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L'Academie de Cuisine, Francois Dionot's Outstanding Cooking School in Bethesda and Gaithersburg, Founded in 1976 - Closed as of Dec 31, 2017


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There may be some major news coming out tomorrow afternoon at L'Academie de Cuisine. Francois Dionot has called a mandatory meeting for the entire staff tomorrow afternoon at 3:30 PM, with almost no information being handed out in advance. Rumors are swirling, but right now, they remain unsubstantiated - people fear the worst in situations such as this, which is understandable.

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This should not [yet] be considered breaking news:

My source - whom I need to protect - tells me today that (s)he is "95% certain there will be a closure announcement."

I said, "Would you *REALLY* give 20-1 odds on a bet that they're going to close?"

Answer: "Yes."

There have been some little things substantiating this (things to do with accreditation and the MD Department of Education, financial issues, low enrollment, whispers and rumors, etc. - two weeks ago they were considering canceling graduation), but I need to emphasize that this possibility - it can't be considered "news" at this point, at least not by me - is coming from one insider, but it's an insider whom I know and trust, and who has no reason to tell me this unless (s)he strongly believes it to be true.

I hope this is not the case, because it will be a sad day when L'Academie de Cuisine shuts its doors - remember also that there are current students enrolled, so even a closure announcement wouldn't necessarily mean "at the end of 2017."

I've told you what I know, and I hope with all my heart that it's all dead wrong.

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I took the 20-week-long skills class at L'Academie, what a great environment.  One night a week with demo instruction and then cooking in their kitchen.  

They realized that most of the students were taking the class for fun and to better their home cooking skills, even though it was an accredited adult continuing education course (3 credits!).  The instructor's attitude was how often are you going to get to play around in a fully stocked professional class kitchen...go at it.  She took the time to make duck confit (amazing), we had to break down squab (they come fully clawed), we got to clean and cook sweet breads, during pasta class they made sure we had wine.

Indeed a sad day if they are closing.     

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1 hour ago, Tweaked said:

Indeed a sad day if they are closing.     

It's a sad day: They are closing, and today (Graduation Day), will be the final day for students. On Dec 31, 2017, the doors in Bethesda will shut for the final time, and the locks will have been changed - L'Academie de Cuisine Bethesda is no longer. :( 

This is an honest-to-goodness sad day for Washington, DC cuisine.

As a tribute to the great François Dionot, L'Academie de Cuisine is going to be retired ranked in Bold in the Maryland Dining Guide - it will be the only non-restaurant in the 12-year history of donrockwell.com to be honored as such.

---

As of 3:04 PM, I'm updating this thread as news comes in (e.g., I had originally stated that the doors were being locked today, which made no sense since the lease likely runs through Dec. 31). I'm still trying to find out details about Gaithersburg.

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We need a point of clarification here. 

The Bethesda school is the recreational classes.  Gaithersburg is the location for their professional school (the classes I took were at the Gaithersburg school) 

So are talking all of L'Academie closing or just Bethesda? 

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Yes, I'm updating the announcement as details come in. See above. 

As of 3:15 PM, I received a message which said, "All done. No real explanation. It is all over."

My guess is that later today, Warren Rojas will have a more detailed story on Eater, so you may want to keep an eye out for it. The sad summary is: L'Academie de Cuisine is no longer.

Another message at 3:26: "Doubt there will be a real story. Whole school is done."

At 3:28: "Many reasons not just 1 main one. Too much to overcome."

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I volunteered in the recreation classes a 2-3 times a month for years when I lived in Bethesda. I learned to be a very competent cook and baker from the wonderful chef instructors there. Many staple recipes for my family come from those classes, and my knife skills and cooking skills are definitely due to them. I don't live in the neighborhood anymore, but I am sure they will be greatly missed.

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9 hours ago, DonRocks said:

This should not [yet] be considered breaking news:

My source - whom I need to protect - tells me today that (s)he is "95% certain there will be a closure announcement."

I said, "Would you *REALLY* give 20-1 odds on a bet that they're going to close?"

Answer: "Yes."

There have been some little things substantiating this (things to do with accreditation and the MD Department of Education, financial issues, low enrollment, whispers and rumors, etc. - two weeks ago they were considering canceling graduation), but I need to emphasize that this possibility - it can't be considered "news" at this point, at least not by me - is coming from one insider, but it's an insider whom I know and trust, and who has no reason to tell me this unless (s)he strongly believes it to be true.

I hope this is not the case, because it will be a sad day when L'Academie de Cuisine shuts its doors - remember also that there are current students enrolled, so even a closure announcement wouldn't necessarily mean "at the end of 2017."

