{{Short description|French journalist (1871–1934)}} {{Infobox person | name = Marthe Marie Joséphine Distel | birth_date = 1871 | death_date = 1934 | birth_place = | occupation = }}

'''Marthe Marie Joséphine Distel''' ({{IPA|fr|maʁt distɛl}}; 18 September 1871, Remiremont — 1 April 1934, Saint-Leu-la-Forêt) was a French journalist.<ref name="LTB-NECRO">{{cite news |last1=Martin |first1=J.-M.-A. |title=Nécrologie Marthe Distel |url=https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k4557454g |access-date=24 October 2024 |work=La Toque blanche : organe professionnel hebdomadaire des chefs de cuisine de France et de l'étranger |issue=278 |date=1934-04-22 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241215133036/https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k4557454g#federation=archive.wikiwix.com&tab=url |archive-date=2024-12-15 |page=1 |language=fr |url-status=bot: unknown }}</ref>

==Career== Marthe Distel started the culinary magazine ''La Cuisinière Cordon Bleu''. To prompt readership, Distel offered subscribers cooking lessons with professional chefs. The first class was held in January 1895 in the kitchens of the Palais Royal. The classes led to the development of a more formal school, now known as Le Cordon Bleu.<ref>[http://www.ibiblio.org/expo/restaurant/history.html Le Cordon Bleu - A brief History] correlates to accounts offered in Le Cordon Bleu books</ref>

==Heritage== On her death in 1934, at age 62, Distel left the school to an orphanage, which struggled to manage it.<ref>''The Sharper Your Knife, the Less You Cry'', p. 138 by Kathleen Flinn</ref> The school closed during World War II, and was later bought by another French woman, Élisabeth Brassart. thumb|Marthe Distel and Henri-Paul Pellaprat with their students in front of the ''L'école du Cordon Bleu'' in 1896

The magazine ceased publication in the 1960s, but the school has evolved from its single location in Paris to more than 27 schools in 17 countries.<ref>[http://www.lecordonbleu.com.au/aboutFaqs.htm FAQ], LeCordonBleu.com.au. Accessed 6 August 2023.</ref>

==References== {{reflist}}

==External links== *[https://web.archive.org/web/20070928142558/http://www.cordonbleu.net/International/English/dp_main.cfm Cordon Bleu Home page]

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Distel, Marthe}} Category:1871 births Category:1934 deaths Category:French chefs Category:French magazine founders Category:French journalists Category:French women company founders Category:French women chefs Category:Founders of educational institutions

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