The certification training courses in Cooking at the École Lenôtre are designed for adults looking to train or to switch careers:
- Hobbyists and enthusiasts looking to switch careers
- Young professionals
- Professionals who left the trade for a while
Given the intensity of this program, each candidate needs to be genuinely motivated by careers in cooking or gastronomy in general.
The Cooking Chef Diploma is registered to the RNCP (Répertoire National des Certifications Professionnelles). Therefore, it will provide the whole range of skills necessary to do this job. (RNCP34978, published to the BO on 14/10/2020). Discover it in detail here.
The objective
The goal is to quickly reach a high level of qualification in 7 months without going through a long initial training period. The École Lenôtre will provide you with the basic methods and essential techniques in cooking needed to become a qualified professional (vocational diploma) in six months.

The pre-requisites
The pre-requisites eligibility for this course:
- To be aged 18 years or older
- To have a minimum level in English or French (level B1)
- To be able to read and write
- To know the basics of hygiene and safety
- in a food environment
- To have basic knowledge of basic reasoning (calculations and logic)
Our strengths
- 21 weeks of intensive courses
- Class size limited to 12 participants
- 100% success rate
- Four-week internship in a Lenôtre establishment
Two weeks of training with awarded chefs
A THREE-PART TRAINING COURSE
L’Essentiel
240 h
(6 weeks) :
5 weeks of lessons
+
1 week of revision
and exams
– Multiple choice questions
– Continuous assessments
-Practical exam
L’Incontournable
280 h
(7 weeks) :
6 seweeks of lessons
+
1 sweek of revisions
and exams
– Multiple choice questions
– Continuous assessments
-Practical exam
La Maîtrise
320 h
(8 weeks) :
7 weeks of lessons
+
1 week of revisions
and exam
– Multiple choice questions
– Continuous assessments
-Practical exam
stage
160 h
4 weeks
Work placement
within companies
Feedback from the
internship supervisor
+
internship report
to write
We offer a flexible planning that allows a 7 months course, or independent programs.
L’Essentiel
MAKE THE BASIC COOKING RECIPES (6 weeks)
The aim of this module is to allow students to learn the basics of Culinary Arts and to master the fundamental culinary techniques.
Practical lessons:
- Make basic recipes: sauces, vinaigrettes, mayonnaises, stocks… Make basic starters: soups, quiches, salads…
- Make fish and seafood dishes: moules marinières, whiting à l’anglaise, sole bonne-femme… Make meat dishes: roast poultry, sautéed veal, beef stew, braised meat, grilled meat… Make vegetable side dishes to compliment the main dish
- Make classic desserts: fruit tarts, filled choux pastry, puff pastry, moka, bavarois…
- Manage and organize its work (team work, inventory management, due process and method, production and conservation compliance etc.)
- Assessment of progress
L’Incontournable
MAKE THE CLASSICS OF CULINARY ARTS (7 weeks)
The objective of this module is to allow students to strenghten their knowledge of cooking and to master the techniques necessary to achieve the basics of pastry in a restaurant.
Practical lessons :
- Master different types of terrines : classic « country style » terrine, fish, foie gras, in « gelée », in a pastry crust… Master seafood and shellfish recipes : tartare or carpaccio, oysters in gelée, marinières, stuffed clams, crayfish, lobster…
- Master cold and hot starters : soufflés, puff pastry, salads… Master advanced level fish dishes and sauces : fileting fish, portioning styles “darnes,etc” (Brill fish “Dulgéré”, scallops in the style “Quiberonnaise”…)
- Master advanced level meat dishes and sauces : cutting and portioning different cuts of meat (rack of lamb, tournedos of beef, chicken supreme, offal…)
- Make cocktail foods, canapés : how to compose a buffet dinner
- Master the basics of pastry catering : basic pastries and how to use them, cooked fruit, petits fours, pastry creams, tuiles, molleux …
- Manage and organize its work (team work, inventory management, due process and method, production and conservation compliance etc.)
- Assessment of progress
L’Essentiel certificate must have been validated before starting this second certificate.
La Maîtrise
MAKE AN ASSORTMENT OF HIGH QUALITY AND TREND DISHES (8 weeks)
The aim of this module is to allow students to consolidate their mastery and perfect the skills necessary to work as a professional chef.
Practical lessons :
8 weeks (of which 2 weeks are led by an award-winning Chef)
- Master cooking for buffet dinners and cocktails: making sandwiches, glazing techniques… Develop a range of modern and signature dishes coached by an award-winning chef Create a menu using restricted ingredients, reusing dishes already learned
- Create a menu using a restricted budget
- Master the different cooking methods for fish and meat Create plated desserts and petits fours
- Manage and organize its work (team work, inventory management, due process and method, production and conservation compliance etc.)
