Western Culinary Institute

The Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts in Portland, formerly the Western Culinary Institute, is a culinary school located in downtown Portland, Oregon, United States. The school is owned by the Career Education Corporation and it is also a partner with the French culinary institute Le Cordon Bleu. As of 2006, the school had an enrollment of 805 students. The school became affiliated with Le Cordon Bleu in 1999 and changed its name from the Western Culinary Institute to the current name in January 2010.HistoryWestern Culinary Institute was established in 1983, by two local businessmen, Horst Mager and Donald Waldbauer, as the Horst Mager Culinary Institute. In 1986, it adopted the name, Western Culinary Institute. The school was purchased by the Career Education Corporation in 1996. In 1999, WCI partnered with Le Cordon Bleu so that their graduating students could get a Le Cordon Bleu dîplome along with a specialized associate degree in culinary arts, hospitality and restaurant management, or pâtisserie and baking. In 2000, WCI was the first school to offer the Le Cordon Bleu Restaurant Management Diploma, although as of 2008, it does not have a restaurant management program. A lawsuit started in March 2008 against the school became a class action lawsuit in December 2009. The lawsuit claims Western Culinary and its parent company committed fraud with its recruitment practices.