A Typical Lesson at Le Cordon Bleu
There are two kinds of lesson at Le Cordon Bleu…
The format of learning at LCB is that you have presentation/demonstration classes, followed by practical classes. They may not be on the same day, but sometimes they can be right after one another. Great notes are essential either way.
Demonstration lessons at Le Cordon Bleu:
These are where the chefs will go through either one, two or sometimes three recipes with you. The main thing you need for these lessons are your notebook, pencil case and your recipe folder.
Chefs each have their own style of presenting lessons, but one thing I learned is make sure to always pay attention. Anything you miss here, you are likely to miss on your practical, which is graded!
Everyone normally gathers before a lesson - watch out for “front row fighters” as I like to call them. Grown adults literally used to run to the front when the doors open…
Demonstration lessons will last around 2 to three hours. This sounds long but trust me, it flies by - there is so much to take down in your notes. The goal of your practical lesson will be to replicate as close as possible to what you saw in the demonstration. From the equipment you will need, down to the direction in which they move a bowl when folding, take everything down. If the practical wasn’t straight after the demonstration, I personally liked to go away and re-write my notes in a clearer way, and try to learn them as best I could. The less you have to look at your notes during a practical the better as there is very limited time and if you already know the steps it will go much more smoothly.
Practical Lessons at Le Cordon Bleu:
Practical lessons are the crux of how you learn at Le Cordon Bleu. For these you will need your full uniform (apron, hat, torchon etc. - see my post about uniform to learn tips on how to do this all correctly).
Each week, 4 people in each class will be dubbed team leaders (you will be given a rota for these). They will be responsible for sorting out the ingredients and getting out the correct equipment at the beginning of every lesson. You will need to be there 15 minutes early if you are a team leader.
Once you enter the classroom, the first thing to do is get out the equipment you will need for the class. You will have a list in your notes of exactly what you will need (well you should have a lost if you’ve made good notes!).
Be warned - people can be extremely competitive in practicals. Doing petty things to make sure they get ahead. Honestly the best advice I can give is to keep your cool, and keep it clean. A drop of water on your stove is enough to earn you a poorer grade. This also includes your uniform. If you find you are prone to a messy apron, wear two torchons, and switch them round before the end of the lesson so they look clean when you take your food up to be graded.