The student was on the Intermediate Cuisine course, the London Evening Standard reports, which costs around £4000. This was most of the man's savings, decanter.com understands.
When he realised he would not be able to take the exam again, he grabbed hold of a knife. Police were called at around 5.30pm, as well as a negotiator who tried to calm the man down.
A local trader told decanter.com he was speaking to a friend of the student throughout the incident.
'He explained to me that his friend had lost the plot. He had spent all of his money training at the school and was desperate to retake the exam as he did not have any more money left.'
Finally, at 8.55pm, officers in full riot gear stormed the premises, knocked him out with a Taser electronic gun and arrested him. The man was not injured but was taken to University College Hospital as precautionary measure.
The man was discharged from hospital this morning and taken to a central police station where he remains in custody.
Le Cordon Bleu said it would not comment.
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As a former student, I actually don't understand how this student failed an exam. If he had passed the Basic Cuisine course and made it to Intermediate Cuisine, he was surely not that new to the classes. Unless he totally burnt his dish or dropped it on the floor, it is hard to fail an exam. The fact that the chef refused to allow him to retake the exam as well is also odd. I wonder what the real story behind this is?
Michelle, Australia
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