semester at a Community College, having my education paid for, I now have something to compare the crap that Le Cordon Bleu offers.
I work for a C.I.A. grad Chef and have achieved this not from my one term at LCB but sheer drive and passion. I’ve interviewed with over 30 Chefs in Southern California and as soon as I mention going to LCB Pasadena the groans and laughter ensues.
First and foremost, Chris H. hit the nail on the head in his review but left out a couple of key things. You will not JUST be spending the $ 19,000 for the certificate or the $ 47,000 for the so called degree (more on that later). You forgot to add interest. Your $ 19,000 is more like a $ 30,000 certificate and the other thing is more like a $ 70,000 piece of paper.
Now, cmon people. Learn about advertising and marketing. These schools are focused on one thing and that’s making money. The administrative part does not «kinda suck» as Tina C puts it, it’s atrocious! How bout offering a LRC (library) where I can study without admin walking through engaging in loud, obnoxious conversations? News flash. libraries and learning centers are supposed to be QUIET! Keep the noise in the kitchen. After attending one term I decided to take some time off. My «student adviser» had no idea about what was going on until 2 days before the next term was to start and I was listed as unenrolled. When I was still considering reapplying and starting the next term I had issues as far as driving to the school to sign paperwork so I asked the lady, Betty, to email me the docs and she gave me an attitude and declined to do so saying I must reenroll in person. Really? I was driving an hour and a half to get to school! I was willing to give them money. Stupid me. Another thing. since I lived so far I was getting no help in job leads as they were for LA area only. I contacted their job placement office and was told to look on CRAIGSLIST! WTF?! Im paying you how much money and you cant sit down with me and help me with local job placement? Needless to say I didn’t need this crap school to help after all. I saw the «Chef’s» that would be teaching the courses further down the road and they were younger than 35, have never been executive chefs and were ex-​students. Your so called «degree» would need to have Gen Ed courses. I heard about a Psych course being taught by someone who had no Psych degree. There’s a reason this place has high turnover in Chef/​Instructors and they have to hire ex-​students! Cmon people! Do your research and don’t be bought by a sales pitch!
Another thing. I was constantly surrounded by students who would show up and immediately start talking in class and disrespecting the Chef/​Instructors. I dont know if LCB has rules on discipline but the instructor/​chefs would constantly stop class and not really do anything about this. When I complained about my time being wasted by these loud mouth kids to admin I was told «these are kids from High School. it’s normal). Oh really? I have not had one interruption in my current school in 2 semesters. Must just be an intercity L.A. thing.
Like Chris H said. look into a community college (OCC and Saddleback are two I know of) and have your education paid for by Pell Grants and BOG fee waivers! Chef’s all over SoCal are impressed by their curriculum’s and you get 5 hrs of class time. only 1 – 2 of which is lecture. Also, you get waaaay more hands on. You don’t get state of the art expensive kitchens but hey. your $ 70,000 has to go somewhere!
Go on interviews and ask Chef’s if they would look at you any different if you went to this school or a community college. (Don’t even think about the Art Institute. they’re as bad as Le Cordon). Every chef will answer that what they truly look at if you go to any school is the fact that you put in an effort to further your education and some will ask about your attendance. If I could sue for the $ 2400 I spent I would but oh well. I’ll just write this review and hope I save someone else’s time and money.
PS If I were someone at Le Cordon Id be reading reviews and trying to rectify problems. so if by chance they do. STOP CALLING ME TO REENROLL YOU IDIOTS! haha

This school is a total joke! A waste of time and money! No one here cares about teaching all they want is your money! Wish I didn’t attend here. Save your money!

Really surprised at all the bad reviews. The chefs here rock! They know their shit. And they care. Seriously, I’ve cooked my whole life, owned & worked in restaurants, worked street fairs, events, catered large parties, etc. Plus I’m a major foodie. And… I learned a lot! I thought I knew a lot until going here. Yea, the administrative part of LCB kinda sucks but that should in no way reflect in rating the education you get from attending the program. It’s very educational, fast paced/​challenging, covers a lot, hard but fun, they encourage creativity, plus you eat everything you make and always take stuff home. If you’re curious, go observe a class! Don’t let the administrative red tape or these bad reviews discourage you. I’m a firm believer that you get out of an education what you put into it.

This is a very honest review from someone who has been a cook for 14 years and attended their program briefly. If you are doing this to get a job in the kitchen this is the worst mistake possible. If you are doing this to learn the basics of cooking for your interests it’s almost worth it.
WORKERS: You understand you are going to be $ 20k+ in debt to get a $ 11.50/hr job. I currently work for a large company and all of the new hires do have culinary school education, but from community colleges that often gave fee wavers. The pay is sooo low in the business that any schooling should be on the job or free. The only way you’ll ever make a living wage is by being a manager or owner, both cases you’ll barely even be in the kitchen. You think Roy Choi still sweats his balls off in front of a flattop in one of his trucks?
CULINARY ENTHUSIASTS: You’ll be taught the basics of french dining. You’ll be given tools and product to work with. You can also learn everything they teach off youtube for free.
ME: I took a course there to see how it was. The first course was taught be a lady who use to run a LA middle school cafeteria. Lessons straight from the book and it was a basic Servsafe/​knife skills class. Second course was a soups class which the teacher was always up my ass. Total mean bitch who clearly was abused in the kitchen. I had already gone through that in my youth and wasn’t about to eat any shit again. I already had a cook job and am getting paid $ 20/​hr to run a section. So I dropped out with $ 1000 debt.
YOU: If you are doing this to get a job, don’t. There are plenty of CCs that often course covered by fee waver. In other words they have an AS in Culinary that they paid $ 0 for. Even then work experience tops education, depending on experience. Fast food doesn’t count. Granted, in this day and age I would never advise anyone to get into culinary. It’s a matter of years before the majority of jobs will be replaced by machines and factory products. Wages will keep getting further and further from living. Cheesecake factory hires for $ 9.50 right down the street from Le Cordon.
If you are doing this to learn about cooking, well you’ll pay for it but good luck to you.

