Michael Swamy
I am from Mumbai, India. I chose Le Cordon Bleu as it was the best place to learn culinary skills after graduating with a qualification in hotel management. I wanted to learn finishing techniques and hence I chose the school. I decided on the London campus as I had travelled to London before and really enjoyed it. Also I see London as a kind of culinary Mecca!
What I most enjoyed about the programme was the professionalism of the lecturers and chefs. They instilled in me a sense of perfection for the culinary arts and I liked the systematic manner of the course. I would advise any potential students to go to Le Cordon Bleu.
After graduating, I went to Kuwait and worked for Kuwait Airways for a year, before doing some travelling and heading back to India. I then worked on my own personal cookery book entitled The East Indian Kitchen and wrote cookbooks for various food clients. I then moved into the area of food media, food styling and photography which I have now been doing for the last 10 years. Currently, I head up the food team for Masterchef India and have now completed two seasons. I will also continue doing freelance food styling and writing on food related topics.
Pooja Dhingra
Pooja studied tourism at the Cesar Ritz Colleges in Switzerland before working at the Villa Toscana hotel and the Hôtel des Trois Couronnes before enrolling at Le Cordon Bleu Paris. She graduated with a Pastry Diploma in 2008, a real springboard for her future career.
After graduation, she returned to India where she opened Le 15Pâtisserie in Bombay. Le 15Pâtisserie is a French inspired pastry boutique. In her shop, Pooja combines the traditional French pastry techniques she learnt at Le Cordon Bleu Paris with ingredients that are easy to find in India. Le 15Pâtisserie’s menu has been commended in numerous Indian and International publications. Following the dazzling success of her boutique, Pooja has opened two other similar boutiques in Bombay.
In 2013, Pooja launched Studio Fifteen, a studio where Chefs, pastry Chefs and bloggers regularly give culinary demonstrations.
She has also written a book, Big Book of Treats, which includes a huge variety of desserts, which, whether classic or original, are easy and accessible.
When we asked for her thoughts on her time at Le Cordon Bleu Paris, she answered: “Le Cordon Bleu gave me the perfect training to enable me to work in a professional kitchen. I will always cherish what I learnt from the Chefs at the school".
Janice Wong
Janice Wong studied economics and finance in Melbourne, Australia before following her childhood passion: pastry. She enrolled at Le Cordon Bleu Paris and graduated with a pastry diploma in 2006. It was a real springboard to become a Pastry Chef.
After graduating, Janice Wong developed and perfected her pastry skills with talented Chefs in several restaurants in Paris, New York, Chicago, Madrid, Barcelona, San Sebastian and Majorca.
In 2007, she opened the 2am dessertbar restaurant, a dessert-focused restaurant, to highlight the desserts at the end of a meal. She redefined desserts, combining French classic techniques acquired at Le Cordon Bleu Paris and in some of the top kitchens, with Asian ingredients.
In 2013 and 2014, Janice Wong was awarded the Asia’s Best Pastry Chef by “Asia's 50 Best Restaurants”, organized by Restaurant magazine.
Michael Greenwold
Michael Greenwold graduated in English literature from Exeter University, in England, before deciding to focus his career on the world of cuisine. He arrived in Paris in 2008 to follow the Le Cordon Bleu Grand Diploma.
Following graduation, Michael worked at The Churchill Arms in Paxford, England. He then returned to Paris, improving his skills at Chateaubriand, at La Gazzetta, then at Passage.
In 2011, he gave a culinary demonstration as part of the Omnivore Festival in Moscow. In 2012, Michael, with his friend Simone Tondo, decided to open Roseval restaurant in the 20th arrondissement in Paris which, in a very short space of time, was awarded the Prix Fooding de la meilleure table 2013.
Michael opened a second restaurant in Paris in July 2013, The Sunken Chip, based on Fish & Chips. Using fresh and top quality ingredients, he makes authentic versions of this classic English dish. The Sunken Chip also found rapid success and awarded the Prix du meilleur lèche doigts 2014 by Fooding.
Michael currently divides his time between his two restaurants and envisages new professional projects in the future which combine good taste, bistro-style and his Anglo-Saxon roots.
Chef Sunshine
Chef Sunshine (Sanchayita Bhattacharjee Alam). I am from Kolkata, the capital of the state of West Bengal in India.
I come from a strictly academic background and was doing my Doctorate in International Relations when my lifelong passion for food finally won through and lead me to take the leap into the culinary world. As this was such a huge step for me, I chose to attend Le Cordon Bleu because it is the most authentic institution in the world, only ever teaching meticulously recorded, traditional techniques. I was thrilled with my training.
