I currently work and live in London, but I grew up in multi-cultural, multi-ethnic Malaysia. Such diversity and rich cultural heritage provided a wonderful melting pot of culture and cuisine - food is a big part of Malaysian culture and no visit can be complete without a food tour! So the culinary passion was with me since I was little.

My journey to Le Cordon Bleu was rather indirect. During my four year stint in the finance sector, I decided to submit an application for the Basic Pâtisserie course in London in the hope that I could follow my passion. The course, as expected, was full then, but I got a phone call right before it was due to start asking whether I am still interested as a place had become available at the last minute. Such opportunities only happen once, so in the course of 36 hours I found myself literally swapping my City office garb for chef’s whites.

It was the best time of my life. You meet a lot of dedicated and talented students at Le Cordon Bleu, and you finally feel you belong somewhere (people talk about food most of the time!). The teaching was amazing - it assumes no prior knowledge and I managed to build up my skills despite having no previous baking or pâtisserie experience. To this day, I still remember my first chocolate piping lesson, where my Master Chef instructor basically described mine as “chocolate toothpaste” (I’ve gotten much better at that since!). It was intimidating at first as some of my peers were experienced, but everyone is really helpful and there to share and exchange knowledge and techniques.

Learning about eggs and the biochemical properties of protein coagulation during the course triggered my interest in the scientific aspects of cooking. Since I left Le Cordon Bleu, I continued exploring business ideas related to food, and soon became heavily involved in sous-vide cooking. I was fascinated by the brilliant simplicity of this cooking technique.

Realising that current devices are mainly tailored for chefs and restaurant use only, I was eager to introduce this simple yet amazing technique to enthusiastic cooks at home. We spent nearly a year designing and building our sous-vide device called Codlo, and it’s now ready for manufacture. My current plan is to raise funds through a crowdfunding campaign in June/July 2013.

Although I have followed an unconventional career path, I would have never achieved all of this without the exposure I had at Le Cordon Bleu. The network and experiences I gained there are invaluable and will be part of me forever.

I was born and raised in Athens, and when I was younger I would spend my summers near my grandmother in the south of Greece in a village near Kalamata. I recall a rich variety of fruits and vegetables, and cooking in wood ovens, experiences which inspired me greatly. Everything I tasted was so flavoursome, even if it was a humble tomato or milk pie. These are the reasons for my passion for cooking.

I wanted to further my culinary abilities and began searching for somewhere to study. It wasn’t a difficult decision, many of my peers believed that Le Cordon Bleu was the best destination for me, and I wasn’t disappointed. Everything was so organised, and the chefs that were teaching us had a great attention to detail, it was exactly as I was hoping for. After I graduated from Le Cordon Bleu and returned to Greece, many of the chefs recognised that my education gave me an advantage.

Since graduating I have worked in a number of restaurants and hotel kitchens, which helped me realise how beneficial my Le Cordon Bleu education is. I currently work at the Titania Hotel, Athens, as head chef of their Olive Garden restaurant. In addition, I co-authored the SENSES cookbook. I owe much of the success in my career to Le Cordon Bleu and their teaching chefs.

I was born and raised in India where my Father wanted me to join the family business, but my passion was for food. I would see my Mother cooking great food and my ambition was to do the same, so I got a job working in a restaurant kitchen. During my time working, I always felt that something was missing, and I wanted to study. I looked into all the different culinary schools and colleges available, and quickly realised that Le Cordon Bleu is the best there is, so I came to London to study the Diplôme de Cuisine.

Everything was so organised, the teaching chefs were always available to help and they really taught me to focus on detail to achieve perfection - whether I’m in the restaurant or at home. My time at Le Cordon Bleu was about more than gaining a qualification, it was a true culinary education. When I graduated and entered the work place, many employers recognised my education with Le Cordon Bleu due to their reputation for excellence; this definitely gave me an advantage over other candidates.

Since graduating from Le Cordon Bleu London in 2010, I’ve worked for a number of high quality restaurants across the capital. In two years I have worked my way up to the position of chef de partie at The Arts Club, an exclusive private members club in Mayfair where I currently work with three other Le Cordon Bleu graduates. Because we all studied at the same institute, it is like being part of a family, and we like to help each other out in the kitchen. I strongly believe that my education with Le Cordon Bleu has helped me to achieve the success I have since graduating.

Nathalie Delormeau graduated from the prestigious Le Cordon Bleu French culinary academy in London at the age of 20. She has always been passionate about the food and creativity that are embodied by the culinary world. Her early career saw her working in fashion and decoration, Nathalie has a natural taste for colors and materials, excellent attention to detail, as well as a love of all things beautiful, appetizing and appealing.

