jgarbee

Margaret Mott (right) and Lyn Sweeney

The aftershock of the Le Cordon Bleu lawsuit has affected more than just students with loan payments in arrears. "They laid off all of the academic instructors, [last] Monday was my last day," said Margaret Mott, a communications instructor at the Pasadena location.

"All of this investigation into the school being a for-profit, the controversy, has had a real effect." Mott says the school recently changed the structure of the culinary programs, so the handful of business-related academic classes formerly required for graduation are no longer part of the curriculum.

But pink slips were hardly on Mott's mind on Sunday, where she was all-smiles while drawing in the Dare Ya! (habanero-chipotle beef jerky) curious at her Smokin' Mamas booth at the Beverly Hills Farmers Market.

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Cancel that study abroad trip. Le Cordon Bleu culinary school, which has a branch in Pasadena as well as 15 other campuses across the United States, recently became unable to accept international students to its certificate program.

Mark Spencer, a spokesman for Le Cordon Bleu's parent company, Career Education Corporation (CEC) told us in an email, "Some recent changes we've made to our academic programs have impacted the U.S. visa requirements for international students interested in our new certificate programs. The visa requirements for our associate's degree program, offered at the Pasadena campus of Le Cordon Bleu, remain unchanged."

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Changes are on the horizon for the curriculum at Le Cordon Bleu culinary school. Come the end of June, LCB will offer students the option to enroll in a 12-month culinary certificate program, foregoing the associates degree that was previously required.

According to an email from Mark Spencer, a spokesman for Le Cordon Bleu's parent company, Career Education Corporation (CEC), "Le Cordon Bleu is shifting emphasis from Associate degree programs, which also include general education courses, to a lower-cost 12-month Certificate program that focuses squarely on hands-on instruction of critical cooking competencies taught in the original Paris program.  Costing the average student about $17,500, this certificate program will be much less expensive than other private culinary schools, while still offering more kitchen instruction time than offered through community college programs, which are able to offer lower tuition because they are subsidized by state and local taxpayers."

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Kevin Scanlon

Farid Zadi

Farid Zadi likes to tell the story of how, when he was 14, he got a job as a dishwasher at a local castle to make some extra money. That would be a real castle, not one where the waitstaff dress like courtesans to bring you faux-medieval chicken legs while you watch fake knights pretend to kill each other.

The actual castle, Castel de Valrose, is near Lyon, France, where the French-Algerian chef grew up, and yes, he knows it is not a common way of breaking into the culinary business. Zadi washed dishes at the castle's restaurant, but he also watched and learned, and soon decided that he'd found his calling. "I'd taste everything," he says. "I'd go into the walk-in and stare at the produce."

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Farid Zadi

Roasted Goat Head Triptych

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Last Friday we invited Charles Perry, beer of the month columnist for the Los Angeles Times, and seven other guests, for a Royal Wedding viewing and tacos de cabeza recipe testing party at Ecole de Cuisine, a fully equipped culinary school and test kitchen. The actual meal took place at the chef's table, concealed behind a moveable wall in the back of the kitchen. The guests represented a broad cross-section of Angelenos. Half of us had grown up eating offal and all manner of heads: fish heads, lamb heads and goat heads. The other half were relative newcomers to the cult of whole animal worship.

We wanted to document their honest reactions to tacos de cabeza before all the components are politely hidden in a corn tortilla. We chose a recipe with roasted goat heads, because it is probably the most delicious dish that will never be served at a British Royal affair.

Turn the page for more test kitchen notes, the recipe and a lesson on how to deconstruct goat heads for tacos.

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This past Sunday the San Francisco Chronicle reported the settlement reached in a class action lawsuit against San Francisco's California Culinary Academy, which is under parent company Career Education Corp. (CEC), According to the Chronicle, 8,500 students who attended the academy from 2003 through 2008 will be eligible for tuition rebates of up to $20,000 each, and CEC will eat, so to speak, $1.8 million in student debt as well, as long as the settlement is approved in the hearing scheduled for August 22.

