Exhibit 99.1


COMPANY PRESS RELEASE

CAREER EDUCATION CORPORATION SIGNS A DEFINITIVE MERGER AGREEMENT TO ACQUIRE
CALIFORNIA CULINARY ACADEMY

HOFFMAN ESTATES, Ill.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 7, 1999--Career Education
Corporation (NASDAQ:CECO - news) and California Culinary Academy, Inc.
(NASDAQ:COOK - news) today announced the signing of a definitive merger
agreement under which Career Education Corporation would acquire all the shares
of California Culinary Academy for $5.25 per share in cash. Holders of
approximately 41% of the outstanding shares of California Culinary Academy have
agreed to vote in favor of the merger. Completion of the acquisition is subject
to a number of conditions, including regulatory and CCA shareholder approvals.

"With the addition of California Culinary Academy, Career Education
Corporation will become one of the largest culinary arts providers in the
world," said John M. Larson, president and chief executive officer of Career
Education Corporation. "Even more important, California Culinary Academy is
an excellent complement to our North American culinary strategy." Career
Education Corporation already operates six culinary arts campuses. With
approximately 850 students, California Culinary Academy operates a core
campus in San Francisco and three additional College of Food locations in San
Francisco, Salinas and San Diego, California. "In Career Education
Corporation we have found a partner that is a leader in culinary arts
instruction and absolutely committed to providing a top level education and
opportunities for career growth to its students," said Keith Keogh, president
and chief executive officer of the California Culinary Academy. "The
combination with CEC will further enhance our ability to prepare graduates
and professionals for positions in the culinary arts."

CEC's six culinary campuses include: Scottsdale Culinary Institute in
Scottsdale, Arizona; California School of Culinary Arts in South Pasadena,
California; Le Cordon Bleu Culinary Program at Brown Institute in Mendota
Heights, Minnesota; McIntosh College in Dover, New Hampshire; International
Culinary Academy in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; and Western Culinary Institute
in Portland, Oregon.

Currently operating out of its Core Campus in San Francisco and three College
of Food campuses in Salinas, San Diego and San Francisco, California, the
California Culinary Academy is an internationally known leader and innovator
in culinary arts education. CCA offers two fully accredited professional
programs as well as programs in continuing education and vocational and
consumer training. CCA also provides contract training and consulting
services for product development and operations in the public and private
sectors.

Career Education Corporation is one of the largest providers of private,
for-profit, postsecondary education in North America. CEC currently operates
26 campuses in 15 states and two Canadian provinces. CEC schools enjoy long
operating histories and offer a wide variety of bachelor's degree, associate
degree and diploma programs in career-oriented disciplines within CEC's core
curricula of information technology, visual communication and design
technologies, business studies and culinary arts.



The forward-looking statements contained in this release are based upon
various assumptions, and certain risks and uncertainties could cause actual
results to differ materially from those stated. Factors that could cause such
differences include those matters disclosed in Career Education Corporation's
and California Culinary Academy's respective filings with the Securities and
Exchange Commission (SEC). Career Education Corporation and California
Culinary Academy assume no obligation to update those forward-looking
statements.


CONTACT:
     Career Education Corporation
     Patrick K. Pesch, 630/237-3615