Le Cordon Bleu Lawsuit Now Going After Banks: Is This Suit Valid? Comments from Plaintiffs' Attorney and the School

I used to work at one of these schools and LeCordon Bleu is just ridiculous. They don't deliver on anything they promise and grossly overcharge students. Half of the tuition dollars that students pay don't go to their education, it goes to the naming rights that the school pays to Le Cordon Blue in Paris. There is no such thing as a Le Cordon Bleu certification, it's something that Le Cordon Bleu has made up along the way. If anyone is thinking about going to culinary school, go to a community college. It's the same credential (i.e. AAS or certificate/diploma) for a lot less money. You're not going to learn any new techniques at Le Cordon Bleu, you're going to learn the same techniques that you would at community college and your going to work just as hard when you get out.

looking for info on Chicago Class Action Suit .... email to ladyj10@rocketmail.com

i was a cordon bleu student. they pile loans on you. tell u that u will make much more than is realistic. talk about the abundance of jobs avalible after the program. credits are transferable because they are accredited. the reality: low paying jobs. if you can find them. bad reputation. no accredidation. to transferable credits. student loan payments that are over 600 a month. they sell ur loans to other companys so u are paying multiple loan companys. i am in debt over my head for most of my life now, and they dont care as long as they get theirs.

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I am currently in this school and it is nothing they promised. I knew I wasnt going to start out on top but I could have saved my money and worked in the oil field making more money.

It actually takes years of experience in order to successfully run a professional kitchen, what a surprise. These students are greedy bastards who give all LCB students a bad name. When you enroll it's not like they tell you you are going to be a rich and famous chef. Quite the opposite. It's made clear that it takes years of hard work and commitment to become a chef, it doesn't happen overnight. If you have the drive then you will make it to chef, but even they don't usually make a whole lot of money. The opportunities are there at LCB to start a career, but some people don't take full advantage and just expect it to hit them one day.

I am a successful self taught private chef for over 30 years. At the age of 19 ,I enrolled at CIA in Hyde Park, and couldn't afford to go. Then I tried the New York Restaurant school. I also aplied for the Greenbriar Hotel that has a free apprenticeship program, 4 years in a row. they have a 20 year waiting list.I have hired many graduates from Le Cordon Bleu in Pasadena. Not one of them had the drive and stamina that it takes to be in this business. Unfortunately, the Food Network has influenced the thinking of many young students looking to enter the field and schools such as Le CordonBleu does not screen the applicant, effectively. They are only interested in the mighty dollar. and not in the future careers of these students. It's  "take the money and run" situation.

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I am LCB San Francisco new graduate and I came out with a line cook job at google. we do all the things we were taught in school. Its alot of people who work there without degrees and they hate on us LCB's because we didnt have to start off as dishwashers (=

Does anyone have updated information about any class action lawsuits? I graduated from PCI, Le Cordon Bleu Pittsburgh in 2005. I posted in here months ago and am just checking in to see if anyone has any more information about the lawsuit??

Furthermore, CEC is being sued on behalf of SHAREHOLDERS who lost tons of money investing in for-profit education. If Shareholders can sue over loss of investments, shouldn't the graduates, the people who were ripped off have a right to sue as well? I lost money on my investment in a degree, based on promises of full job placement at a high salary, which was a lie. Investors lost money based on promises of full job placement and high salaries of graduates, which was a lie.

Any information on legal recourse would be greatly appreciated!

Chrisccox82@gmail.com

Seriously, you people are ridiculous. If you think that any chef in the whole world didn't work ten times harder than you people to be where they are, your smoking crack. La Cordon Bleu teaches you basic skills, which pave the foundation to one day (many, many years from now) become a chef. And if you have any passion and determination, one day earn the right to be called master chef. But since your online crying like a pansie, because you have to work hard in your career, I'm sure the title will never be within grasp.

     As a current student of LCB in Chicago, I'm glad the school is getting sued by students because they make bold promises that go completely unfulfilled.  I'm in the middle of problems with them cancelling time slots and adding days that were never part of what I signed up for which makes it nearly to work and go to school.  They will promise you anything you want to hear to get you in, and unless these lawsuits are filed, there are no consequences for not telling the truth.  I've been lied to from the minute I got in, and most recently by our president.  If you know anyone, I would strongly urge them to stay away from any part of Le Cordon Bleu altogether.

