The Graduate degree program in Gastronomy (which led to a Master of Arts in Gastronomy) was a collaboration between Le Cordon Bleu academy and The University of Adelaide.  Headed by Barbara Santich, the gastronomy degree catered to people looking for a gastronomy-related career in hospitality, media or tourism. The course is no longer offered.

It’s not clear why the University of Adelaide stopped offering its gastronomy degree. It may be that the vocational focus encouraged by Le Cordon Bleu did not mesh well with the more academic approach required by the university. Australian courses currently offered under the Cordon Bleu imprimatur are mostly through TAFE institutions in Brisbane, Sydney, Adelaide and Melbourne, while the University of Adelaide’s food courses are in food science rather than food culture and history.

There is still a Masters in Gastronomic Tourism which has been developed by the Southern Cross University in conjunction with Le Cordon Bleu, but it is only available online. According to the university, it is “designed for those with a passion for gastronomy and tourism, combining an academic approach to understanding food and drink with tourism business management skills”. Le Cordon Bleu also offers an online undergraduate certificate in gastronomy.

However, other options have since emerged for those wanting to undertake a gastronomy degree.  The William Angliss Institute in Melbourne offers a Master of Food Systems and Gastronomy degree as well as a Bachelor of Food Studies.  They say the Masters degree will “empower you to become an agent of positive change in the food system”.

Worldwide, more universities are offering gastronomy courses with the content varying between institutions. Some emphasise nutrition, cooking and hospitality while others focus on food ethics, food culture and food history.  In 2004, Slow Food International opened its Institute of Gastronomic Sciences in Pollenzo, Italy. Its aim is “to create a new understanding of gastronomy and a new professional – capable of linking the act of eating with the act of producing, along with all phases in between”.