Each year on April 4th, National Chicken Cordon Bleu Day celebrates a blue ribbon dish that combines chicken, ham, and cheese.
- 1500s – The knights hung their talisman on blue ribbons and the Order of the Knights of the Holy Spirit became known as ‘Les Cordon Bleus.’
- 16th Century – The dish dates as far back as the 16th century
- 1895 – Le Cordon Bleu opens and becomes one of the most famous culinary schools in France.
- 1940s – Since the blue ribbon stands for ‘excellence’ in French culture, the Swiss schnitzel receives this recognition and becomes ‘Cordon Bleu.’
- 1958 – The earliest reference to veal cordon bleu is in The Los Angeles Times and was published in 1958. It is listed among the trendy dishes served at a swank affair: “Veal cordon bleu will be the piece de resistance on the menu.”
- 1964 – The earliest recipe we were able to find was in a March 1964 printing of the Cincinnati Enquirer by the Cincinnati Gourmet Stanley Demos. Despite some misconceptions, it is an American dish. Demos mentions in his column that he got the idea to try chicken instead of veal “to be different.”
- 1967 – The oldest reference in the NYT for chicken cordon bleu is also a United Airlines ad, circa 1967: “Top Sirloin. Fine Wine. Color Movies. This is Coach? United’s Blue Carpet to California. Blue Carpet is the best reason for flying Coach on your vacation to Los Angeles or San Francisco. What’s in it for you? Top Sirloin Steak-or Chicken Cordon Bleu, if you wish-prepared by our own European-trained chefs. Champagne or fine red wine (at nominal cost)…Even a special children’s menu.”
- The French term Cordon Bleu translates to “Blue Ribbon.”
- It is a flattened chicken breast that is wrapped around ham (or sometimes prosciutto or Canadian bacon) and cheese such as Swiss or Gruyere.
- Toothpicks hold the chicken together before being dipped in an egg wash and breaded.
- The dish did not originate at any of the prestigious Cordon Bleu cooking schools of Europe as often thought.
- In largely Muslim-populated countries, the halal versions of chicken cordon bleu are also popular, but to cater to the halal requirement for the Muslims, the chicken is rolled around a beef instead of a pork product.
- The term cordon bleu has come to denote a chef of exceptional quality.
- Chicken Kiev is a similar dish.
- What is the difference between Chicken Kiev and Cordon Bleu? The main difference between the two is that the Chicken Kiev is stuffed with cold butter, whereas Cordon Bleu is stuffed with ham and cheese.
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