Daniel H. Le Cordon Bleu Chicago

Bottom Line - If you want to be a musician you do not have to go to school and if you are gifted and know people to help you work your way up into the ranks it makes sense to try this way first before spending money. If you are just a beginner, have no contacts and not the type of person to be more aggressive with your career and make it happen. Education provides this window to become more educated - more opportunity to meet prospect employers, more clubs, more events and this is what it is about - networking- community-and effort on the student's part. This is an art form and you take a chance in any art form as some will make and some won't. Students sign an agreement and they have every right to cancel should they not agree and if they graduated from HS they can read so nothing is hidden or fraud. California is sue happy and those people who pay for education should take ownership of the step they took. There is no promise from anyone - there is not outcome that can be made except by the individual and student along with their parents have to be invoved in  the financial aid so it is clear and people need to read, educate themselves. We all take a gamble on education and make mistakes which means more people in america need to wake up and take ownership for their decisions and live with it - sometimes we choose the wrong major, sometimes we are not that talented in the field we choose. We must be better at making decisions on our careers and take ownership. I am educated and ended up with 30k in student loans from living on campus - do I expect to sue and make up some story that I was not informed? Traditional schools, private schools - they all provide a service of an education. People who sue will always be one step behind on this lawsuit because what are they doing with their education - feeling sorry for themselves or selling food, catering, building a website, hussling to make it happen. Life is about survival of the fittest and some will make it and some will not. It is a fact and blaming educational facilities is ridiculous when it is in fine print. READ people.

Oh.. I typed item instead of own.. Lol I work as a chef and I did so before I went to le cordon bleu. I have been working in the culinary fields for the past 16 years and I went to le cordon bleu seeking technical knowledge and certification and I found myself leaving with a pile of growing debt and a chip on my shoulder. Some kids were sold on the glamour and the fame of being a chef, most had no idea what they were doing. They would accept anyone who would sign and pay it seems.

I went to le cordon blue, it was a good school but they did make a chef position sound attainable right after you graduate. The harsh reality is that when most students would graduate they would find themselves working for 8$ an hour (maybe) and find their 6% loan interest rates jump to 12% or 13% after graduation without the possibility of refinancing the interest rate. Interest only payments would bury a person living on their item and trying to make ends meet. Michael thomson you can go fuck yourself, I paid attention to everything and they cheated me hand in hand with sallie mae on their way to the bank. You dont know shit about whats going on obviously. Sallie mae "bought" my existing loan before I left school and pushed my interest rate to 12.6%. And guess what, you douche bag!? My parents dont for the bill, I do. Get a life mike...

As a graduate from Le Cordon Bleu myself, I understand how these students feel.  I enrolled in school in 2006 and graduated in August of 2007.  For over a year, I worked as a prep cook making a whole $9.00/hour with student loans totaling $508.56 each month.  Now, I'd like to stress that I ONLY borrowed money to cover classes and books.  After my line cook position, I was hired by a different company to be a F&B Manager.  I was hired on at $11.00/hour.  Now, keep in mind...this was a MANAGEMENT position in my field of study.  Needless to say, I burned thru my loan deferment time in a hurry.  Due to lack of decent benefits in this position, I had to find another job.  I ended up selling cell phones for a large cell phone company and was hired on at $12.00/hour.  Yep, I made more selling cell phones than I did as a manager in the kitchen.  I can honestly say now, however, that my degree has finally paid off.  I'm in a senior management position in culinary and finally making more than $22k per year.  I too was promised a "Chef" position and was told the average pay was around $50k per year.  I didn't graduate thinking I was walking out of there with a Exec. Chef position in the bag, I knew I'd have to work for it, but it was disheartening that it too almost 5 years to accomplish.

I regret not researching what the pay would be. I paid 35,000. The school has such a bad rep here in Vegas you might be better off leaving your degree off the your resume. SERSAFE cert is about all it's worth

How do you get in on the suit

The motif of the school is not to educate, its all a sales pitch. Its a for profit school

I have a definate question.  My daughter just barely finished her entrepenaurship, mid Sept.  She had a graduation for one month later approx 16 Oct.  Three days later a bill came from LCB,  Very cut and dried.  This is what you owe us.  Payment is due now.  My daughter has student loans taken out for this culinary arts program.  Is this legal for them to do this?  I thought she had a six month grace period on it.  I am interested in knowing if these people have violated some terms of agreement by sending this bill this quickly.  Any help would be appreciated.

I've just started at Le Cordon Bleu Madrid, and one of the first things they've told me is that NO ONE leaves Le Cordon Bleu as a Chef. You leave as a excellent cooker in terms of knowledge, the rest is up to you to decide wether you want to a reasonable cooker and spend the rest of your life doing reasonable things OR if you have the talent, the passion and the strenght of will to do outstanding things then you might become a Chef. It works just the same as any other profession YOU JUST HAVE TO BE GOOD AT WAHT YOU DO.    What would happen if all the parents who have kids at private schools and pay a fortune for tuitions, started suiting those schools just because there kids didn't came out as an all A+ student???

