The schools, run in the U.S. by the for-profit education company Career Education Corporation, will close in September 2017, and will not be accepting any new students after January 2016.
Although the schools have trained many pre-eminent chefs—including Mario Batalia, Yotam Ottolenghi and Julia Child—in recent years many have questioned the value of training at Le Cordon Bleu.
Earlier this year, Eater published a report showing that culinary arts degrees “barely boost” chefs’ salaries. Although tuition can cost up to $48,000 per year, the article noted, an executive chef with a degree may only earn two percent more than a chefs with a high school diploma. In 2013 Career Education Corporation settled a class action lawsuit brought by former students, who claimed the school mislead them about job prospects, for $40 million.
On Twitter, Cutthroat Chef host Alton Brown welcomed the news:
Hey @Eater this is good news for all. As far as I'm concerned, Le Cordon Bleu is a culinary puppy mill.
— Alton Brown (@altonbrown) December 17, 2015