Le Cordon Bleu Melbourne celebrated with a stylish cocktail event at the luxury Langham Hotel, recognising its remarkable growth and honouring key staff with guests including Melbourne hotel & restaurant industry executives, food media, industry partners, La Chaine Rotisseurs, Le Cordon Bleu alumni & staff, and TV chef Adrian Richardson as host.

Greg O’Shea (Programme Manager, Le Cordon Bleu Melbourne) opened the event with a welcome address highlighting the rapid growth and achievements of Le Cordon Bleu Melbourne since commencing delivery of Le Cordon Bleu culinary arts programmes three years ago. Greg praised the staff involved in the institute’s achievements, introducing the chef instructors and industry engagement team pivotal to its success, saying:

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It's incredible to think that it started with just 15 students and about 6 key staff, now there are around 500 students enrolled and more than 65 staff.

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Reflecting on the value of our industry partnerships, he said: “LCB Melbourne relies heavily on industry partners to assist in providing placement opportunities for students. In turn, our industry partners benefit from access to our work-ready graduates who provide real staffing solutions for their workplace.” 



Guests enjoyed an hour of canapes and conversation, before MC Adrian Richardson (Good Chef Bad Chef) introduced the Le Cordon Bleu Q & A panel consisting of the Senior Chef Brigade headed by Tom Milligan (Australian Technical Director), Brad French (Head Cuisine Lecturer), and Karin Rechsteiner (Head Patisserie Lecturer).

Our expert panel was asked to reflect on topics ranging from the future of the industry, food trends, and personal highlights from their career journeys. 

Reflecting on the future of food

“Technology is the future, AI is moving into our world more and more, even taking care of everyday chores. We will be moving into a lot more plant-based menus, and with all the sustainability concerns we will be growing more vegetables and fruits and getting our protein from somewhere other than animals.” Tom Milligan

“I’d like to think there’ll always be a role for the farmer in being able to produce local food that actually tastes of the region. I’d like to think there’s still room for locally raised and grown food in the future.” Brad French

“I think TV chefs have impacted the way we look at ingredients and the way we actually eat. TV chefs have helped people understand what they’re eating - it has changed the whole industry.” Karin Rechsteiner

MC Adrian Richardson closed the evening by thanking guests for their lively engagement and their wider contribution to the success of Le Cordon Bleu Melbourne.