Le Cordon Bleu and Classes

I won't bore anyone to death with the history of Le Cordon Bleu.  It's been well-documented by people who have far more patience than I do.  Wikipedia's primer on it is more than good enough.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Le_Cordon_Bleu

Cordon Bleu classes are divided into (more or less) the following:

Demonstrations (Demos):  A Chef preparing several dishes and explaining the techniques and ingredients used in each.  Ends with a tasting of each dish.

Practical Classes (Practicals):  Where the rubber meets the road.  Preparing one or more of the dishes demonstrated in the "demo" class.  Depending on the dish, two and half hours of fun or sheer terror.  Ends with the Chef peering at you over their glasses, taking miniscule bites of your dish, and telling you it's too salty, overcooked, a mess, etc.  Time is not your friend in a Practical.

Seminars:  A lecture from a Chef on a topic like the regions of France, wines, etc.  Stay awake and take notes because this stuff is on the written tests.

Workshops:  Group projects where all hell can break loose, ie. three students, $60 of ingredients from the Byward Market, and five hours to make magic.  These could get interesting.

Production kitchen/class assistant time:  Helping out in LCB's production kitchen, or helping a Chef in a demo class.  A good opportunity to shine or make an ass of yourself.