Le Cordon Bleu London visits BBC Good Food Show 2016

It was another busy weekend for Le Cordon Bleu London as we took part in the BBC Good Food Show, at the Olympia in Kensington, West London. The event ran from Friday 11th to Sunday 13th November and saw lots of different stands selling everything from fine cheese and gooey brownies to premium utensils, cooking apps and even a Lexus!

There were many famous faces to be seen in and around the show, such as two Michelin-starred chefs Michael Roux Jr and Tom Kerridge, and one of the UK’s best known bakers, Paul Hollywood who judges on the hit series The Great British Bake Off. Our own Master Baker Dominique Moudart, who helped to develop our new Diplôme de Boulangerie, demonstrated how to make his beautiful Brioche Feuilletée on our own exclusive stage.

The Le Cordon Bleu Skills and Techniques stage was a very big feature of the show this year and proved to be really popular with the guests. As well as the boulangerie demonstration our renowned Teaching Chefs also lead demonstrations in cuisine, pâtisserie and nutrition, giving the audience a teaser of the techniques that are taught on our numerous programmes. The dishes included, a beautiful Bûche de Noël and a nutritious Prawn Ceviche.

Similar to our appearance at The Cake & Bake Show we had a masterclass stand where visitors were invited to experience a taster of life at Le Cordon Bleu London with a free half-an-hour session under the guidance of our expert Teaching Chefs. These classes alternated between making roses out of marzipan, doing brush embroidery on a decorative cookie, and turning vegetables, which is a classic French technique in which vegetables are turned to form exactly the same barrel shape and size. These sessions proved to be very popular as every session was fully booked and amassed great crowds.

Le Cordon Bleu London was a big part of the BBC Good Food Show this year as we also featured in the Tasting Theatre with our ticketed Masterclasses. Guests were treated to a session on pairing savoury choux buns with wine lead by Chef Colin Westal who teaches our cuisine courses, and our Wine Development Manager Matthieu Longuere MS, who developed our Diploma in Wine, Gastronomy and Management. The lucky guests were also given the recipes from the choux demonstration including Choux with Smoked Salmon, Cream Cheese and Sunflower Seeds, and Choux with Coronation Chicken and Nigella Seeds.

Over in the VIP lounge, guests who had paid for premium tickets, indulged in a series of activities that were exclusive to them. This included a thirty minute session in which they could ask our Master Pâtissier any pastry-related questions they had, and the guests also had the opportunity to participate in a piping skills workshop under the guidance of Chefs Julie Walsh, and Matthew Hodgett.

Overall the BBC Good Food Show was a big success for Le Cordon Bleu London and lots of fun. We were able to demonstrate our high standard of teaching and expertise to a new audience, through a combination of masterclasses, demonstrations and exclusive workshops.

So as we eagerly await the return of the event next year, why don’t you have a look at our range of courses so that you can brush up on your culinary skills just in time!