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Student Wins First Settlement in Le Cordon Bleu Mass Lawsuit
By Anne Bucher
A student who alleged that Le Cordon Bleu fraudulently promised lucrative job opportunities upon completing their culinary program was awarded $217,000 in the first settlement agreement reached in over 1,000 lawsuits filed against the cooking school in 2008.
Anna Berkowitz and her father Martin Berkowitz had been led to believe that Anna would earn at least $75,000 upon completing the culinary program, allowing her to pay off the extensive loans she was encouraged to take out.
According to data presented in the mass lawsuit — being identified in some media outlets as a class action lawsuit even though the cases are being settled individually either out of court or through arbitration — the average salary of a restaurant chef-owner was $79,222 whereas a pastry chef received an average of $47,024. While these averages are inflated by hotels, the pay for independent restaurant chefs was significantly lower. A pastry chef with one year of experience earned an average salary of $28,333.
Plaintiffs in the lawsuits alleged that Le Cordon Bleu’s marketing strategy draws in students with its “become a chef” advertising and promising a high rate of placement for graduates of the program. The plaintiffs accuse the company of false advertising, claiming that the culinary school includes in these statistics graduates who attain jobs as line cooks and other positions that do not require a culinary degree.
Plaintiffs in the class action lawsuit include current or former students of Le Cordon Bleu, which is also known as the California School of Culinary Arts. They accuse the company of marketing Le Cordon Bleu to prospective students with “misleading statements, significant omissions, assertions of fact that the Defendants had no reasonable ground for believing to be true, and outright lies” to convince them that they would be better off financially and professionally by attending Le Cordon Bleu. The plaintiffs allege that they are now burdened by non-dischargeable student loans that they cannot afford to pay.
According to the class action lawsuit, Le Cordon Bleu’s marketing materials suggested that students of the culinary program could forge ahead in their careers without spending years working up the culinary ladder. The advertisements suggested that graduates of the programs would be qualified to work as well-respected chefs. Prospective students were provided with placement statistics that indicated that as many as 96 percent of graduates were placed. Because all of the marketing materials implied that graduates moved on to become chefs, the plaintiffs interpreted this data to mean that the vast majority of graduates were employed as chefs or equivalent positions. As a result, they took out loans to help them afford the $22,000 to $50,000 required to enroll in the culinary program.
The plaintiffs filed their lawsuits after learning that graduates of the program are very rarely hired as chefs. The majority of graduates find work in entry level positions, earning between $8 and $12 per hour, an insufficient amount to help them pay back their loans in a timely manner.
Updated July 3rd, 2013
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89 thoughts onStudent Wins First Settlement in Le Cordon Bleu Mass Lawsuit
To Whom it may Concern , I attended Le Cordon Bleu Orlando Culinary Academy from 2003-2005 I was wondering if this law suit would benefit me
I would also like information on this lawsuit. I attended Le Cordon Bleu in 2006/2007 and was also mislead.
the whole school company is still doing this and misleading students on a daily basis. when I started last year, at the orlando location, was told average starting salary was 15 to 18 an hour. Was told that they would work w/you on remaining balance with you paying it out after finished, and small payments in school. then want you to pay huge 800 + dollar payments while in school. Please contact me interested in info about solving problem with this school. In addition, when you file fafsa, they have you use three numbers, one of which is the pasadena california school. they are continuing behaviors. school(company) is currently up for sale. PLEASE CONTACT WITH INFO ABOUT LAWSUIT AND DEALING WITH SCHOOL.
I would like to know where to sign as well, I am in debt and could not get a job for what they stated when I graduated. I could not pay back the loan and I never even received my certificate!
i went to school in Pennsylvania and was promised all this. The most I have made is 13$/hr. They promised lifetime job assistance. I had to find my own externship. Now the school I attended has closed. What are my options?
I am in a similar situation…. I graduated in 2012 from the Pasadena school.. They told me that that this would guarentee me a job in a restaurant and with no less of $15 an hour.. My school loan + living expense put me in debt way over what they told me originally. I now have a $70,000. Loan hanging on my shoulders and to top it off none of the credits where transferable. So I can basically pardon my language but wipe my ass with the \associates degree\ and \diploma\ I got. I have learned much more information by working in a kitchen rather then being taught by teachers who half assed the courses. If anyone has info on how I can join a class action please let me know.. I attended school during August of 2010- May of 2012.. The school is way over priced I would NEVER recommend anyone to go there.. Some of the teachers don’t care so their classes are mediocre… Best bet would be to stay home and watch 10 hours of food network and spend your money on buying tools and ingredients for yourself..
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As a graduate of the school in 2006 in Pasadena CA, I would like information as well if there is ANY hope of getting out from under this debt.
I would also like info on this lawsuit and who I contact about this matter? I too was a student at the San Francsico branch of Le Cordon Blue a few years ago and I was told the same thing about how I would make this amount of money and the position I would hold, though being in then Industry for a number of years and knowing that chefs aren’t made over night, let alone put into that particular position from the word go. my problem is that because I was living in the most expensive cost of living city in the country, and having been forcibly withdrawn from the school because I was not able to pay the 2400 dollars they wanted for the academic year, I now have incurred 36000+ dollars in student loans that is ruining my credit. I have stepped away from the culinary industry as a result and now I have creditors and an ungodly amount of loans that are in default due to being displaced in the workforce because of all this and the seemingly impossible payments they want from me has me on the brink of homelessness. This is not something that I signed on for nor did they even give me full and proper information and understanding regarding my financial aid material/loans and never informed me of the schools policy of forcibly making students withdraw due to cost of living and their personal financial struggles. Furthermore, they never even tried to help me with finding resources or employee me at the school in the school restaurant because I was not but a semester away from being a upper class man. I realize now that I was mislead and abandoned when it came crunch time and the suddenness of being told pay or withdraw. For this I would like info on how to join this lawsuit
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As a graduate of the school in 2006 in Pasadena CA, I too am in a similar situation having a string of jobs that pay hourly and I am currently making $9 an hour. I recently had to move back in with family as I was unable to even afford an apartment on my own. I would like information as well if there is ANY hope of getting out from under this debt.
I am requesting information on who to contact on the class action lawsuit against Le Cordon Bleu of north America. I attended the Le Cordon Bleu school of culinary arts in Austin Texas, from November of 2010-May of 2012. I was promised that my degree would guaranteed an hourly wage of at least 12-15 dollars an hour. I have yet to be making that wage, and am being charged 270.00 a month, and my hourly wage, and hours will not match that amount. I am the only wage earner in my home, and they are now threatening to garnish my wages. The career people at my old school lied to us students in this.
thank you,
John C. Rich.
I’m in the same boat! I went to the school in Austin, TX and was told that my loans would be $350 per month upon graduation. A month before we graduated, I was told that the loans would be $900! After 10 years, my monthly payments are now supposed to be $1700/month because of the high interest rates I was given. I’d love more info on how to get in on a class action lawsuit.
For those interested in opening a Class Action Lawsuit go to the menu on this site and click Start a Class Action Lawsuit