Officially Launches Culinary Arts Institute in Melbourne

On Wednesday 16th December Le Cordon Bleu celebrated the official launch of the new Culinary Arts Institute in Melbourne.

The Minister for Training and Skills, The Honourable Steve Herbert MP, as well as Chief Executive of Holmesglen, Mary Faraone, and Chair of the Holmesglen Board, Peter Lewinsky were joined by VIPs, media, industry and alumni to celebrate the launch of this significant partnership. Guests on the night included Hongju Jo, Consul General of the Korean Consulate General in Melbourne, Jean-François Enconnière, Victorian Representative of the Culinary Academy of France, Dale Prentice from the Australian Culinary Federation and Mark Wetherley from Les Toques Blanches as well as industry luminaries John Myers Owner of the two hatted restaurant Royal Mail Hotel, MasterChef Guest Judge and Le Cordon Bleu alumni Bernard Chu from Luxe Bite and Alejandro Saravia, Executive Chef of renowned Peruvian restaurant Pastuso.

The early evening launch, held at Philippe Mouchel’s culinary pop up concept Déjà vu, had a distinctly Francophile theme and was a celebration, not only of the partnership between Le Cordon Bleu and Melbourne’s Holmesglen Institute, which is also renowned for its dedication to vocational training, but also of Le Cordon Bleu’s 120 year anniversary in 2015.

Guests were treated to a 120 Year chocolate display prepared by Le Cordon Bleu Chef Teacher Karin Rechsteiner featuring Cointreau flavoured truffles. Individually crafted canapés were served from the open kitchen by the Chefs and Le Cordon Bleu students and Champagne flowed throughout the evening with a final toast following the speeches. Guest speaker on the night Minister Herbert declared “Le Cordon Bleu’s reputation as a quality culinary educator worldwide is second to none and it’s fantastic they have chosen to have a presence here in Melbourne.”

Mr Cointreau President of Le Cordon Bleu said

We have a long tradition in providing excellence in teaching the classics of cuisine, but now with a presence in more than 20 countries around the world, our culinary teaching reflects the internationalisation of culinary development around the world today. In this context we are very happy to be opening a new Le Cordon Bleu School in Melbourne, which is regarded as a leader in culinary and gastronomy excellence in Australia.

Le Cordon Bleu is recognised as a global leader for excellence in Culinary Arts education and Derrick Casey, COO of Le Cordon Bleu Australia, commented on the launch, “Melbourne is often referred to as the food capital of Australia, with an exceptional diversity of excellent restaurants, hotels, catering establishments and well-established food and beverage trails throughout Victoria, this reputation is well deserved.  With the continued growth of this sector of industry comes the challenge to maintain and continue to grow this reputation of excellence with well trained staff, thus the partnership with the internationally recognised education partner – Le Cordon Bleu.  We aim to provide the highest quality graduates and continuing professional development programs for industry, to assist in further developing the exciting food scene in Melbourne.”

The purpose-built, state-of-the-art facilities at the Holmesglen Moorabbin campus provide the highest level of culinary and hospitality education with the Melbourne location joining Sydney and Adelaide to expand one of Australia’s leading Culinary Arts institutes.

Le Cordon Bleu employees are highly qualified and experienced and, having taken on leadership roles in the hospitality industry for many years, have a deep understanding of the challenges faced when embarking on a career in this exciting and growing industry. With predictions that the tourism and hospitality sector will require an additional 123,000 workers by 2020, Australia is undergoing a rapid period of development in this sector.

Partnering with Holmesglen in Melbourne is another very exciting announcement with Mary Faraone, Chief Executive of Holmesglen declaring,

Holmesglen is excited about our new partnership with Le Cordon Bleu and is delighted to be working with such a world renowned brand to train the future hospitality professionals of Melbourne.

Applications are now being accepted for a range of Cuisine and Pâtisserie courses, including the prestigious Grand Diplôme, giving Australian and international students a unique opportunity to learn renowned and revered French techniques in Australia’s forward-thinking culinary capital. All graduates will leave with a world-renowned qualification that opens doors to an exciting, international career in gastronomy and hospitality.

Four courses are available at Le Cordon Bleu’s new Culinary Arts Institute in Melbourne:

• Diplôme de Cuisine – basic, intermediate and superior units in French culinary techniques to provide students with fundamental skills. Accompanied by a six month industry placement
• Diplôme de Pâtisserie – basic, intermediate and superior units in French patisserie techniques to provide students with fundamental skills. Accompanied by a six month industry placement
• Le Grand Diplôme – students must complete their Diplôme de Patisserie, Diplôme de Cuisine and a six month industry placement to be awarded this prestigious qualification
• Diplôme Avancé de Gestion Culinaire – an Advanced Diploma level qualification combining culinary and hospitality management units in Cuisine or Pâtisserie

For more information, please contact us.

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