My French not being so fluent, I chose the London school. Another vital reason was that as the training here is mainly in English, students can work with a cross-section of some of the most brilliant teachers that any institution can boast. What I most enjoyed while studying for my Le Grand Diplôme in Cuisine and Pâtissiere was the intensity with which knowledge was imparted, with no shortcuts. My training also gave me so much confidence in the real world of food preparation
I now run my own Indian cuisine restaurant in Kolkata - authentic Indian food preparation mirrors the intensive French techniques in many ways - called The Restaurant on the First Floor. I also regularly teach classes on continental food preparation and ingredients for my students here. The thoroughness of my training at Le Cordon Bleu has certainly stood me in good stead!
I recently published my first cookbook - Chef Sunshine's Travelling Flavours - a collection of recipes from The Mediterranean, Middle-East and Africa, designed for cooking in the Indian kitchen.
Le Cordon Bleu will be with me forever, particularly as the name Sunshine, which was given to me by the chefs at the school, has now become my working identity in the culinary world!
Why Le Cordon Bleu
The Top Reasons To Attend Le Cordon Bleu
Our Mission
Building on over a century of tradition and excellence, the Le Cordon Bleu network is committed to innovation and best practice in Gastronomy, Hospitality and Management and honours its commitments through an expanding international network of teaching, learning and research conducted in conjunction with the development of products and services. While being an independent entity, the Le Cordon Bleu network also works collaboratively with industry, training and university partners to ensure rigor, relevance and exemplary enterprise.
Surround Yourself with Traditions of Excellence
Le Cordon Bleu is considered by many to be the world’s premier culinary arts institute.
With over 120 years of teaching experience, Le Cordon Bleu network has remained committed to providing a solid foundation in best practices in Gastronomy, Hospitality and Management.
Graduates become part of a great tradition of excellence, with credentials that will set them apart from the competition in a demanding and changing environment.
Learn from our Distinguished Faculty
Over 80 Le Cordon Bleu chefs from the finest kitchens and Michelin-starred restaurants pass on their knowledge and experience daily to their students. Not just instructors, they are mentors providing lifelong inspiration and support to graduates.
The faculty at Le Cordon Bleu includes university professors, international personalities and specialists in the tourism and hospitality sectors.
Receive A World Class Education
Le Cordon Bleu also offers the most complete and comprehensive training in classic French culinary techniques available today, with many hands-on hours in teaching kitchens under the guidance of world class chefs.
Earn a Great Career
Each graduate leaves Le Cordon Bleu with the skills to launch an exciting career not only in the world’s leading restaurants, hotels or resorts, but also as a journalist, author, instructor, consultant or entrepreneur.
Be A Part of Our Alumni Network
Le Cordon Bleu programs start students on a journey that inspires excellence, creativity, innovation and personal enrichment allowing them to embark on to successful careers or personal pursuits.
Over the past 100 years, Le Cordon Bleu has produced many famous graduates, including Dione Lucas, Julia Child, Nancy Silverton, Nathalie Dupree, Eric and Bruce Bromberg, Allen Susser, James Peterson, Lydia Shire, Giada De Laurentiis, Gaston Acurio and Ming Tsai just to name a few.
Meets the Needs of Tomorrow’s Culinary and Hospitality Industry
Le Cordon Bleu courses are up-to-date and industry relevant. With innovation and new technologies, Le Cordon Bleu continually adapts its academic programs to the future needs of culinary, tourism and hospitality industries.
In “The Hundred-Foot Journey,” Hassan Kadam (Manish Dayal) is a culinary ingénue with the gastronomic equivalent of perfect pitch. Displaced from their native India, the Kadam family, led by Papa (Om Puri), settles in the quaint village of Saint-Antonin-Noble-Val in the south of France. Filled with charm, it is both picturesque and elegant – the ideal place to settle down and open an Indian restaurant, the Maison Mumbai. That is, until the chilly chef proprietress of Le Saule Pleureur, a Michelin starred, classical French restaurant run by Madame Mallory (Academy Award®-winner Helen Mirren), gets wind of it. Her icy protests against the new Indian restaurant a hundred feet from her own escalate to all out war between the two establishments – until Hassan’s passion for French haute cuisine and for Mme. Mallory’s enchanting sous chef, Marguerite (Charlotte Le Bon), combine with his mysteriously delicious talent to weave magic between their two cultures and imbue Saint-Antonin with the flavors of life that even Mme. Mallory cannot ignore. At first Mme. Mallory's culinary rival, she eventually recognizes Hassan's gift as a chef and takes him under her wing.
