Two California Culinary Academy Graduates Named “Best New Chefs” by Food & Wine Magazine

HOFFMAN ESTATES, Ill. , July 14, 2006 – Two graduates of the California Culinary Academy (CCA), were recently named among Food & Wine magazine's “2006 Best New Chefs.” Jason Wilson and Christopher Lee were two of 10 up-and-coming chefs recognized in Food & Wine's annual “Best New Chefs” issue. CCA is now one of Le Cordon Bleu Schools North America (LCBNA), a division of Career Education Corporation (NASDAQ:CECO).

2006 marks Food & Wine's 18 th year of recognizing the most talented young chefs throughout the nation. After a year-long selection process that included extensive research, traveling, and food tasting, only 10 chefs were chosen out of hundreds of nominees. The winners were selected based on the innovation and taste of their dishes as well as having been in charge of a kitchen for five years or less.

“We are thrilled to have two CCA graduates receive this prestigious honor,” said Kirk Bachmann , corporate executive chef and vice president of education for LCBNA. “Each of our schools strives to provide a quality education and real-world experience to help catapult our students' success following graduation. The recognition of these talented chefs is a true testament to the culinary programs in our schools.”

After several years of cooking around the world, Wilson settled in Seattle , where he is executive chef and owner of Crush, a restaurant featuring French-inspired American dishes with Pacific Northwest influences. Lee has found his niche as Chef de Cuisine at Philadelphia 's Striped Bass restaurant, where he prepares seafood dishes using flavors from around the world.

“I am excited and honored that my passion for culinary has been recognized in this capacity,” said Wilson . “There are so many talented young chefs around the nation, and I am thankful that my education at CCA gave me the knowledge, confidence and creativity to be recognized as one of the best chefs so early in my career.”

About Career Education Corporation

The colleges, schools and universities that are part of the Career Education Corporation (CEC) family offer high quality education to more than 95,000 students across the world in a variety of career-oriented disciplines. The 80-plus campuses that serve these students are located throughout the U. S. , Canada , France , the United Kingdom , and the United Arab Emirates and offer doctoral, master's, bachelor's, and associate degrees and diploma and certificate programs. Approximately one third of students attend the web-based virtual campuses of American InterContinental University Online and Colorado Technical University Online.

Career Education is an industry leader whose gold-standard brands are recognized globally. Those brands include, among others, the Le Cordon Bleu Schools North America; the Harrington College of Design; the Brooks Institute of Photography; the Katharine Gibbs Schools; American InterContinental University; Colorado Technical University and Sanford-Brown Institutes and Colleges. The mission of CEC, through its schools, its educators, and its employees is education—their primary goal, to enable students to graduate successfully and pursue rewarding careers.

For more information see www.careered.com. The company's website also has a detailed listing of individual campus locations and web links for its 80-plus colleges, schools and universities.

About Le Cordon Bleu Schools North America

Le Cordon Bleu Schools North America is the largest provider of quality culinary arts education. Few institutions possess the distinguished reputation of Le Cordon Bleu, which established its first culinary school in Paris in 1895. Today, Le Cordon Bleu operates schools in London , Tokyo , Ottawa and Sydney in addition to its Paris location, and offers programs in Australia , Mexico and Brazil . In 1999, Le Cordon Bleu partnered with Chicago-based Career Education Corporation, one of the largest providers of private, for-profit postsecondary education, to create a dynamic culinary alliance in North America . There are currently 13 schools in the Le Cordon Bleu Schools North America network, offering programs in Le Cordon Bleu Culinary Arts, Le Cordon Bleu Pâtisserie & Baking, and Le Cordon Bleu Hospitality & Restaurant Management. For more information, please visit www.lecordonbleuschoolsusa.com .