In 2001 Nathalie launched her culinary career with the catchy and innovative concept “Natachef”, where her imaginative cuisine attracted a clientele with both a refined palette and a desire to discover new things. While staying true to her passion, Nathalie enjoyed receiving her diners as friends. Through her cuisine, she shared her desires, creativity and personal favorites. It was a natural progression for her to offer services in the art of fine dining to her customers, changing her dishes according to the season and her imagination. Thanks to the concept of exchange and conviviality, as well as the quality of her original menus, the business was a success.

On the back of her accomplishments in Paris, she returned to her first love – all things British. Nathalie decided to revamp the humble sandwich shop, creating British Sandwich, a restaurant where concept and recipe are united in deliciously balanced harmony.

Nathalie is active and dynamic, and never ceases to invent and innovate, launching her high end sandwich boutique and delicatessen featuring only English products. The menu changes depending on the season and Nathalie's current favorites. The ideal new meeting place for gastronomes in a hurry, “British Sandwich” is Nathalie's latest challenge, her current passion.

The idea reflects her desire to share her love of fine foods as well as her taste for creative combinations. Staying true to a concept of elegance and gastronomy, she has reinterpreted bygone recipes with the eye of a chef, and returned the sandwich to its noble – English – roots.

I am from Mumbai, India. I chose Le Cordon Bleu as it was the best place to learn culinary skills after graduating with a qualification in hotel management. I wanted to learn finishing techniques and hence I chose the school. I decided on the London campus as I had travelled to London before and really enjoyed it. Also I see London as a kind of culinary Mecca!

What I most enjoyed about the programme was the professionalism of the lecturers and chefs. They instilled in me a sense of perfection for the culinary arts and I liked the systematic manner of the course. I would advise any potential students to go to Le Cordon Bleu.

After graduating, I went to Kuwait and worked for Kuwait Airways for a year, before doing some travelling and heading back to India. I then worked on my own personal cookery book entitled The East Indian Kitchen and wrote cookbooks for various food clients. I then moved into the area of food media, food styling and photography which I have now been doing for the last 10 years. Currently, I head up the food team for Masterchef India and have now completed two seasons. I will also continue doing freelance food styling and writing on food related topics.

I’m from Japan. I was always interested in cooking from an early age and I wanted to develop this with formal training. I knew that Le Cordon Bleu was the best culinary arts school in the world so it was here that I chose to study. London has a dynamic culinary scene, with influences from around the world. That’s why I chose the London school - great city, great school, a great combination!

The part of the course I enjoyed most was the Superior Pâtisserie level. I remember creating an amazing chocolate centrepiece with an Alice in Wonderland theme! Overall, the programme was excellent and the staff and instructors were professional. The Le Cordon Bleu school provided expert training preparing me to enter the international culinary market.

Since graduating, I have worked in a number of internationally acclaimed restaurants, including Gordon Ramsey's Royal Hospital Road restaurant where I worked for 6 years. I currently work as Head Pastry Chef at The Fat Duck which is amazing. I am enjoying a fantastic culinary journey since graduating from Le Cordon Bleu!

I come from the city of Mumbai in India. I have had a passion for food since childhood, and from a very early age I was always in the kitchen cooking or baking something - when I was just 12 years old I made some amazing brownies that everyone loved! That is when my mother told me about Le Cordon Bleu. From then on I knew that my career would be in food and that I wanted to be a chef. After researching the school my mind was made up, so after completing a three year degree in Hospitality at Mumbai University I then left for London to join Le Cordon Bleu.

London has always been my second home. My mother's parents lived in London, so every year during summer we would visit. With the familiarity of the city and the school’s location I didn’t have to think twice about choosing the London school.

I started my Pâtisserie Diploma in October 2009, graduating in June 2010. I remember telling my mother on the first day "Mum, I have waited 10 years to wear the Le Cordon Bleu uniform, and today finally I am wearing it!". Every class was completely different from the previous one, always with something new and exciting to learn. There are several moments during the course that I will never forget, such as Chef Graeme’s amazing caramel swans at Basic level, and bread making and the Tea Party Event at Superior level. It was great to see the way the chefs made it seem so easy! Yet while it was difficult for us in the beginning, we knew that with their guidance we could do well.

Since graduating from Le Cordon Bleu London, I have set up my own catering company Dee's Yummies, making and delivering business lunches to various individuals. I also cater for parties of around 30 people, working with 2 other chefs who assist me. The dishes are cooked in my kitchen at home and have to be ready by 11.00 am every morning to meet the lunch demand. Catering is a very difficult business, particularly when you are catering to a group of established clients on a daily basis who expect you to meet the highest standards at all times. I have to constantly think about food and keep my clients in my mind. Although I am catering to the Indian market, the skills I learnt at Le Cordon Bleu have been invaluable in the way I manage my kitchen and my way of working. A 10-year long dream came true when I joined Le Cordon Bleu London, which in turn allowed me to fulfil my dream of joining the food industry by creating Dee's Yummies.

