Top 6 Best Cooking Schools in Paris

Top 6 Best Cooking Schools in Paris

French culinary traditions; including cooking theory, kitchen technique, and ingredient handling are as highly regarded as the country’s signature dishes. As a result, the art of French cooking has been studied for generations and provides the foundation for many well-known culinary programs.

Cooking French food ranges from easy beginner dishes to the extraordinary displays of culinary expertise that the cuisine is known for. The cooking methods can include flambéing, sautéing, poaching, broiling, grilling, braising, and baking.

In this article, we will be discussing the top 6 best cooking school in Paris that are guaranteed to perfect your cooking techniques. At the end of the course, you will be cooking like a French native, whether you are braising a guinea hen or roasting a leg of lamb in a wood-burning oven.

You can also book your preferred best cooking classes in Paris with us while at it!

1. Le Cordon Bleu Paris

Patisserie on a plate – Wikipedia

Le Cordon Bleu is an international network of hospitality and culinary schools teaching French haute cuisine. The institution consists of 35 institutes in 20 countries and has over 20,000 students of many different nationalities.

Its educational focuses are hospitality management, culinary arts, and gastronomy. Each school offers its own list of culinary short courses and demonstrations from, with favourites like traditional bread making and chocolate workshops, as well as less conventionally ‘French’ options, such as vegetarian cuisine. All its short courses with tutoring in English via a translator.

Founded in 1895 by Marthe Distel and Henri-Paul Pellaprat, Le Cordon Bleu school is one of the oldest ones and also one of the prestigious. Le Cordon Bleu (which actually means ‘the Blue Ribbon’) derives its name, indirectly, from the French Royal and Catholic Order of the Holy Spirit. This was a select group of the French Nobility that had been knighted. Each member was awarded the Cross of the Holy Spirit, which hung from a blue silk ribbon.

Over the centuries, the name Le Cordon Bleu became synonymous with excellent French cooking. In 1895 French journalist Marthe Distel publishes a culinary magazine, “La Cuisinière Cordon Bleu”. Subscribers were invited to the first Le Cordon Bleu cooking classes by some of the best chefs in France in October of the same year.

In 1945, Madame Elisabeth Brassart purchased the struggling school from a Catholic orphanage from where the school started. Brassart managed the school until 1984; at the age of 87 she retired and sold the school to André J. Cointreau.

Check out the  10 Best Cooking Classes to take in Paris.

Practical information

Location: Worldwide, Paris located in 13-15 Quai André Citroën Paris, 75015 France

Types of courses: Culinary and pastry arts together or separately; bread and viennoiserie; nutrition; service and hotelierie art; restaurant management and business; food and beverage management

Length of courses: From 2h for a single course up to 2 years with a full day occupancy for a professional one

For who: For amateurs and also for those who want to obtain professional diploma and license to continue career as cook or pastry chef

2. École Grégoire-Ferrandi

A basil salmon terrine – Wikipedia

École Grégoire-Ferrandi is one of France’s leading professional training schools, which prides itself in training the elite in gastronomy and hospitality to be actors of renewal in France and abroad. This school has a success rate of over 90% for job placement six months after graduation.

The school offers training courses that focus on mastering the fundamentals, the ability to innovate, acquiring managerial and entrepreneurial skills and practice in real life situation. Here one may choose from bachelor or master’s degree, in English or in French. It is located in the 6th arrondissement of Paris in a 25000 sq. m. site.

École Grégoire-Ferrandi has been described as a space of discovery, inspiration and exchange that blends cuisine, management, art, science, technology and innovation. It unites the greatest names in the sector around the challenges of renewal in the hospitality industry and culinary creativity.

Ferrandi was established in 1932 by the Paris Chamber of Commerce and Industry, offering professional training in food service. Over the next fifty years, the training program grew steadily and the Ferrandi School earned a reputation for excellence.

In 1983, Ferrandi School created the Ecole Supérieure de Cuisine Française program to provide the highest level of culinary training and associated management skills in France. Then in 1997, the Grégoire and the Ferrandi schools merged to form L’Ecole Grégoire-Ferrandi.

Practical information

Location: 28 Rue de l’Abbé Grégoire, 75006 Paris, France

Types of courses: Culinary and pastry arts together or separately; service and hotelierie art; restaurant management and business; food and beverage management

Length of courses: From 1 year of master course up to 3 years of bachelor with a full day occupancy

For who: Only for those who want to dedicate their lives to culinary arts and work in this sphere

3. École de Cuisine Alain Ducasse

Alain Ducasse, 2010 – Wikipedia

École de Cuisine Alain Ducasse is a network of French culinary school operated by renowned chef, Alain Ducasse. It offers both amateur lessons and professional programs for aspiring chefs, with hosts giving lessons in English and French.

Alain Ducasse is one of the world’s most decorated chefs, known for his innovative dining concepts reflecting international influences. He is one of only two chefs to hold 21 Michelin stars throughout his career, and the first chef to own restaurants carrying three Michelin Stars in three cities.

