The birth of Le Cordon Bleu degree programs in Australia

Following on from Le Cordon Bleu’s international success as a vocational educator, Australia initiated the first Le Cordon Bleu Degree in 2000. The first Le Cordon Bleu Degree in Restaurant and Business Management was delivered at the Regency campus of Le Cordon Bleu with another, the Master of Gastronomy commenced in 2001 in partnership with the University of Adelaide. This qualification was the ‘brainchild’ of Mr Grahame Latham, former head of the Regency Hotel School and Founding Director of Le Cordon Bleu Australia, with the last intake of students occurring in 2009. It was the first full-time, on-campus, higher education gastronomy program in the world.

In 2001, Le Cordon Bleu Australia and the University of South Australia entered an agreement to deliver the Le Cordon Bleu MBA (International Hotel and Resort Management) and the Le Cordon Bleu  MBA (International Hospitality and Restaurant Business). These two Master Degrees were changed to the Le Cordon Bleu MBA (International Hotel and Restaurant Management) and the Le Cordon Bleu Master of International Hospitality Management in 2005.

Delivery of three new Le Cordon Bleu  undergraduate Degree qualifications commenced in 2004 in partnership with the University of South Australia and the Regency International Centre for Hospitality, Leisure and Food Studies (formerly the Regency Hotel School). These were the Le Cordon Bleu Bachelor of Business (International Hotel and Resort Management), the Le Cordon Bleu Bachelor of Business (Restaurant and Catering Management) and the Le Cordon Bleu Bachelor of Business (International Convention and Event Management).

These three Degree programs were restructured in 2008 to create the Le Cordon Bleu Bachelor of Business (International Hotel Management) and the Le Cordon Bleu Bachelor of Business (International Restaurant Management). Another two Le Cordon Bleu Degrees were added to the delivery contract with TAFESA and the University of South Australia in 2012. These were the Le Cordon Bleu Bachelor of Business (Food Entrepreneurship) and the Le Cordon Bleu Bachelor of Business Degree (Wine Entrepreneurship).

The creation of these Degree programs paved the way for a new focus on education for Le Cordon Bleu and provided further career pathways for graduates of the famous Le Cordon Bleu Classic Culinary and Patisserie programs around the world at that time. It was recognised that a large proportion of students in these programs had the ambition to open their own business and were often mature age career changers, providing a new target market opportunity for the growth of Le Cordon Bleu’s stable of programs.

To this day these Degrees remain as the strong foundation higher education programs for Le Cordon Bleu and are producing outstanding graduates in business.

Le Cordon Bleu Degree’s go global

In 2006 based on the Adelaide curriculum Anahuac University in Mexico City commenced the delivery of a new Le Cordon Bleu Degree the Mexico City Campus with many  other campuses of Anahuac University following.

Le Cordon Bleu now has 14 University Partnerships around the world delivering a range of Degree and masters programs in tourism, hospitality, culinary arts, gastronomy and related industry areas.

According to Derrick Casey COO of Le Cordon Bleu Australia

Le Cordon Bleu’s commitment to staying ahead of international trends in education will continue to evolve, and the Degree programs are considered an essential component in this strategy.

With change, innovation, and competitiveness in the global marketplace continuing to redefine and reshape economies at the local, national, and international level, employers and the current workforce are continuously challenged to learn and keep up with new knowledge and skills that will determine their success or failure in the knowledge economy.

Success in the industry is directly connected to the access to knowledge that businesses and professionals are able to integrate into business practice and with the world of business continuously evolving and people moving up the management ladder, there is an increasing need for students to update and enhance their skills and knowledge.

The goal in the future is to continue to expand the range of programs in the broad industry areas, as well as fields of human health and nutrition while increasing the number of Master programs in these areas.  Collaborative research across Le Cordon Bleu’s prime industry fields will also be an ongoing goal for knowledge gathering and engagement and this will continue through our partnerships with the growing number of international university partners across the world.

In 2016, delivery of two new qualifications - the Le Cordon Bleu Bachelor of Business (Tourism Management) and the Bachelor of Business (Convention and Event Management) will commence in Perth, Western Australia as the result of a partnership agreement between Le Cordon Bleu and the Central Institute of Technology.