Students come to Le Cordon Bleu New Zealand campus, located in the capital city of Wellington, from all over the world to learn the culinary arts.
We talked with students Sheila Kartopranoto and Eugeneous Evan (Known as Evan) who have come to study far from their home in Indonesia.

Why study at Le Cordon Bleu?

Evan: Le Cordon Bleu has been a very famous institute for a long time and its reputation is also very high, it's a very distinguished organization. And for me to be able to study here has been such an honour. And by studying here, I think it also gave me a lot of new perspective and ideas of how the culinary world actually is. And not only to teach me the basics, but there's a lot of like new aspects and elements that I never thought of. So yeah, it's actually really cool to be able to study in Le Cordon Bleu.

Shelia: I decided to study at Le Cordon Bleu because I heard it has a really good reputation and it has lots of schools all over the world. And I believe its longstanding reputation has been established for more than 125 years. So that's why I chose this school.

Why did you decide to study here in Wellington?

Evan: So there's a funny story, actually. My original plan was to study at Le Cordon Bleu Malaysia because when I was still in high school, there's only like 2-to-3 people that decided to pursue a career in culinary arts. And so I was already planning to go to Le Cordon Bleu Malaysia and my friend was originally planning to go here to Le Cordon Bleu New Zealand. But then I was still not sure if I really wanted to go to Malaysia and my friend who was going to go here was still not sure as well. So we trade information and we research everything. And guess what? I ended up going to New Zealand and my friend ended up going to Malaysia.

Shelia: I started coming to New Zealand back in 2017, and then I went back again in 2018. I went back again starting 2019. Basically, I really fell in love with the country and especially the nature. So if you like adventure or nature, you can always come here. And Wellington, it's not too crowded and the weather is quite nice. It's a perfect place to study, I think. The people are very nice, very friendly. And it's not as crowded as Auckland. I love Wellington more than any of the other cities in New Zealand.

How do you find studying with people from so many different cultures?

Evan: Oh, it's such a cool environment, it's such a cool experience as well because meeting new people from new countries has been quite a challenge for me. Because I'm a pretty shy and reserved person, but knowing that they also come from pretty much the same scenario as me from abroad. So we have these relatable stories that we can share. And then from there we can always build friendships and yeah, it's such a cool experience getting to know new cultures, meeting new friends, trying new foods.

Shelia: I met a couple of friends here from Hong Kong, from Taiwan, from Singapore and also from New Zealand itself, and also from China. I found it really interesting because, you know, food is a universal language, so it's really easy to make friends here. It's really awesome as well. We can just share our traditional food.

Do you feel supported by Staff?

Evan: Oh yeah, for sure. I mean, the chefs and staff has been super professional. They're very knowledgeable. Usually when we make mistakes during the practice class, they just know what's wrong with it. So instead of just forgetting about it, we actually learn hands on what we have to do and what we can improve for the next classes. Working with the chefs and staff has always been such a lovely experience.

Shelia: The reason why I love Le Cordon Bleu is because of the whole learning process, including the admission process. The admissions team is always helpful, and they really respond really quickly. And then for the teachers, of course, thank you to Chef Sebastian. He always pushes me to go beyond my limit. And then Chef Samantha, she’s always being so patient with me and also Chef Tony and Chef Evan as well. All of them, they are really amazing lecturers, very nice and very knowledgeable, and really good at what they're doing.

Would you recommend that others study here at Le Cordon Bleu New Zealand?

Evan: If you're really passionate about going to pursue a career in hospitality, I would say, Le Cordon Bleu is the place to go. And Wellington, it's very homey and lovely, the place here is very amazing. The food here is also very diverse and various, the people have been very nice. I would say it's one of the safest countries I've ever been to and one of the cleanest as well. If you want to go and try living in Wellington, I would say just go for it and yeah, just enjoy.

Shelia: If you guys love nature adventure, a laid-back city, and beautiful scenery. I would recommend to come to Le Cordon Bleu New Zealand as well, because it’s totally worth it, especially the learning process, the whole thing.

Find out more about studying here at Le Cordon Bleu New Zealand