Anyone ever gone to any cooking schools abroad?

Looking to find like a week or two week intensive course at a culinary school. Would like to try and avoid the standard "A Fall Tuscan Dinner" and instead hit techniques hard.

I have been cruising the Cordon Bleu site, and wanted to see if anyone on here has done anything like this previously.

I haven't done anything intensive, but I've been thinking about the 5-day course at La Varenne since hearing Anne Willan talk. My travel schedule is full for the next three years, so, unfortunately, I won't get to Chateau du Fey any time soon. If you find something closer to Chicago and cheaper, I'd be interested in information.

This school that Bill/SFNM described previously sounds very interesting to me.

A few more suggestions ina related thread

Thanks for the tips toward those threads all.

Focused in on Mexico still.

Been doing some research and I have been thinking about maybe finding some lady and paying her to teach a buddy and myself for a couple of days. Somewhat atypical from the usual class routine.

Anyone ever done anything like that?

Do you mean finding someone here to teach you? Or overseas?

If here, I can give you the phone number of Patrick Chabert. He was the sous chef at Le Francais for 16 years, during the golden age. He now mostly does catering and is a Bocuse d'Or judge, but he also teaches, if you're interested. You can do one-day classes on specific topics, or you can do the three-day "level" courses, where you work a bit more intensively, moving through recipes that sometimes take the whole three days. And one eats very well during those three days. He prefers two students, but might be convinced to take on one. He's great fun, and most of the area's French chefs drop in while you're working with him.

Level I is the basics. Level II is cooking. Level III is plating. Level I takes three days. Level II can take as many years as you have to spare, but can be taken three days at a time. You learn tremendous amount.

But he's in Buffalo Grove, so it might not be what you were hoping for.