I am a young pastry professional from Sri Lanka. Unusually, my previous exploits were in the professional football arena where I captained college teams from under-12 to under-19 and represented my country in two prestigious Asian soccer tournaments in Uzbekistan and Vietnam. After deciding to change direction and follow my passion for food, I began training at an elite hotel in the Sri Lankan city of Colombo, before moving to Switzerland to obtain a Certificate in International Hotel and Tourism Management. For my next step, Le Cordon Bleu was an obvious choice. I realised that if I wanted to become the best I had to study with the best. I chose London because for me, it is the heart of the culinary world, a truly international city, where students from all over the world are taught by the best pastry professionals.

The Pâtisserie Diploma course was amazing. Le Cordon Bleu students must really be dedicated to get the maximum from the course which I feel I tried my best to do. I not only loved the course, but also the teaching chefs who are world renowned for their expertise and were exceptionally good mentors. What I enjoyed most is the manner in which they recognised the talent of their students and let them work with their own creativity, while guiding and motivating them to become better artists throughout the course and beyond. To cite one instance, after graduating from Le Cordon Bleu, I was called upon by Chef Julie Walsh to assist in the creation of intricately decorated, 6-foot, 4-tier cake, for the Tate and Lyle Royal Wedding Cake Exhibition to mark Prince William's royal wedding to Kate Middleton earlier this year.

I am currently in the process of finalising my plans for a move to the USA to work and develop my skills for one year at the 5-star Chateau Elan Winery and Resort in Atlanta. To anybody with a serious passion for food and the culinary arts, I would strongly recommend that they enrol on a course at Le Cordon Bleu.

I am from Kolkata, the capital of the state of West Bengal in India.

I come from a strictly academic background and was doing my Doctorate in International Relations when my lifelong passion for food finally won through and lead me to take the leap into the culinary world. As this was such a huge step for me, I chose to attend Le Cordon Bleu because it is the most authentic institution in the world, only ever teaching meticulously recorded, traditional techniques. I was thrilled with my training.

My French not being so fluent, I chose the London school. Another vital reason was that as the training here is mainly in English, students can work with a cross-section of some of the most brilliant teachers that any institution can boast. What I most enjoyed while studying for my Le Grand Diplôme in Cuisine and Pâtissiere was the intensity with which knowledge was imparted, with no shortcuts. My training also gave me so much confidence in the real world of food preparation

I now run my own Indian cuisine restaurant in Kolkata - authentic Indian food preparation mirrors the intensive French techniques in many ways - called The Restaurant on the First Floor. I also regularly teach classes on continental food preparation and ingredients for my students here. The thoroughness of my training at Le Cordon Bleu has certainly stood me in good stead!

I recently published my first cookbook - Chef Sunshine's Travelling Flavours - a collection of recipes from The Mediterranean, Middle-East and Africa, designed for cooking in the Indian kitchen.

Le Cordon Bleu will be with me forever, particularly as the name Sunshine, which was given to me by the chefs at the school, has now become my working identity in the culinary world!

My journey to the Cordon Bleu in London was rather indirect. I originally began my career in the film and TV industry as a producer, however in 2006 my husband had the opportunity to work in London and I felt it would be foolish not to tag along on the adventure. I signed up to pursue a Cuisine Diploma at Le Cordon Bleu to take advantage of my mini ‘sabbatical’ from work. I fell in love with French cuisine and returned to Toronto to hone my skills in the fine-dining industry.

My passion is writing and I was fortunate to be able to meld my food skills with my musings by writing about my Le Cordon Bleu experience for the Globe and Mail’s Life section. This led to my bi-weekly column for The Globe and Mail called The Spread (launched in 2007) where I write about the artisanal cheese scene. I no longer work in the kitchen but I am writing and hosting a web cooking series for The Globe and Mail called Chef Basics. We’ve created over 80 videos since 2010.

I currently freelance write, blog and create recipes for clients such as Dairy Farmers of Canada, the international ad agency Sid Lee and the LCBO Food and Drink magazine.

I’m looking forward to dipping my toe into teaching by hosting a series of seminars on cheese appreciation through Provincial Fine Foods in Toronto.

I’m from the UK and chose to go to Le Cordon Bleu London because of it’s renowned reputation and because it was highly recommended to me by a former pâtisserie graduate.

I loved the course and had a thoroughly good time. The best part for me was the relationship the students had with their teachers. They are approachable and teach in such a clear manner.

While in my final term at Le Cordon Bleu I started working for a company called Konditor and Cook as a cake decorator. Once I graduated, I began work there full time and after around 7 months went on to start up my own company Blue Bow Bakery.

I moved from London back to my hometown and have been growing my business in the Berkshire area since October 2010. I am so grateful to Le Cordon Bleu for everything they have taught me and in February 2011 I started teaching cake decorating myself. I also have plans to open a shop hopefully in the next year or two.