Alliance Francaise

South Pasadenans, get ready to escargot. In a recently finalized partnership agreement, the famed cooking school Le Cordon Bleu will offer classic French culinary training to students at South Pasadena’s Southern California School of Culinary Arts. Until now, the famed institution’s master chefs have taught only at their base, in Paris, and in Ottawa, London, Tokyo and Sydney. “We’re very honored and flattered to have them come to us,” says Christopher F. Becker, president of the South Pasadena campus. “There’s an absolute need for strong foundations, classic French cooking methods and classic recipes. Still, we’re not going to lose our contemporary cooking flavor.” The South Pasadena school boasts 250 students; as a result of the alliance, Becker expects attendance to jump dramatically. Classes begin in early 2000. French fluency not required.