CEC also owns Le Cordon Bleu, which is facing a similar class action lawsuit in Pasadena. As we originally reported in October, students are alleging fraud against CEC, claiming they were told a culinary degree from Le Cordon Bleu would allow them to become chefs, but that many students who graduate are unable to obtain that position.

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UW Digital Collections

Does your "I'm-running-away-from-home" daydream involve the countryside and small batch goat cheese or building a giant copper still in an industrial warehouse space? Maybe it's time to take the first step towards making that dream a reality, and maybe the way to go is to get a shiny new degree.

Yes, you'll have to explain to people why you gave up your cushy job with a 401k to do something as extreme as selling pickles for a living (hi Mom!) but this way, you aren't just quitting your job, you're off to learn. Of course, this is assuming you still have a job. If you don't, going back to school is a time-honored way to ride out a bad economy.

So for all of you sitting at your desk, drawing up plans for a revolutionary chicken coop, or designing labels for the wine you'll be bottling some day, here is the roundup -- in no particular order -- of accredited colleges with (non-culinary) concentrations that can set you on your way. Ahhh, academia. No interest is too niche. Turn the page...

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Flickr/xiaozhuli

Ecole de Cuisine is looking for a yeast breads instructor. The Pasadena-based school (with a new location coming soon in Glendale) wants someone who has a high level of execution, coupled with a creative and affable style. European training is a major plus, with a focus on hands-on education techniques.

"We're looking for someone special, who cares about their students, and who can raise the bar for them, showing them how to create artfully executed breads with consistency," said Susan Park, Ecole de Cuisine's Program Director.

The instructor would teach classes twice a week for 10-12 weeks, with a break between sessions. Classes are held midweek, from 6:30 - 10:30 p.m. The position is part-time and pay is commensurate with experience. Interested parties should send CV's/resumes to info@ecolecuisine.com.

Do you own or manage a restaurant or other food-related business and have a job listing? Email us the details and we'll post it on the blog. We may not be Craigslist, but if you're a Republican Congressman with a racy picture, feel free to send that along too.

New developments in the class action suit against Le Cordon Bleu have emerged - now it's not just the parent companies being sued, it's the banks as well.

As we reported in October, a class action suit is pending against Le Cordon Bleu's parent companies alleging fraud, claiming the school promises prospective students they'll become chefs, but that most graduates are unable to obtain that position.

We spoke with Michael Louis Kelly yesterday morning of Kirtland & Packard LLP, the firm representing the LCB students, who gave us information on changes to the complaint. The claim now names Sallie Mae, Wells Fargo, Dollar Bank of Pittsburgh and several other loan holders as defendants.

Does this mean the plaintiffs think the banks are responsible? Not exactly. The suit doesn't assert that the loan holders knew of any alleged fraud. The attorneys are naming them because they believe it will further benefit the plaintiffs should the claim succeed. Instead of simply receiving money in a settlement, by involving the banks, the hope is that the students have a better chance of being alleviated of their loans, as opposed to simply receiving a portion of money to put towards them.

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Pittsburgh's branch of Le Cordon Bleu culinary school, a subsidiary of the Career Education Corporation (CEC), will soon be closing its doors, reports the Pittsburgh Business Times.

Mark Spencer, a spokesman for CEC, says the school's closing has nothing to do with the class action lawsuit currently pending against Le Cordon Bleu in Pasadena. The suit alleges fraud, claiming that LBC lures students by promising they'll become chefs, but that most graduate unable to obtain that position.

Spencer says they're employing what's called a "teach-out," meaning that while they're no longer admitting new students, those currently enrolled will be able to finish their studies.

When asked why the school is closing, Spencer said it's an issue of having limited capital, as well as facing a regulatory environment that's uncertain. He told us via email:

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