Whatever happened to the cordon bleu?

A LUCKY DIP (PART ONE)

I'm not at all sure why I didn't throw this book out when I did my major cleanup a few years back, because, on the whole, I don't cook like this. And I really don't do desserts and puddings these days - well only occasionally. And they tend to be less elaborate.

Anyway it was my lucky dip choice for today. I did start on another topic inspired by television - orrechiette - but after I had done a bit of a browse through my library and a search on the web I realised I had done it before. Which was somewhat disheartening, so, rather than then going to my list of potential subjects I decided to be lazy and go for the lucky dip. And then I turned up this book and my heart sank again. The page I opened was not initially all that inspiring either, but then, as always, I started thinking about it and I now think I actually have two or even three potential posts out of this.

For the first one I am going to 'do' the Cordon Bleu. I have one other Cordon Bleu cookery book too - and the cabbage recipe that I use comes from that. Plus a few other things I have made from time to time. There was a rather nice chicken and orange recipe I remember. Must search for it - haven't made it for a while. Because contrary to expectations a lot of their dishes are not all that complicated or fussy.

So first of all the name. In France back in the sixteenth century there was an order of knights, Les Chevaliers du Saint Esprit who were given a starry cross on a blue ribbon to mark the award - as shown in this rather sumptuous painting. So we begin with the aristocracy and in a way it continues that way to this very day. Apparently this Order became known for extravagant banquets and so the term Cordon Bleu came to be associated with good food. Of course the Revolution did away with the aristocrats and the order, but the name was revived by Marthe Distel, who started a magazine La Cuisinière Cordon Bleu and then an élite cooking school in 1895. And the school, which now has campuses all over the world began there.

In the sixties in London it flourished and was an emblem of upper crust cooking in the French style. Earlier in the 1950s Julia Child attended the Paris school because she was bored - you've seen all that in the fabulous film, Julia and Julia. She says of her time there:

"In Paris in the 1950s, I had the supreme good fortune to study with a remarkably able group of chefs. From them I learned why good French food is an art, and why it makes such sublime eating: nothing is too much trouble if it turns out the way it should. Good results require that one take time and care. If one doesn't use the freshest ingredients or read the whole recipe before starting, and if one rushes through the cooking, the result will be an inferior taste and texture--a gummy beef Wellington, say. But a careful approach will result in a magnificent burst of flavor, a thoroughly satisfying meal, perhaps even a life-changing experience."

The London school which was begun by Rosemary Hume and Dione Lucas, was a place to which rich young ladies went to learn to cook. I'm tempted to say Sloane Rangers like Princess Di, but I can't quite imagine them ever cooking. Maybe it was a bit like aristocratic ladies learning to paint, and sing and play the piano back in Jane Austen's day. Well that was my impression anyway. I think you could do short courses as well as long diplomas. Dione Lucas was then replaced by Constance Spry who took a lot of the glory and then by Muriel Downes who co-authored this book. But at the same time there were also State run Technical Colleges offering cooking and management courses for ordinary people like me. I even applied to one, got in but decided to go to university instead. The path not followed - I wonder where it would have led?

But I digress.

Nowadays there are Cordon Bleu schools all over the world. But interestingly the 16 schools in the USA have just closed down. A mix of financial troubles and various scandals associated with high fees, high expectations and disappointed students I think. Blame that on programs like Master Chef. People do courses expecting to become a high ranking celebrity chef and end up as the dogsbody - cutting up vegetables, and cleaning up and earning virtually nothing for very long and awkwardly timed hours. Apparently those American courses cost around $40-50,000! Which is a large amount of money to either find or pay back. And when you are unlikely to get a high paying job at the end of it it's not really viable is it?

The schools elsewhere carry on though. There is one here in Melbourne. It's apparently located at the Holmesglen TAFE Moorabbin campus so there must be some form of joint state/Cordon Bleu arrangement there. There are also schools in Sydney and Adelaide. They have a website (of course) which is very glossy.

And look they seem to get a medal at the end that looks very much like the one that French aristocrat had back in 16th or 17th century.

I wonder why you would choose their course over the standard courses at the TAFEs though? There must still be a certain amount of snobbery attached to it, because I have to say, snobbery and upper class is definitely what I associate with the name cordon bleu.