Our Timeline

Le Cordon Bleu’s name (blue ribbon in French) and logo are a direct reference to the French order of knights founded in 1578 of the Holy Spirit or else known as Chevaliers du Saint Esprit, whose members wore a medal suspended on a blue ribbon. The feast that followed the Knighting ceremonies had a reputation for being very grand, and the food spectacular. Le Cordon Bleu school’s prestige in Paris in the early 20th century contributed to the expression of being a “Cordon Bleu”, meaning a talented chef. As Philéas Gilbert wrote in La revue culinaire in 1939,the lessons at Le Cordon Bleu symbolise culinary talent pushed towards utter perfection.

It all began in 1895, when journalist Marthe Distel founded the first weekly culinary magazine of the period, La Cuisinière Cordon Bleu. The magazine had 20,000 subscribers!

Marthe Distel rapidly came up with the idea of inviting subscribers to take part in free cuisine lessons, with Chefs demonstrating recipes. The magazine reflected the great French bourgeois cuisine of that era but also demonstrated an openness to world cuisines as it was published in several languages.

The first cuisine lessons were taught at Le Cordon Bleu school in Paris from 15th October 1895, and the international reputation of Le Cordon Bleu spread so rapidly that by 1927 the Daily Mail of London referred to the Cordon Bleu as a “Babel of Nationalities.”

1895 - French journalist Marthe Distel launches a culinary magazine entitled “La Cuisinière Cordon Bleu” in Paris. In October, subscribers are invited to the first Le Cordon Bleu cuisine lessons.

1897 - Le Cordon Bleu Paris welcomes its first Russian student.

1931 - Rosemary Hume and Dione Lucas, trained at Le Cordon Bleu Paris under the supervision of Chef Henri-Paul Pellaprat, open l’école du Petit Cordon Bleu and the Au Petit Cordon Bleu restaurant in London.

1942 - Dione Lucas opens a Le Cordon Bleu school and restaurant in New York. She is also the author of the best-seller The Cordon Bleu Cook Book and becomes the first woman to ever host a television cuisine show in the United States.

1954 - The success of the film Sabrina, starring Audrey Hepburn in the title role, contributes to the increasing fame of Le Cordon Bleu.

1991 - Le Cordon Bleu Japan opens its doors in Tokyo and then in Kobe. The institute is known as “Little France in Japan”.

2003 - The Le Cordon Bleu Peru institute expands and becomes the country’s leading culinary institute.

2006 - Le Cordon Bleu Thailand launches in partnership with Dusit International.

2011 - Le Cordon Bleu Madrid opens its doors in partnership with Francisco de Vitoria University. Le Cordon Bleu launches its first online programme in Australia.

2012 - Le Cordon Bleu Malaysia launches in partnership with Sunway University College, and Le Cordon Bleu New Zealand opens in Wellington.

2016 - Le Cordon Bleu Paris relocates to the banks of the Seine, building a breathtaking, innovative and eco-friendly institute.

2020 - Le Cordon Bleu celebrates 125 years in education and opens Signatures restaurant in Rio de Janeiro, Brasil. Le Cordon Bleu launches certified Online Higher Education Programmes.

2022 - CORD by Le Cordon Bleu restaurant and café open in Fleet Street, London. Le Cordon Bleu in Paris receives the award for Best Culinary Training Establishment in Europe and Best Culinary Training Establishment in the World at the World Culinary Awards in Dubai. In North America and Oceania, Le Cordon Bleu also received the prize for best culinary training establishment.