Le Cordon Bleu to Close in Tucker, Across US

TUCKER, Ga. - The most recognized school in the culinary world will stop operations locally in the next two years.

Le Cordon Bleu notified students and staff this week that it will phase out operations at all 16 of its schools in the United States, including the Atlanta campus, which is located in Tucker. Students starting programs in January will be the last ones accepted to the culinary college.

"At least they gave us a warning that they [were] closing down," said Cleveland Scott, who is scheduled to complete his associate's degree in April.

The school will remain open until those students graduate, which depending on the program, takes an estimated 12 to 21 months.

In the U.S., a company called Career Education Corporation operates the Le Cordon Bleu colleges independently from Le Cordon Bleu International headquartered in Paris.

"After a remarkable success leading to the opening of 16 schools in the USA in less than 10 years, the material changes to the legal framework in the USA and the consequences of such changes caused CEC's educational and training business model to become non-viable," read a statement from Le Cordon Bleu International.

Scott said he was happy the closure would not impact his ability to finish his culinary degree.

"They help you with a lot of things in life here. So, it's sad that they're closing," said Scott. "But for them to let the people that already started finish out before they're closing, that's the good part."