Cordon Bleu Certificate

Tante Marie Culinary Academy’s Cordon Bleu Certificate is recognised by year out employers as a leading qualification and is the ideal preparation for those seeking seasonal employment at the highest level.  However, some graduates have gone on to develop careers from this course although the career progression is slower than those who complete our Diploma course.

The course is run over 1 academic term and is ideal for anyone who has an interest in food and wants to develop the skills and knowledge required to create dishes to professional standards.

Whether you are aiming to use your skills to earn money as part of a year out, to kick start   a career in food, or simply to cook great food at home the skills will remain with you for life. Students must be over 16, but there is no upper age limit.

What level will I be when I graduate?

Many graduates who complete this course go on to gain some sort of work in the hospitality sector eg. private catering, ski chalet work, running delicatessens and some go on to establish their own businesses within the hospitality sector. Some have also used the skills and knowledge gained to land non-cooking roles such as journalism, food photography, PR, events management, consultancy and recipe development and styling.

Our graduates are in high demand for their unsurpassed standards and professional discipline.

What will I learn?

The course starts with an introduction to working in the kitchen environment, followed by a phase of skill development. This will incorporate knife skills, familiarity with produce, and mastering a number of basic professional skills such as elementary butchery, fish preparation, pastry work, yeast, and much more.
Students will also be trained in menu planning and presentation skills as well as stock control and budgeting

Our Cordon Bleu Certificate is split into a Practical grade and a Theory grade with   approximately 80% of the course spent cooking in the kitchen under the guidance of our experienced, qualified teaching staff.

Assessment on Tante Marie’s Cordon Bleu Certificate course consists of two practical exams. The first of these is planned ahead by the students and must be within a strictly controlled budget, giving students valuable experience of cost control and budgeting. The final exam is set by the Academy and students will be required to produce time management plans prior to executing the exam. In addition to this, there is a program of continual assessment and a theory exam.

Students will undertake a 1 day wine course with our Master of Wine, John Downes, and will also complete the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health Level 2 Award in Food Safety in Catering and the CTH Level 2 Award in Culinary Skills.