Negative… negative. negative stars… if only they had a scale for negative stars!!! Where to start? Off the top of my head:
— Teachers running you out well before class time ends because the next class is coming in… so technically you are supposed to have a certain amount of cooking class… you have ½ because the next class comes in. (All Chefs).
You hardly get any cooking time, or to perfect your dish because they are pushing you out the door.
–Chefs, once they teach the demo. they are in the corner the rest of the cooking time FLIRTING with girls and chatting with visitors. You know that poster that shows a Chef standing next to you with a smile as you cook? Lies. (Chef Jones) When we had the timed mayonnaise test, he was in the corner with female visitors that he forgot he was even doing a test.
–Chefs so unprepared, then when you complain you are told «give him time, he is going through a rough patch at home.”(Female Chef Reyes told us that) Really 2 weeks of not being prepared? Did they give me a break when the school bill came in? No! I am paying 200. a day for another Chef to tell me to give him a break??? No.
–The food they teach is soooo outdated. Who makes stewed cabbage? Who makes rice pilaf?
–They put you in classes with people that have never held a knife in their hand! So your time is simply wasted if you have loads of experience.
–Loud, foul mouthed Chefs (one in particular) that interrupts your class, comes in cussing and cussing (a female chef too), thinking she is God’s gift to people.
–No actual help from the Chefs. Actually only 1 chef was truly wonderful, Chef Whitmore was simply the best, the rest? Horrible. I learned nothing, in fact I didn’t finish. I decided not to pay copious amounts of money when I learned more off YouTube.
–I am not the only complainer. They make you sign a waiver… «Promise not to sue.» What school makes you sign one of those???
–Student’s gathering outside class, stating how much they are disappointed in the Chefs and the school. The only reason some stay is because the schooling is free (military babies and wives that get the education free). Most people drop out and I can’t blame them
So horribly, horribly disappointed.

Do not go to LCB. You’ll wind up to get a bad reputation where you can hardly find a job. This is for profit school and one thing is that they don’t offer a bachelors program here. On the other hand, I went to LCB with my culinary academy, learning how to cook in the kitchen. One of the chef is «cool» of what people said. When I messed up my cooking, one of the chefs called me a bad name that I shouldn’t be in here. LCB ain’t the good school to choose. Go to LATTC, GCC, or better yet to another community college. Other schools have better reputation and willing to help students out. They say you can go to Disneyland for intern or extern but I wouldn’t suggest this place for experience. One thing is… don’t get fooled here. Not the best place to work in the food industry. Good luck, y’all.

**READ THIS BEFORE YOU ENROLL**
Le Cordon Bleu is a name… It’s a corporate machine churning out cooks as fast as possible. A school like this is much like an expensive ticket to working in a decent kitchen with little to no experience. Accept that fact, put a LOT of hard work into everyday, and you’ll excel.
Instructors range from worthless to pretty cool. If you have any chops whatsoever, you’ll love Trinidad Silva. He’s fucking hilarious, has a great breadth of knowledge, and is a pleasure to cook with. ((If you’re looking to kiss ass, he loves camping gear ESPECIALLY knives))
Where LCB truly fails is the actual pursuit of education. They give you the standard «lecture and lab,» but the extracurricular activities (including the «Skills Enhancement Lab») lack tremendously.
Part of the reason I chose LCB was the Skills Enhancement Lab. This was a place where you could hone your skills outside of class. «Simply tell them what you need: Chicken, Steak, Fish… And they’ll get it so you can practice.» I saw a fella cutting up a prime ribeye. Fucking amazing.
Upon my first term, I found out the truth: You want to practice protein, you get chicken. Shellfish? Shrimp. Fish? Snapper. Not bad, but not what was advertised. By my last term, Skills Lab was all but a waste of time. They were making you jump through stupid hoops, like being able to cut a perfect brunoise before you cook ANYTHING. This was simply designed to reduce the number of students cooking proteins in the lab.
LCB is a real shitstorm. if you’re SERIOUS about cooking, put six months in at a real kitchen and apply to Culinary Institute of America (CIA). CIA requires 6 months in a real kitchen for a reason… They are serious about their education. The hardest you’ll work at LCB is during your externship, where most of you will decide you can’t hack it and find work elsewhere.
**THE TRUTH.** People bitch about all sorts of stupid crap on Unilocal… Fees… Advertising. Whatever. The bottom line is: This is a corporation more concerned with churning out graduates than providing a QUALITY education. And have no fucking illusions; when you graduate, you are nothing more than a bottom-​of-​the-​line cook at best… But you WILL have a shot at working in a decent kitchen with nothing more than a degree from LCB. And THAT, in and of itself, might be worth the high price of admission (approx. $ 20K)

Do not go online and fill out for information. Since I signed up my cell phone has been ringing off the hook with sales calls from multiple colleges and other various sales calls. Either their security is not up to snuff or they are selling my information. Ha! I just got a call while I was writing this.