Page 140 - WINE DINE AND TRAVEL WINTER 2024 SCOTLAND

This was not a run-of-the-mill local
cooking school I soon realized, but the first
worldwide University of Le Cordon Bleu
founded in 2010 as part of Le Cordon Bleu
International. The reach of the campus
servicing over 1500 students went far be‐
yond any other I had ever visited in the
United States. My surprise only increased
when two of the institute’s administrators
greeted me and escorted me to a large
poster announcing my presentation.
Chef Jorge Penny, one of the original
founders, his colleague Adolfo Perret, and
researcher Carolina Ronquillo, author of
Leyendas del Sabor, a book detailing
Peru’s Amazonian medicinal plants, were
waiting to escort me around their impres‐
sive locale. The air hummed with activity as
we climbed three floors lined with glass-
walled classrooms filled with students
practicing their chosen field in the twelve
commercial kitchens, from pastry and
bread baking, to mise-en-place, fish and
produce prep, and butchering.
“We just added a bartending class,”
said Chef Penny proudly, showing off a
group of mixology students in training.
“Bartenders must be entertainers these
days, whether on cruise ships or in hotels,
so we teach them to mix drinks to the
rhythm of the latest pop tunes.” At the urg‐
ing of an instructor, male and female stu‐
dents threw cocktail shakers above their
heads and caught them without missing a
beat. A “real-life” impressive “real life” bar
next door, displayed the school’s propri‐
etary labels including gin and hard liquors
distilled made from indigenous Peruvian in‐
gredients.
Uniformed students sat at their com‐
puter inside another glassed-in work
space. “Since many of them find work on
cruise ships or hotels all over the world. We
must teach them how to handle the front
desk in different languages.”

140 WINE DINE & TRAVEL MAGAZINE WINTER 2025