There's a lot more to be said but right now I don't have time for it because I've got to prepare my knives for tomorrows classes at Le Cordon Bleu.

Thanks

as a former employee of LCB, student services, we we're only following orders. CEC instructed us how to enroll & retain students...otherwise we would lose our jobs. my dept was eliminated back in october 2010 and as of today, i'm still unemployed. they've since laid off the dean of students, dir of education, etc etc. they know they're in trouble. best wishes to you all

I attended Le Cordon Bleu in Scottsdale Az. I also believe that it is false advertisement that they claim students can be Chef's. Almost all of my Chef's/ Supervisores never recieved any education for the culinary arts. How unfair is that??????

Can anyone connect me with the class action suit?  Please; I had been hoping something like this would come up in the 10 years I've been in debt to Scottsdale Culinary LCB.

i have attended LE CORDON BLEU and its crap jobs arent there they dont help you with placement career serviced reps are rude.  they put you out there on your own i paid all this money for you to help me teach me how to cook and set up a opportunity for me to make something of myself. But this school is a BIG RIP off dont advise anyone to go here at all.

I am a single mother who moved to another state NM to Fl under there false promises and 3 weeks before my internship started I was told no more students loans were avaible to me I had to pay out of pocket 700.00 a month to cover it. Thank to a clever employee of the academy As long as I paid them something they could not kick me out. I took me 2 years to pay it off and get my diploma. But now 46,000.00 in debt with very high intrest, 600.00 a month . Really changed my life... for the worse. OOh and as long as you show up in uniform eveyday you will pass with a D and recive your diploma.  These are the people I competed agianst , who got those 9.00 hr job as a "chef" more like prep cooks. I expected better job placement not 9.00 hr jobs, monitored internships, better loan programs. Where do I sign for the lawsuit!!!! 

I saw those comments about doing the work and not being lazy. I have nine years of schooling and experience in the culinary industry okay. Ive done everything from dishes, jumping in dumpsters, baking, prepping, inventory, working the line. I never got paid more than $10 an hour, part time. When student loans are $400 a month, plus gas, basic ammenities, rent utilities, food, its not enough!

I went there for the baking program. They did not help me get a job. I got a full-time job w the help of job corps. (Where i went before le cordon bleu). I worked full time, and went to school full time and still couldnt make ends meet. The class rooms were too full, and there wasnt enough equipment for everyone. And when i told them i was struggling, and if there was a scholarship i could apply for, or another loan i could apply for. They said because of the recession i couldnt qualify for anymore loans w out a cosigner (we dont all have family w good credit).

So not only did they deny me any help or resources to live on. I didnt even have money to finish my schooling (halfway through to get my associates degree). I only had one interview w a baking job since then (2007). i told them i couldnt afford to go there at the moment. They reassured me , theyd help me get a job, and take care of my loans.

I am now in debt $22,000 to sallie mae. Im unemployed now since 2009, and have an 18 month old baby. Sallie mae sent me to collections. Im constantly harrassed by sallie mae, le cordon bleu, education fund, and collections.

They said at orientation, you are paying this much for tuition, because you will start out as sous chefs and head chefs. Theyve ruined my life.

I completely agree with this law suit. I graduated as valedictorian from the Le Cordon Bleu in Pittsburgh, with a very promising future and lots of talent, oh yeah, with 60 grand worth of debt I accrued for the 2 years I went to school . The jobs out there I was able to obtain were all $10 an hour jobs in a big city, less in smaller cities. AND I worked along side mostly with people who had no culinary training at all. Chefs in the industry pretty much don't care if you went to culinary school or not, you start out at the bottom anywhere and at barely a living wage. I have worked my way up and now am in charge of hiring for the bakery I manage. I will only hire culinary grads out of respect for the industry and the path I have already been on. After readinging

Interesting... It's a iffy lawsuit in my mind. I cannot say in my experience that I was ever "told" that by attending LCB, that I would be guaranteed a job as a chef, or even guaranteed a job at all. I can say that the system, whether deliberate or not, is misleading. At the root of the problem, the parent company, Career Education Corporation (CEC), is a for-profit organization first who happens to make said profit by providing educational services. Because it is operated as business first and educational institution second, other stuff like marketing ploys and quotas get thrown into the mix. I never heard of anyone being "guaranteed" a job upon graduation, however I did hear many times about their placement rate for graduates.

