Le Cordon Bleu finally set to launch first London restaurant

CORD by Le Cordon Bleu will launch on 85 Fleet Street in the City of London and feature a fine dining restaurant; a café; and an outpost to the London Le Cordon Bleu culinary institute, offering short courses with Le Cordon Bleu chefs.

Once described as a ‘French gastro-hub’, CORD was first mooted back in 2019​​ and originally expected to launch in April 2020​​ to coincide with the 125th anniversary of the first Le Cordon Bleu school in Paris. However, those plans were delayed significantly as a result of the pandemic. 

André J. Cointreau, CEO and president of Le Cordon Bleu , describes the forthcoming opening of CORD as a 'notable milestone' for the distinguished institution.

“As we transition out of the pandemic, we prepare to open the doors to our first-ever dining, café and cooking school concept in London – a notable milestone as we continue to celebrate excellence in teaching around the world,” he says.

Open for lunch and dinner, Monday to Friday, the 90-cover CORD restaurant will showcase varying menu offerings including daily à la carte, a weekly-changing set lunch, and evening tasting menus.

Dishes will range from hand-picked crab meat, cucumber, rhubarb and radish marmalade with herb toast, brown crab dressing and watercress oil; to marinated sea bream with corn guacamole, confit lemon, grilled corn and marjoram.

An extensive wine list will be on offer with a selection from French vineyards as well as Germany, Italy, Spain and the New World, alongside a range of spirits and brandy. Diners will be able to opt for select wine pairings and alcohol-free tea pairings.

A 30-cover CORD café will serve French patisseries and viennoiseries baked on-site daily, as well as sandwiches, salads and soups.

“At CORD we aim to deliver savoir-faire and quality, bringing together unique techniques and the freshest, best-in-season ingredients across worldwide cuisines,” adds Cointreau.

“Our guests will join us on a voyage to experience first-hand the exceptional level of skills delivered by our talented chefs at the same time receiving a warm and expert service level in a relaxed setting.”

This is the second London site for Le Cordon Bleu, which opened its first culinary school in the capital in Chelsea in 1931. It has since moved premises several times and is now based on Bloomsbury Square.

Le Cordon Bleu's culinary institute at CORD will offer a series of gourmet short courses for aspirational chefs in worldwide cuisine, food and wine pairing, and patisserie. Classes will cater for up to 14 people, with the whole institute available for exclusive hire for larger groups of up to 30.