Cordon bleu is a very popular international dish with Swiss origins. In its most basic form, it consists of a meat cutlet that is filled with a thin slice of ham and cheese (usually Gruyère), breaded, and either deep-fried in hot oil, shallow fried in a pan, or baked in an oven.
The dish is usually prepared with two meat scallops, one on top of the other with the ham and cheese sandwiched in between. The first mention of cordon bleu is found in a cookbook from 1949. Today, there are numerous varieties of the dish such as veal cordon bleu, chicken cordon bleu, and cordon bleu served with mushroom sauce.