Le Cordon Bleu

I heard they are closing the school down, i guess the federal goverment is cutting off the gravy $$ supply. The instructors will actually have get their chef coats dirty for the first time in years when they close this diploma mill.

Biggest waist of my money and time. Attended 2010 for my associates in pastry. I ended up dropping out when they kept adding bogus charges and trying to get me to sign additional loans.

Where do I start… This is a school for people that cannot get into a real University. When I started a LCB, I was lead to believe I’d be a Pastry Chef working in an industry that I love, wellll… Not so sure anymore this will happen.
The majority of the people attending the school spend their breaks smoking pot in the parking lot, come to school so nasty it appears they live on the streets.
I was impressed in the beginning with the strict adherence to the expectations… Clean uniform, proper shoes, all hair under your hat or you wear a hair net, etc. in the beginning students weren’t allowed in class without proper attire, however as time went on I realized the rules are only there to be used by Chef instructors to pick on the students they do not care for. Students come to school with gray non washed jackets, honestly if I walk into a restaurant and it appears the cooks haven’t bathed or washed clothes, I’m out!
There is absolutely no professionalism within the school, I worked in the Education office for a short time before I had to quit… Procedures would change overnight and I wouldn’t be told until I had done the work the old way. Executive Chefs would walk by not even saying good morning. I have 15 years of experience in the business industry but they would allow me to use my experience to bring the office out of the dark ages.
Here’s a question… When you start a new job your manager will introduce you to the team, show you where supplies are and assist you in getting ramped up in the new job, right? I mean that’s been my experience! On to the point, I start a new class… 80% of this class has been in this particular classroom before, the other 20% never had this instructor or the classroom. No student introductions, no instructions in where supplies are kept, and there is a clear division between the two groups! I can’t say that the Chef is purposely trying to put down the new 20% but I do know that he leaves instructions out. Now it’s possible that he assumes we are so smart we can get instruction through osmosis. However, when you start your project like decorating a cake and. The Chef comes by after you’ve started and tells you, oh, that pastry tip you are using is too big, scrape that off and start over with a smaller one. Why is this important bit of information not shared before we start? Or you put your cake in the oven with 40 others, they ensure their cake is done, all good, right? Until you go to take your cake out of the pan and its raw on the inside. Chef cones by and says «what happened here?» Uh duh, people aren’t checking the cakes before removing them from the oven. Instead of instructing the class to have respect for others and ensure all cakes are done, he says «looks like you’ll have you remake on Monday.»
I thought this was an upscale private school but now I realize it’s just a place for degenerate hood rats that don’t have the first clue on being professional and the instructors are Chefs not educators. There are a few instructors I have the utmost respect for, they try to ensure rules are being followed but when there are only a few, I’m sure it’s frustrating for them!
I will finish what I started but if you are thinking about LCB, look around a little more. Or just get into the industry and work your way up. Unfortunately, I will have spent close to $ 40,000 by the time I’m done, this doesn’t include the supplies I have to provide myself OR the interest on the loan. And the sad part is, I will only be able to find a job making $ 10.00 an hour with an Associates Degree and that 40 grand will be with me for the rest of my life.

I didn’t personally attend here but my brother did and he now has an amazing job at as the head chef of FANG and makes nearly 90k. It is true what people say, he had to work his butt off pulling all nighters in the kitchen, mastering recipes and techniques. Even then, after graduating he started as a line cook to earn his stripes but would not have been able to had he not attended this school, and mastered the curriculum… he wouldn’t have been able to prove himself upon entering the door. You get what you give in. There are no shortcuts to life.

I went to an open house here that rubbed me the wrong way. The admissions counselors felt like car salesmen who sat all the attendees down at computers after the tour to make you fill out a school application online. I asked why they wanted my social security # at an information session and they said its to begin the process. Then before leaving they asked me to sign my printed application! I refused, crossed out my entire SSN in plain sight on their application and walked out. Be careful, if not because of the commission-​style vulture tactics then the lack of information security. I read that the LCB name was bought by a private equity group a few years back and I guess this is the money-​focused result.