Ex: We have a 98% placement rate for graduates.Translation: A requirement of graduation is that you complete a 270 hour/3 month externship. If you are able to complete this externship, 98% of the time that employer will offer you continued employment or you will have gained working experience to obtain employment at another restaurant.

One thing I commented numerous times in the program was that there was no aptitude based qualifications for acceptance into the program. I had several students in classes with serious learning disabilities, who would never be capable of obtaining a position above the lower hourly ranks of a kitchen operation even with a culinary degree. Others faced the same future as a result of serious criminal background issues in their very recent past that also would prevent them from obtaining employment at a level that would allow them to pay for their education. The back offices only looked at "can you obtain financing" so they could get paid.

Recent changes at LCB I think will further add to this problem. Due to economic cutbacks, LCB schools will no longer have tuition planners on site at the school. All this will be handled out of CEC's corporate office or a call center. It's a sad situation because they not only are in my mind knowingly defrauding people of money as a result of this, they are also sending out bad examples of what a LCB graduate should be into the workforce thus lowering the prestige of the degree I hold. But, degree or not, it comes down to "Can you prove yourself upon graduation", period. I'm interested to see where these lawsuits go...

I graduated from LCB Orlando with an AS in Culinary Arts in 2005 with a 3.87 GPA, then from LCB Scottsdale with a BA in Culinary Management in 2010 with a 3.97 GPA. Since June of 2009 I have applied to almost 900 Executive Chef positions around the country and I'm STILL unemployed. My experience includes Emeril's and a 500-resident Retirement home in MD. I'm writing a book now entitled "My first 1,000 job applications - What is wrong with this picture?" and I'm looking for a publisher. I have over $80,000 in student loan debt and don't think I will live long enough to pay it off. Anyone know how I can join this "class action"?

Aloha!All the rip-off-mills should be PROSECUTED!Below is the Orlando Mission Statement. What a disgrace! The first sentence isn't only grammatically incorrect, but punctuation is that of a third grader and the sentence is way to long and the entire Mission Statement is a big fat money greedy pigs LIEAnn Ti KimBig Island Puna Hawaii

Le Cordon Bleu

Mission StatementORLANDO CULINARY ACADEMY

Orlando Culinary Academy's Mission is to serve students from diverse backgrounds, seeking to enhance their individual worth and professional potential, by delivering quality educational programs and services in alignment with Career Education Corporation standards. All of the employees of the Orlando Culinary Academy are committed to promoting student success as measured by graduation and career achievement.

Same story with "Pennsylvania Culinary Institute" The Le Cordon Bleu in Pittsburgh.

All CEC schools are diploma mills.They are in the BUSINESS of "for-profit education."

Preparing students for "the field" is not their main concern, it is making ludicrous amounts of money off of interest, fees, and kickbacks from Loan Corporations.

I attended PCI and graduated in 2005. I, like everyone else was told 98% of students graduate and are placed in chef jobs. Then they give you the document that shows chef's salaries... all well over the 70k a year range. NO one I attended with graduated as a chef. All the internships they offered paid a range of $6.50/hr up to $9.50/hr.

I went to school purely on loans. My parents did not make enough money to help me with tuition. I was told in admissions that my funds would come from Federally Backed low-interest loans and a "small remainder" would come from Private Loans. No one ever explained what private loans were, or told me I had options to find financing elsewhere. If I wanted to attend, I had to sign on the line.

I got less than $6000 in federally backed loans. The rest of the$44,000 of tuition and room and board fees came from Private sources, two loans from Sallie Mae with interest rates of 12% and 15%.

Upon graduation my monthly payments were over $500 a month. My internship paid me $12/hr.... and I was 1 of 4 students who got into that company...the highest paid internship that was offered through PCI at the time. Do the math... that's 25% of my monthly income.

A far cry from the "low payments" on "low interest federal loans" they promised me during the admissions process.

6 years later I'm still working in the industry full time, still waiting on my $70k a year chef job. Now I'm a lead line cook and make a mere $15/hr... have since consolidated my private loans...I've paid over $12,000 of my hard earned money of which less than $1500 has been applied to the principal amount. These high interest rates have crippled me financially. I'm 28 now and still living like a broke college student.

I have all the documentation that proves my story. If anyone can help me join one of these class action lawsuits, or has any information about PCI in Pittsburgh (which is closing in Jan. 2012 due to its inability to get financed by the dept. of Education because of its high debt-to-income ratio of graduates.... go figure) it would be greatly appreciated.

Chris Coxccox82@gmail.com