Who would have thought Le Cordon Bleu, the
acclaimed French cooking school, would choose to fire up its ovens
in a town where the citizenry's communal appetite hankers for a
fried-dough munchie called a "beaver tail"?
Slathered in
anything from cinnamon to maple syrup, beaver tails are not haute
cuisine and don't expect to see instructions on how to prepare them
on the cuisine and patisserie syllabus at Le Cordon Bleu Ottawa
Culinary Arts Institute. Especially not when the Bleu Crew's pastry
professors are teaching hands-on courses in pastillage, souffles
and decorative sugar work to students who pay up to $38,140 in
tuition to earn a much-desired diploma.
The price of
admission alone is enough to separate -- as in egg white from yolk
-- the grand tradition of 
Le Cordon Bleu from a TV cooking reality
show like "Hell's Kitchen," where much of the so-called culinary
instruction exists in the form of hurled epithets if not flying
pots and pans.
Classic French cuisine
But more than
that, Le Cordon Bleu Ottawa is just one of 27 schools in 15 cities
worldwide -- including Paris, London, Tokyo and Atlanta -- that are
operated by the parent company, which was founded in 1895 and now
schools more than 18,000 students annually.
Housed in a
handsome Tudor Revival-style home, circa 1877, on a quiet,
tree-lined street in the exclusive Sandy Hill neighborhood, Le
Cordon Bleu Ottawa offers degrees in restaurant and hospitality
management, convention and event management and international
meetings industry management in addition to its primary mandate of
providing "the most intensive and comprehensive training in classic
French cuisine and pastry techniques available today."
Of more immediate
concern to non-academic, "just-here-for-the-weekend" types is Le
Cordon Bleu's array of four-day, continuing-education short
courses, taught March through September, and its one-day "gourmet
sessions," offered February through November.
The short
courses, which are designed for industry professionals or everyday
cooking enthusiasts, comprise a morning demonstration class and an
afternoon practical hands-on class. They cover such subject
headings as "Introduction to Chocolate," "Passport for Pastry,"
"Hot Weather Cooking," "Uses of Spices in Pastry" and "Introduction
to Boulangerie." Tuition is $508.50.
The gourmet
sessions, which are offered at a basic level and assume no prior
experience on the part of a participant, also are bifurcated into
morning and afternoon classes. This year's subjects include
"Cooking for Couples," "Sushi," "Children's Birthday Cakes" and
"Thanksgiving Dinner." Tuition is $171.
A special
afternoon course, "Le Petit Cordon Bleu (Pastry)," is designed for
children ages 6 to 9, who must be accompanied by a parent. The
cost: $135.
Signatures restaurant
If a visitor's
interest in haute cuisine lies more in the receiving than the
giving, Le Cordon Bleu Ottawa's on-site 
Signatures restaurant, which shares space
with the school, is the appropriate venue.
Signatures serves
as something of an observation-only kitchen for students. Its
chefs, however, are very much professionals trained in five-star
establishments. The only meals prepared by students -- the best of
the lot at that -- are available on Thursday and Friday afternoons
to members of the Club des Amis du Cordon Bleu.
Club members pay
a $45 annual subscription fee for the privilege of sampling --
hopefully -- a dish prepared by a great chef of the future. The
three-course lunch costs $26.75 for members and $35.75 for
nonmember guests.
As for the
restaurant, it is the recipient of a number of culinary honors,
among them the Canadian/AAA Five Diamond rating, the Restaurant of
the Year Debeur 2006 Award and the Award of Excellence from the
Wine Spectator.
A charming place,
Signatures seats 32 diners in its airy main dining room, while five
more intimate rooms, including an airy alcove, are available on a
first-come, first-served basis, at no extra charge, for parties of
six to 16.
The menu, which
changes seasonally, offers a select range of cold and hot
appetizers, fish, shellfish, meat and poultry entrees, desserts and
a selection of wines.
Diners also can
choose from a fixed-price menu, including Delices du Canada or
Taste of Canada ($44.75; add $22.50 with wine) or Le Grand Menu
($99, $55.50 additional with wine).
Choices on Le
Grand Menu include Quebec duck foie gras, loin of Boileau Forest
venison and a lime and raspberry souffle. Each course is served
with an appropriate glass of wine.
Signatures is
open Tuesdays to Saturdays from 5:30 p.m. to 10 p.m.
For more
information, go to www.lcbottawa.com or call (613) 236-2433.
To contact reporter Joe Rosen, send e-mail to [email protected].