About Le Cordon Bleu

Founded in 1977, California Culinary Academy began with four kitchens and six chef instructors. While the first class started in 1977 with 20 students inside an old brick building in downtown San Francisco, it soon ballooned with a swelling demand for cooks and chefs.

Once Foremost McKesson Corporation acquired the Academy in 1981, it moved the location to 625 Polk Street four years later. This is the Academy’s current location, which includes two full-service restaurants, a retail shop and banquet facilities.

California Culinary Academy created a television series and video collection titled “Cooking at the Academy,” that appeared on public TV throughout the U.S. and around the world.

The Academy was acquired in the spring of 2000 by Career Education Corporation, one of the largest providers of private, postsecondary education in North America.