Mendota Heights, Minnesota

Le Cordon Bleu at Brown Institute is located in Mendota Heights, Minnesota, but don't let the town name fool you. Mendota Heights is right next to Minneapolis, which means you'll have that rich cultural and recreational environment to enjoy whenever you take a break for your studies. Of course, you'll spend most of your time in the kitchen or classroom, but it's nice to know that it's out there, if you ever get a minute.

This 12 month program is said to be great preparation for a job as a Sous Chef, Executive Chef, Food and Beverage Director, Catering Director, Restaurant Manager, or Restaurant Proprietor. No more veggie prep, waitress, and bus boy jobs for you! Of course, your new professional status will cost you about $26,450, but most students qualify for financial aid packages and loans or various kinds...

You'll start out at the beginning, basic skills, theory, sanitation, etc, move on to purchasing and cost control, a butchering class (gives the class cut-up a new meaning), dining room procedures, soups/stocks/sauces, garde manger (cold foods), and baking/pastry.

You'll look at kitchen procedures for both fine dining and fast paced retail kitchen environments. Nutrition, more sanitation study, professional development study, and advanced classes in wine and spirits, garde manger/buffet, baking/pastry, soups/sauces, international cuisine and kitchen management complete your study, along with a six-week internship.

Le Cordon Bleu at Brown Institute prides itself on its deserved status as an elite culinary training facility, its experienced professional and academically trained faculty, its hands-on training methods, and the accessibility of its instructors to address student learning and professional development.

The internship program is a great experience for the students, but even the host restaurants benefit, because the students bring new and fresh ideas and techniques to the table. One benefit of graduating from this Cordon Bleu style program is that no matter where you go in the world to work, astute employers will know what you know - your skillset will be a known and appreciated commodity.

Hands on training, committed and accessible instructors, and an international reputation. It's hard to see how you can go wrong. One study of graduates from this program showed a 95.83% employment rate.

The odds are in your favor.