École de Cuisine Alain was originally launched in 1999 and dedicated to the transmission of outstanding French expertise and excellence in culinary and pastry arts. In Alain Ducasse own words, “We must open our doors to all cooking enthusiasts and let them get to know, try and understand where the delicious food served to them comes from”.

In May 2009, Ducasse officially opened the school in a private townhouse, near Passy, with wine cellar, boutique, Miele and Perene state-of-the-art equipped kitchens and sunny patio. Students are taught both by Ducasse’s raised by stars as Cedric Grolet or Romain Meder, but also by other chefs of the group.

Today École Ducasse runs three schools in France – Paris Studio, Paris Campus and the École Nationale Supérieure de Pâtisserie – as well as international schools in the Philippines, Brazil, Thailand and India.

Practical Information

Location: 64 Rue du Ranelagh, 75016 Paris, France

Types of courses: Culinary or pastry arts, only separately – for professional studies; amateur classes on various topics from the basics of cuisine to specific topics as vegan cuisine

Length of courses: From 2h for a single amateur course and 3 years with a full day occupancy for a professional bachelor one

For who: For amateurs and also for those who want to obtain professional diploma and license to continue career as cook or pastry chef

4. Ritz-Escoffier Cookery School

Hôtel Ritz Paris – Wikipedia

Ritz-Escoffier Cookery School is a French culinary school that was re-launched on 6 June 2016 when The Ritz, Paris, reopened after a four-year, $220 million, refurbishment. This expensive refurbishment transformed the school into an elegant and luxurious, spacious that embodied French excellence in every way.

The school offers courses for every type of gourmet whether they are amateurs, real enthusiasts, future professionals or seasoned professionals who wish to become acquainted or perfect their training in French Gastronomy.

It offers practical and theory classes of cuisine and pastry adapted to all levels and goals, and can also organise private courses or exceptional gastronomic events for private individuals or companies. Its certification courses and general classes alike are led, in French or in English, by chefs with distinguished backgrounds.

The Ritz-Escoffier School was established in 1988 in honour of Auguste Escoffier. Georges Auguste Escoffier was a French chef, restaurateur and culinary writer who popularized and updated traditional French cooking methods. He also developed the hierarchical brigade de cuisine system for organizing the kitchen staff whichstill standard in many restaurants today.

In partnership with hotelier César Ritz, Escoffier founded the Ritz Paris in 1898. Today, the school is accessible through an entrance in the back of the hotel. The ethos of the school is based on Escoffier’s words, “Good cuisine is the foundation of true happiness.”

Find out more on The Best Culinary Schools in France.

Practical information

Location: 15 Pl. Vendôme, 75001 Paris, France

Types of courses: Culinary and pastry arts together or separately

Length of courses: From 2h for a single course up to 25 weeks with a full day occupancy for a professional one

For who: For amateurs and also for those who want to obtain a professional diploma and license to continue career as a cook or pastry chef

5. La Cuisine Paris

Pastry chef – Unsplash

La Cuisine Paris is a cooking school that takes French culinary exploration to the next level by not only offering hands-on cooking classes, but also food tours in English where students can discover the myriad foodie shops.

The school is located in the heart of Paris, just across the river Seine from the iconic Notre Dame Cathedral. It has three kitchens, each with its own distinct character: two in a typical Parisian cave (cellar); the other on the second floor of the school overlooking the Seine.

Founded in 2009 by Jane Bertch, La Cuisine Paris offers numerous French cuisine classes, including Croissant Classes, Macaron Classes, Traditional French Pastry Classes, Technical Skills Classes, and a French Cheese Workshop in addition to Food Tours in Paris and Versailles.

The cooking classes are taught by a small international team, with different backgrounds and experiences, who all work with a common value: the desire to share their “savoir faire” and passion with you.

La Cuisine Paris also offers online video classes which provide step-by-step instructions, and, once a video is purchased, it can be watched and referenced as many times as you want. This allows others from around the world to enjoy and learn more on French culinary from the comforts of their home.

Practical information

Location: 80 Quai de l’Hôtel de ville, 75004 Paris, France

Types of courses: Culinary and pastry arts together or separately, food tours;

Length of courses: Each cooking class ranges from two to four hours in length

For who: For amateurs

French cuisine is indeed considered the best in the world and for good reason. Consider booking our food tours in Paris and see why!

6. Cook’n With Class Paris

Cook’n With Class Paris has been offering French cooking and baking classes in Paris since 2007. There is something for everyone, from kid-friendly classes to pâtisserie for more advanced bakers. The most popular classes at the school still remain the French market class, where you will explore and shop at a local French market before heading back to the school to prepare a 3-course menu with the expert professional assistance of your chef-instructor. Book directly online.

PRACTICAL INFORMATION

LOCATION: 6 RUE BAUDELIQUE, PARIS 75018

TYPES OF COURSES: CULINARY AND PASTRY ARTS TOGETHER OR SEPARATELY; BREAD AND VIENNOISERIE

LENGTH OF COURSES: FROM 3H TO 5H

FOR WHO: FOR AMATEURS