I just finished up here about 7 weeks ago with an Associates Degree in Pastry & Baking. The experiences I had in the kitchen classrooms were excellent; the academic classrooms were okay… My problem lies with the administration and the financial aid department.
I transferred here from LCB Las Vegas in February of 2013. That’s where my problems began. First, my credits didn’t transfer over because they never received my transcript, which I paid to have sent to them. When that got figured out, I somehow ended up in the class that I had just finished in Las Vegas, due to the incompetence of registar Pauline, which didn’t get figured out until the day I was supposed to start at 6am, and it turned out that the class I was supposed to be in didn’t start until 10am, so I got to wait around for a few hours.
The school has two campuses, one on Camelback and Hayden and one on Camelback and Scottsdale Rd, something that they didn’t bother to tell me until that morning.
Once I got settled into class, things went pretty smoothly. Chef Starkey was easily my favorite instructor. He’s funny, knowledgeable, and kind. I also really liked Chef Smoake. He’s very talented, although I think it goes to his head sometimes. Chef Vitelli was my second favorite instructor (I had him for my only culinary class there). Even though I was pastry student and he was a culinary instructor, he really liked me and always helped me out.
My academic classes were not the best. Myself and many others butted heads with Ms. Xifo, which I had for Math 101 and English Comp. She always had this «I’m better than you» thing about her as she would act pious and walk around with her nose turned up. There were many complaints about her. Dr. Adessa (Humanities) was severely boring and no one really knew what the assignments were supposed to be or how they were supposed to be done. He got sick halfway through my class and we got stuck with Xifo. Dr. Rogers-​Backus (Social Psychology, Writing Fundamentals) was kind and liked to get the class talking, but we spent most of the class going over homework and going off on tangents rather than learning much from the book. Nutrition with Starkey was awesome. Cost Control and purchasing with Chef Songin was tereible. All he did was read directly from the book and quiz us on it; no one did very well.
I completed my externship without any hiccups.
The biggest issue I have had is with the financial aid department. They mistakenly overcharged me on my last payment by $ 385. I asked the head financial aid lady, Amy, about it and first she told me that my account would be audited and I would be refunded with a check in 2 – 3 weeks; I waited a month and nothing came in the mail. I emailed Amy again and she told me that I would be refunded on the debit card they gave me. Low and behold, the card I received from LCBLV did NOT transfer over to LCB Scottsdale, and the latter failed to send me one. Amy told me that my information would be updated and I would be sent a new debit card. 10 days pass, nothing in the mail. I emailed Amy again and didn’t hear from her for a couple of days. I called the school after hours and left a message. This morning, I received a call and an email saying that my refund was «non-​returnable» and the money had been sent back to the lender, and that my loan was reduced. This wouldn’t not have bothered me if not for having to go in circles and bother Amy about it and the fact that I could really use the money right now.
All of this and the fact that I have STILL not received my diploma from the school is why I have given Le Cordon Bleu Scottsdale only 2 stars.
My suggestion would be to not go here. I think this college was a $ 50,000 mistake that I wish I could take back. I would have been much better off going to a community college and working in the industry from the start.

I make almost $ 70,000/year after graduating. You only get out of this what you put into it. I suggest getting a cooking job, before you take the plunge and think you’re going to be the next Chef Ramsey just because you went to cooking school. This is only for serious, dedicated, and passionate people that are ready to work 60 – 80 hours a week to get to the top.

crap OVER PRICED education. Worst mistake ive ever made was getting into debt to go here.

