Le Cordon Bleu culinary school for Wellington

Wellington’s culinary star is about to burn even brighter - with one of the world’s most prestigious cooking schools opening a branch in the city centre late next year.

Le Cordon Bleu, the world’s biggest hospitality institution, already has 29 schools scattered around five continents, producing thousands of fine-dining graduates every year. The school predicts that it will attract at least 500 international students annually to Wellington.

Le Cordon Bleu vice president Rodger Griffiths said that the institute’s reputation will be the drawcard for culinary students from around the globe.

"For the student, the brand is so well recognised that normally it’s a passport to employment."

Capital taste
Positively Wellington Tourism chief executive David Perks says Le Cordon Bleu is a welcome and much-anticipated addition to the Wellington food scene.

"Le Cordon Bleu is one of the finest culinary institutions in the world and will really draw the eye of the world towards Wellington. Wellington has one of the best food and hospitality scenes in New Zealand and is tucked between two of the country’s finest wine regions.

"New Zealanders have been discovering this through the Visa Wellington on a Plate culinary festival, and Sydneysiders are currently getting a taste at the WLG pop-up restaurant in King’s Cross."

Premier culinary arts institute
Le Cordon Bleu describes itself as the ‘world’s premier culinary arts institute’, having churned out some of the best chefs in the world - including legendary US celebrity chef Julia Child, who attended the Paris school in the late 1940s.

The Wellington school is set to open in late 2011 or early 2012, and will be located at the Regent Centre in central Wellington. The school will have a restaurant staffed by students that is open to the public, a 100-seat lecture theatre, a training bar and seven kitchens.

Fees are expected to come in at just under NZ$10,000. The school’s kitchens will be led by a French head chef, with regular international guests visiting to teach courses.

Le Cordon Bleu is expected to contribute up to NZ$30 million a year to the Wellington economy.

Wellington chefs pop-up in Sydney
Wellington has an exciting and burgeoning food scene with a strong focus on fresh, seasonal ingredients cooked in innovative ways and with a Kiwi twist.

Some of Wellington’s top chefs have just banded together to set up WLG - a two-week, pop-up restaurant in Sydney’s King’s Cross, named after Wellington’s airline code. The chefs-in-residence represent four of Wellington’s best fine-dining establishments.

The restaurant showcases the best of food and wine in the region and opened last night (14.09.2010). More than 2000 of the 2500 seats for the event have been pre-sold, with a small number reserved for walk-ins.

Food and produce from Wellington and Marlborough were flown into Sydney for the event, including over 100kg of Cook Strait blue cod, 50kg of Mojo coffee, Whittaker’s chocolate and 180 cases of wine from Marlborough and the Wairarapa.

WLG will run from 14 - 26 September at Bayswater Rd, Kings Cross, Sydney and will be open for dinner from 6pm - 10pm. During the weekends, WLG will be transformed into a wine bar from 3pm onwards.

Background: Le Cordon Bleu

Le Cordon Bleu is one of the world’s oldest and most-respected schools of gastronomy, hospitality and management.

The name Le Cordon Bleu was coined in the 16th century by King Henry III - when he created 'L’ordre du Saint-Esprit' which was symbolised by a cross hung on a blue ribbon.

The culinary arts school Le Cordon Bleu was founded in Paris in 1895, and now has 29 international schools with 20,000 students on five continents. School tutors are master chefs from Michelin-star restaurants trained in both classic French cuisine and modern culinary innovation.