- Assessment of progress
L’incontournable certificate must have been validated before starting this third certificate.
Work Placement
DISCOVER THE PROFESSIONNAL ENVIRONMENT AND APPLY SKILLS ACQUIRED DURING THE TRAINING
The internship’s aim is to discover the professional world of gastronomy. It is a mandatory experience to complete the diploma.
The internship lasts for 4 weeks and aims to:
- Strengthen a previous experience learned beforehand
- Implement the practical application of the knowledge acquired
By totally immersing yourself in the world of gastronomy within Lenôtre establishments (production laboratory in Plaisir, 11 parisian shops, Jules Verne restaurant and Le Pré Catelan restaurants), you will be given the opportunity to carry-out missions within the field of your future endeavors. Each day, you will be involved in the daily tasks of a given company, working side-by-side with professionals whose fundamental values are defined by sharing and transmitting their knowledge.
The “Cooking” certification will only be awarded once you have passed each certificate and successfully completed your internship.
The Theory
APPLIED AND TESTED IN EACH MODULE
Raw material and culinary theory
- Hygiene and safety standards (both food and work environment) in compliance with environmental standards. Packaging, labelling, storage and preservation of basic, finished and partially-finished products according to the HACCP.
- Tools used in cooking (utensils, large and small equipment). Organization, storage and cleaning of work surfaces, and the kitchen laboratory.
- Daily stock control and storage of incoming dry goods and fresh ingredients (observation of the cold chain), cold rooms and freezers.
- Awareness of the importance of a technical information sheet to rationalize the production and optimize the quality of the recipes.
- Writing and creating a technical recipe sheet.
- Selection of the quality of ingredients and raw materials for the recipes being created.
Practical information
Equipment and materials
The school will give every student his own set of utensils (knives, whisk, rolling pin,…) at the beginning of the training program. This set of utensils will be useful during your training, but also during your whole career.
Every student will also receive a mandatory professional uniform, that will include:
2 white professional jackets with the Ecole Lenôtre signature
2 professional trousers 1 pair of safety shoes
Usual timetable (40 hours per week)
Monday to Thursday: 8:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Friday: 8:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.
Every day, breakfast is served half an hour before the beginning of the training session.
The lunch is served from 12:00 to 12:45 pm.
This timetable may vary sometime according to the civil calendar or for some specific themes. We recommend to have a look on the hour timetable available on the begining of the training.
Accommodation
The Ecole Lenôtre will send you a list of useful addresses to help you to find a room, a studio or a flat to rent.
Registration and fees details
Fees for the diploma*
Fees for the 3 Certificates (21 weeks of lessons and 2 weeks’ work placement: 29 950€ H.T. (35 940€ TTC)
Fees for the different certificates (1)
Certificate « L’Essentiel » : 8 100 € H.T. (9 720€ TTC)
Certificate « L’Incontournable » : 9 450 € H.T. (11 340€ TTC)
Certificate « La Maîtrise » : 12 400€ H.T. (14 880€ TTC)
Validation of Acquired Experience
Possibility of accessing the training via the VAE (Validation of Acquired Experience)
To access our training via the VAE, a VAE file must be completed to demonstrate your pastry experience. Each certificate is accessible via VAE. Following the assessment of the registration folder, the VAE candidate will be offered a training program corresponding best to his level and expectations. The minimum required to validate the title Chef Ecole Lenôtre is the achievement and success during the examination weeks of each of the 3 certificates and according to the techniques of the Ecole Lenôtre.
FEES FOR THE DIPLOMA via VAE : 4 450 € HT(2) (5 340 € TTC)
FEES FOR THE CERTIFICATE « L’ESSENTIEL » or « L’INCONTOURNABLE » via VAE : 1 550 € HT(2) (1 860 € TTC)
FEES FOR THE CERTIFICATE » LA MAÎTRISE » via VAE : 1 750 € HT(2) (2 100€ TTC)
Registration terms
Given the limited number of seats in each session (12 maximum), we advise you to register at least 3 months before the starting date of your course.
- Registration folder
- The application for registration must include of all the following documents : Completed registration application form
- Copy of an official government identity card
- Curriculum Vitae
- Cover letter
After receiving these documents, we will organize an in-person or Skype interview to assess your motivation and assess the necessary prerequisites to start the training.
Means of access | Yes | No |
---|---|---|
After an initial training course (with student or pupil status) | X | |
Apprenticeship contract | X | |
After a vocational training course | X | |
Professionalization contract | X | |
Free application (extra-curricular) | X | |
Through VAE professional experience (implementation date: ) | X |
Jury composition:
- 20% of jury members depend on the organization, 80% of members are external and sector professionals.
- 50% of them are employees, 50% are employers.
Request for information
École Lenôtre provides intensive training allowing everyone to quickly access the professions of cooking and pastry.