–5 stars. This place is a total scam!!! SCAM SCAM! I went here until I realized it was a scam. No real education. They just want your money and don’t give a crap about the students. You will get in debt with loans and trust me, you will make nothing and have a crappy job after.
Stay away. If you want to learn how to cook, get a job in a kitchen and work your way up. No need for this BS school. Stay away at all costs. It is not worth it. You will loose going here. I was lucky and only took a few classes before bailing. They tried real hard to get me to come back but I refused. I graduated previously with a BS in advertising from NAU. I know a good education and I know a scam one I see one. They pushed me through their student finical aid department, I got a loan in 5 minutes. Did not realize until later it was at 13%. Luckily my dad came to save me and paid off the loan so I would not have to pay $ 100K for a 13K loan.
This place is just bad news. Chef’s are morons here. I only had 2 that were worth a damn! The rest were idiots! Sure they know what they are talking about but they could care less. Do what I said and if you want to cook, get a job in a kitchen and work your way up. Cheaper and faster. By the time you blow $ 35K on this BS you will have money in your pocket and a career. If you go through This crap hole you will be broke and in debt forever with no real job.

I went there. Was told that I would make $ 80k to start after earning my degree and that they have a list of people waiting to hire their graduates.
The classes were rushed, they have since changed things, but I feel that that means they admit I got a sub-​par education. One of the teachers had literally no idea of what he was talking about (the introductory class, he didn’t know what long division was). So then there was the history teacher with an ego and attitude the size of Arizona. Then there was the Math teacher who had a doctorate and literally told us that the college algebra was simple and it’s our fault that we were having difficulty even though some of us hadn’t been in a math class in 15 – 20 years.
My favorite, my pastry chef with Diabetes. For those who don’t know, Diabetes effect your moods. So quite often we were not only being yelled at, but graded according to her mood. She had me so upset, I had to take a leave of absense to get a break from her.
They hold onto the Le Cordon Bleu name, but don’t uphold the quality of the reputation. And when I needed an externship to finish my degree, their version of help was giving me a list of job sites (non of which were industry specific). After the externship, not only was there not a line of emploers waiting to hire us, but they stopped taking our calls in the job assistance department. They have since cut our access to the private website which as Ulumni, we were suppose to able to access for life. We don’t even get invited to events that we were told we would
I now watch children from my home to support my family and the school who claimed to be so wonderful has done nothing for my life. I now work in the industry on the side, but don’t even make my loan payments with the money I make.
Get a job washing dishes at a restaurant or bakery if you have to. Work your way up, my degree is a pretty decoration that I paid over $ 55K for

As I finish up my last months of externship, I find myself wondering… why? Why didn’t I shop around a little more? Don’t get me wrong, I do feel as though I learned a great deal here, but the price is quite high and there’s a lot going on these days that just rub me the wrong way. Exhibit A: we used to have a library with real books… now we have an empty room. We have a cyber library. Well… what I am to do when this online library real-​life crashes and I needs to get my read on? Exhibit B: we used to have a fairly extensive financial aid department, but they are gone now, just like the books. Now I get to deal with some Joe shmoe on the net from who knows where. Exhibit C: no more student services peeps. Ok, really? These are probably three of the more important things students need guys! Also, if you want to be in class with people who are serious about their culinary careers, you might want to look elsewhere… cause there are a lot of kids who have mama and daddy paying for them to dick around… I get it, maybe in the first few classes, but even at the end of school, people are allowed to barely skate by with D’s. I want to be in a learning environment with people who care, too. Maybe I’m asking too much… but maybe I’m not. There are some really great chef’s here, but the politics and the way the school is run just makes for a lackluster experience.

garbage!!!

MASTER CHEF COOKING CLASSES
Master Chef is one of my favorite shows and when I saw that LCB was offering a cooking class I wanted to check it out.
I’m already an awesome cook but one can always improve!
$ 99 for a 4 hour class seemed steep but I figured I’d get a lot out of it.
I chose the stocks, sauces and soups class.
I had fun and I learned a few things but 4hours is TOOO short to really learn how to caramelize bones and other techniques. The Chef told us how to do it, but he had to rush through explaining so many things it was easy to get confused in all the French terms.
I t would have been helpful to have had a print out of the terms and translations as well as the instructions. And for $ 99 I really was expecting more than an apron and a few recipe cards.
I wouldn’t take another class there.