Le Cordon Bleu school closing (Pittsburgh, York: appointed, fit in, lease)

[MathmanMathman]

Le Cordon Bleu will close in 2012

Analysis: Closing of Le Cordon Bleu 'devastating' for city restaurant scene

Will this hurt Pittsburgh's restaurant scene? I thought the Culinary Institute was more prestigious. The major reason for closing is

the "gainful employment" rule as a major factor in CEC's decision to close the Pittsburgh school, and he predicted that it would soon affect other for-profit schools in the area.

As a for-profit institution, CEC has faced increasing pressure from the Obama administration and Senate Democrats in the past year. A proposed "gainful employment" rule from the Department of Education would deny federal funding to schools with graduates facing high proportions of debt related to their expected salaries.

Will that affect DeVry and Art Institute as well?

The cost seems high at $40k+ and a cook's pay right out of school is probably not good. If it really is that important to Pittsburgh's restaurant scene, maybe the city should step in and negotiate. I mean they did it for useless stuff like Lazarus etc. but this might be a good government subsidy for a change.

[ctoocheck]

I have a couple friends who went there and said it wasn't that great a school. People who have interviewed them apparently say they've had problems with people from PA Culinary and they almost want to take the name off their resume....

[Burghgirl17]

I'm disappointed because I really enjoyed having lunch at the school's restaurant - Azure 18, then they changed the name to Technique.

[XRiteMA98]

Well, all I know it is expensive. There's a restaurant on Murray ave, "La cucina flegrea" whose owner, Ana Fevola declared she thought about going there when she first started the business. They are emigrants from Naples.

She said however that it was a lot of money to learn how to cook pasta!

Well, I think she is terribly succesful even if she didn;t go there.
Other examples from Pgh's scene: Tony Pais, the owner of cafe ZAO. Tony is from Portugal and did not go to culinary academy. the same applies to "istanbul grille", Efesus Pizza, even Vocelli. These owners never went to culinarary academy.

Not even mario batali. At the begingin of his career he went to italy. He spend a long time there helping out in a village restaurant.

[KoobleKar]

It's not anything more than a "cooking school".

Pricey restaurants want real chefs with credentials from probably the only true chef school in the USA....The Culinary Institute of America in New York.

People who graduate from there, get the really high paying chef's jobs.

I know two people who graduated from CIA. One took a job teaching French cooking in France to hi class chefs. The other is making huge bucks at a Country Club in Marina Del Ray, CA.

[Hopes]

The world needs "cooking schools" too, KoobleKar. Not everyone can be a top chef. And chefs need a staff.

I'm fairly upset by the following quote from the article:

As a for-profit institution, CEC has faced increasing pressure from the Obama administration and Senate Democrats in the past year. A proposed "gainful employment" rule from the Department of Education would deny federal funding to schools with graduates facing high proportions of debt related to their expected salaries.

Shouldn't the public have a right to decide what type of debt they want to carry for their education?

Think of all the art majors who are starving artists. Does that mean that universities should drop their art programs?

The school is super expensive for being a trade school, but most trade schools are expensive.

Secretaries and cooks probably make about the same money after graduating from trade schools.

MathmanMathman has reason to raise the question about DeVry and Art Institute. The tuitions at those schools are high compared to the salaries graduates earn.

[greg42]

Originally Posted by Hopes

Shouldn't the public have a right to decide what type of debt they want to carry for their education?

This is the second time tonight I've seen an opinion like that. It's fine, but, understand that the reason that comes up at the federal level is because the loans are backed by the government If people walk away from paying them (because they didn't finish, they can't be paid enough or can't find a job in that field), the government is on the hook. So let's not ignore that part of it.

[MathmanMathman]

Originally Posted by KoobleKar

It's not anything more than a "cooking school".

Pricey restaurants want real chefs with credentials from probably the only true chef school in the USA....The Culinary Institute of America in New York.

People who graduate from there, get the really high paying chef's jobs.

I know two people who graduated from CIA. One took a job teaching French cooking in France to hi class chefs. The other is making huge bucks at a Country Club in Marina Del Ray, CA.

I agree with Hopes. I'm not sure if the CIA turns out chefs who head restaurants of the highest caliber without first paying their dues working under a chef. The CIA has campuses in New York, California, and Texas.

I don't know how the Art Institute's culinary arts program stacks up against the CIA or Le Cordon Bleu. I guess AI's main competitor is Le Cordon Bleu while the CIA has no peer. I would think areas with a good restaurant scene have a pool of skilled or at least trained cooks who know their way around a kitchen.

[greg42]

BTW, Le Cordon Bleu is a chain plus the company owns other schools. They're not closing anywhere else, so suggesting the rule (which is not a rule yet, just proposed) is a big part of the decision seems a bit of a stretch. They were at the end of the lease and couldn't come to an agreement, much more likely.

[MathmanMathman]

Originally Posted by greg42

BTW, Le Cordon Bleu is a chain plus the company owns other schools. They're not closing anywhere else, so suggesting the rule (which is not a rule yet, just proposed) is a big part of the decision seems a bit of a stretch. They were at the end of the lease and couldn't come to an agreement, much more likely.

True, the story suggests a "perfect storm" of events so other things might have pushed the program past the tipping point. So as I suggested, if that is the case, and if the school really is important to Pittsburgh's restaurant scene, maybe the city and Pittsburgh philanthropic organizations should attempt to intervene.