I've told you what I know, and I hope with all my heart that it's all dead wrong.

6 hours ago, mtureck said:

Probably my fault for always planning on taking a class there, but never actually doing it.

Me too.  I was in the Bethesda triangle a lot in the 80's -90's.  I thought the classes would be interesting and fun.  Damn.  I never took one.

As to one small item above.  I doubt the MD department of Education was the "reason" or one of the reasons for closure.  We deal with them.  We've dealt with state educational offices and boards in numerous states.  Its a Pain In the Neck element of running a school.  Some of the things they require one to do and report are both time consuming, detailed and cost some $$.   In our experience it has never been an element to make or break a school.  In my experience Md's educational regulators are a little on the tougher side versus the majority of states wherein we have experience.

Very tough for all the staff.  I hope this hasn't extended to the Gaithersburg locaction

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L’Academie de Cuisine, the local culinary school that’s produced distinguished alumni including James Beard Foundation Award-winner Aaron Silverman, Mirabelle pastry chef Aggie Chin, Daikaya co-founder Katsuya Fukushima, and celebrity chef Carla Hall, just shut down its professional campus in Gaithersburg, Maryland.

L’Academie founder Francois Dionot, who started the now-revered institution in 1976, informed staff late Friday, December 15, that the professional facility (16006 Industrial Drive, Gaithersburg, Md.) was done effective immediately.

"L'Academie de Cuisine" by Don Rockwell on donrockwell.com

"Culinary Launchpad L'Academie de Cuisine Is Closing" by Warren Rojas on eater.dc.com

Wow.

I admit I don't follow DC-centric food news much but since I have friends who live in the area, of which one is an alum of this school, the news of this close struck me like a blow.

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This is a huge loss.  I attended several Bastille day dinners that Francois held in Gaithersburg, volunteered and took several classes in Bethesda back in the day and have enjoyed great food from many graduates.   Always top notch, educational and fun.   Francois was a force to reckon with and his staff top notch.  This is a huge void in the area both for professional as well as recreational chefs.

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2 hours ago, DaveO said:

As to one small item above.  I doubt the MD department of Education was the "reason" or one of the reasons for closure.  

Substantiation ^= Reason

2 hours ago, DaveO said:

Very tough for all the staff.  I hope this hasn't extended to the Gaithersburg locaction

<_<

51 minutes ago, TrelayneNYC said:

Some folks on Facebook are speculating whether it has to do with a #metoo thing.

I'd be lying if I said this hadn't crossed my mind, but only because of co-incidence.

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This is really sad news.  I took a Knife-Skills class at the Bethesda location 10 years ago and it completely changed my approach to cooking - it made it so much easier. Just wish I'd taken the class 35 years ago!  Every time I dice an onion I think of that class -- can't remember the instructor's name, but he was really entertaining.

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17 minutes ago, DanielK said:

Some of the comments there are brutal.

And sadly enlightening. I'm having second thoughts about this:

On 12/15/2017 at 2:45 PM, DonRocks said:

As a tribute to the great François Dionot, L'Academie de Cuisine is going to be retired ranked in Bold in the Maryland Dining Guide - it will be the only non-restaurant in the 12-year history of donrockwell.com to be honored as such.

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11 hours ago, DonRocks said:

And sadly enlightening. I'm having second thoughts about this:

There's a certain amount of "whataboutism" there. Nobody is saying that instructors and students weren't also hurt. But one can care about two things at once.

We don't know what his financial situation was - remember that they had a fire in August and lost a ton of money, equipment, revenue, etc. Maybe he poured a ton of personal money in and still couldn't get back to level. Maybe he's a prick and ran away with what cash was left. Not sure we'll ever know.

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Some of those comments are brutal...and anyone can understand the dismay of the students and employees. I also think you have to consider the age of the owners. If they poured their own money into this, they may not have the time to put more in and recover it in their lifetime. I believe they had to cut their losses and get out. That being said, I am surprised they did not file for BK protection and perhaps try to get the last class out. 

 

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This evidently won't be popular here , but declining admissions don't surprise me.  I looked into it a decade ago, and a big tuition for a certificate to qualify for a 20K job most prep cooks are already qualified for seems like a tough business model.  I had fun at the recreational classes I took though.

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5 hours ago, soapy said:

I loved taking classes there! Great teachers and the knife skills class should be mandatory for any person who wants to get serious about cooking

I took the knife skills class a dozen or more years ago. It was very much worth it and I use those skills almost every day.

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