cordon blue cooking school.

Michael, I took one class back in 2009. I took the market walk and demo. I really enjoyed the market walk. We walked through a local market with a chef and an interpreter. The chef explained many of the customs and products at the market. After the walk, we went back and had lunch (which included some of the things they purchased at the market) which was followed by a demonstration of a 3-course meal. I did not enjoy the demo as much. We were provided a list of ingredients used in the meal but no instructions on preparation. That meant if you wanted the recipes, you had to take detailed notes which made it hard to focus on the demo. I was most disappointed that we did not even get to taste the things that were prepared (they made just one plate for each course and there were 20+ people in class so even with small bites, not everyone got to taste all 3 courses). I would take another class at Le Cordon Bleu, but I would make sure it was a participation class rather than a demo class. I also took 2 classes with cook'n with class (baking and a dinner class) and really enjoyed both. They are more geared towards novices, but both chefs were great and the food was excellent.

There's a book out about Le Cordon Bleu, by Kathleen Flinn, called "The Sharper Your Knife, The Less You Cry." It's a little too full of "life lessons" for my taste, but you do learn a lot about the school. What Laura described in her class is how they teach the regular students. There are no recipes-just ingredients and a demonstration of technique. We didn't take a class, but we did a college visit for my daughter who was considering culinary arts. Anyone have any suggestions on how to find a class that suits your own skill level? I'm trying hard to avoid being a snob, but I know someone who took a cooking class in Italy, and I'm not sure she even knows which end of the knife to use.

I've taken a lot of cooking classes and the skill level in both of the Paris classes wasn't really the issue ... I just would have enjoyed a participation class more. In the cook'n with class classes the instructors showed the technique and then we got a hands-on opportunity to try it out. However, the class was of the nature that they did not assume that the people had prior cooking experience. There were only 6 or 7 people in both of those classes, some with lots of experience and some with very little. In these classes, we cooked without recipes but since it was hands on you really got to pay full attention to what the instructor was doing. They emailed the recipes after the class. I think the Le Cordon Bleu demo class would have been a real disappointment for someone without cooking experience. What probably added to the challenge was that the chef would explain the technique in French and then the translator would repeat in English. In retrospect, I wish I had just watched and not bothered taking notes. LCB does have a number of participation classes; the one I took was not one of them. I mainly learned that classes are much more enjoyable when they include a participation component. I don't really remember the special carving technique that the LCB chef used to make the pretty zucchini and carrot shapes because I didn't get to try it out at the time. However, I do remember how to "laminate the dough" when preparing croissants because I got to do it in the hands-on class.

I just took one of the short classes (soups) at LCB a couple of weeks ago. It was somewhat of a disappointment. I felt it was too tourist oriented and we were just "playing" at being chefs (with very dull knives and faulty stoves by the way...) - lots of prep, little helpful information and a useless list of ingredients because, as noted by other posters, no time to write anything down. Yes, the chef was charming and yes, we all got an apron, a towel a pen and a certificate to prove we took a class at "the" Cordon Bleu... But! There are far better short cooking classes in Paris that are just as fun but that will actually give you something you can use when you get home to dazzle your friends with (you can always go to LCB and buy the apron!). I join in the suggestion that you look at Cook 'n with Class and that you also look at Promenades Gormande with Paule Caillat (www.promenadesgourmandes.com). I've taken classes at both and both were terrific (I still use their recipes all the time.) Happy Cooking!

Hi everyone. thanks for the great input. I'd hate to sign up for something and then find out there are better choices etc. I'm going to look at some of the ideas you all presented and will post back on what i decide. thanks much for all your input and assistance. michael