Made any new year’s resolutions yet? No? Well here’s some food for thought. Gastronomic standard setter, Le Cordon Bleu, is opening a new International Flagship Institute tomorrow in Bloomsbury Square with a new state-of-the-art school and café set to place London firmly on the map as the world’s new gastronomic capital.
The new flagship has capacity for up to 700 students (over twice that of the school’s current London location in Marylebone) and will offer a variety of new courses from professional diplomas in culinary management to short courses in food and wine.
It is also introducing a scholarship worth over £40,000, offering one young student of 16 to 19 years old the chance to take Le Cordon Bleu Grande Diplôme with all the £28,000 odd yearly fees and living costs paid for by the school.
The Cordon Bleu group was founded in Paris back in 1895 and has, since 1984, been owned by M. Andre Cointreau (scion of the boozy Cointreau and Remy-Martin families). It operates more than 40 schools in over 20 countries, annually training more than 20,000 students in culinary arts, hospitality and management.
But if you’re not ready to take up the challenge and sign up yourself, you can still get in on the action by checking out the new Café Le Cordon Bleu, opening on the 30th January alongside the school in a secluded courtyard behind Bloomsbury Square. This is the first time a London café has been opened under The prestigious Le Cordon Bleu name. You never know, a visit might just change your mind…
Opening 13 January 2012
Le Cordon Bleu London, 15 Bloomsbury Square, London, WC1
