Ludo Lefebvre

Ludo Lefebvre
Born1971 (age 52–53)
Auxerre, Burgundy, France
Culinary career
Cooking styleNouvelle Cuisine
Current restaurant(s)
  • Petit Trois, LudoBird
Previous restaurant(s)
  • LudoBites, L’Esperance in Vézelay, L'Orangerie, Bastide, Trois Mec, Trois Familia
Websiteludolefebvre.com

Ludovic Lefebvre (French pronunciation: [lydo ləfɛvʁ]; born 1971) is a French chef and restaurateur. He has owned and operated several restaurants in Los Angeles.

Early life and training

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Lefebvre was born in Auxerre, Burgundy and grew up in Charbuy. His interest in food began during childhood in his grandmother's kitchen. In his early teens, he worked doing menial tasks at local restaurant Maxime.[1]

Lefebvre's culinary training began at age 14 at the restaurant L’Esperance in Vézelay under chef Marc Meneau, where he worked for three years. He then worked with Pierre Gagnaire at his eponymous restaurant in Saint-Étienne (now closed), then with Alain Passard at L'Arpège, then with Guy Martin at Le Grand Vefour.[1][2]

Career

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Restaurants

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In 1996, Lefebvre moved to Los Angeles and began working at L'Orangerie under Gilles Epie.[3] In 2004, he moved to the restaurant Bastide on Melrose Place.[4] He created a series of pop-ups called LudoBites.[5]

In 2010, Lefebvre opened a food truck, LudoTruc, selling fried chicken. In October 2013, he opened a brick and mortar location, LudoBird, inside the STAPLES Center.[6] In March 2016, the second location of LudoBird opened at City Walk, Universal Studios Hollywood.[citation needed]

In 2013, Lefebvre opened Trois Mec in partnership Jon Shook and Vinny Dotolo.[7] It was named to Esquire's and GQ 's Best New Restaurants lists.[8][9] The restaurant's Grilled Baby Corn with Black Garlic was named one of Food & Wine's Best Restaurant Dishes of 2013.[10]

In 2014, Lefebvre opened Petit Trois, a bistro concept, next door to Trois Mec.[7][11][12] Petit Trois was a 2015 James Beard finalist for Best New Restaurant.[13]

Television appearances

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In 2006, Lefebvre appeared on Iron Chef America, challenging Mario Batali in a battle of Big Eye Tuna, where Batali prevailed.[14] Beginning in 2009, Lefebvre appeared on the first and second seasons of Top Chef Masters.[15] He was a guest judge on season 8 of Hell's Kitchen in 2010, and season 20 in 2020.[14] In 2011 alongside his wife, Krissy, he starred in a seven-episode series entitled Ludo Bites America on the Sundance Channel in which the couple open pop-ups in various cities.[15]

In 2013, Lefebvre, Anthony Bourdain, Nigella Lawson and Brian Malarkey appeared as judges/mentors on the ABC cooking competition show The Taste.[16]

In 2016, he hosted Season 5 of Mind of a Chef. In 2020, he was a guest chef on the first episode of Selena Gomez's cooking series, Selena + Chef. In 2022, he co-hosted the TBS cooking competition Rat in the Kitchen with Natasha Leggero.[17]

Books

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  • Crave: The Feast of the Five Senses (2005)[18]
  • LudoBites: Recipes and Stories from the Pop-Up Restaurants of Ludo Lefebvre (2012)[19]

Recognition

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Relais & Châteaux named him one of the World's 50 Greatest Chefs.[20]

Personal life

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Lefebvre is married to Kristine.[4] The couple resides in Sherman Oaks, California with their children.[citation needed]

Decorations

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References

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  1. ^ a b "Chef Ludovic Lefebvre of Bastide - Los Angeles Rising Star on StarChefs.com". Star Chefs. Archived from the original on 6 November 2016. Retrieved 27 April 2017.
  2. ^ Pollard, Kit (2009-04-07). "All Top Chef: Bio - Ludo Lefebvre". Bravo. Retrieved 2024-08-08.
  3. ^ "Making a fortune with a chicken truck...and Twitter". Le Monde. 30 March 2010. Archived from the original on 24 January 2011. Retrieved 27 April 2017.
  4. ^ a b Sifton, Sam (3 August 2010). "Impresario of Pop-Up Dining". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 29 April 2017. Retrieved 27 April 2017.
  5. ^ Garbee, Jenn (4 October 2012). "Cookbook of the Week: LudoBites Is (Almost) Here!". LA Weekly. Archived from the original on 20 March 2017. Retrieved 27 April 2017.
  6. ^ Hallock, Betty (2013-10-01). "Fried chicken and biscuits at the new Ludo Bird at Staples Center". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2024-08-08.
  7. ^ a b Rodell, Besha (7 October 2014). "Petit Trois Review: Trois Mec's Little Sister Is a Tiny Gem". LA Weekly. Archived from the original on 8 November 2017. Retrieved 27 April 2017.
  8. ^ Richman, Alan (20 February 2014). "The Perfect Night Out: GQ's 25 Best New Restaurants in America, 2014". GQ. Archived from the original on 22 May 2015. Retrieved 27 April 2017.
  9. ^ "The Best New Restaurants 2013". Esquire. 7 October 2013. Archived from the original on 27 December 2014. Retrieved 27 April 2017.
  10. ^ "Best Restaurant Dishes of 2013". Food and Wine. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 27 April 2017.
  11. ^ Gold, Jonathan (3 October 2014). "Petit Trois is a bistro done Lefebvre's way". LA Times. Archived from the original on 20 April 2017. Retrieved 27 April 2017.
  12. ^ Balla, Lesley (26 September 2014). "Petit Perfection". Modern Luxury. Archived from the original on 1 June 2016. Retrieved 27 April 2017.
  13. ^ Parsons, Russ (24 March 2015). "Petit Trois, Goin, Narvaez and Taymor lead L.A.'s Beard nominees". LA Times. Retrieved 27 April 2017.
  14. ^ a b "Ludo Lefebvre". IMDb. Archived from the original on 28 April 2017. Retrieved 27 April 2017.
  15. ^ a b Gelt, Jessica (July 22, 2011). "Hot L.A. chef takes LudoBites to TV". The Seattle Times. Archived from the original on February 24, 2014. Retrieved February 20, 2013.
  16. ^ "Today's News: Our Take - The Taste's French Chef Ludo Lefebvre: It's Game On!". The State Journal-Register. 3 February 2013. Retrieved 2024-08-08.
  17. ^ White, Peter (2023-01-23). "'Rat In The Kitchen' Canceled At TBS". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 2024-08-08.
  18. ^ Hinds, Julie (May 18, 2005). "Chef hunks sell". The Free Lance-Star. Archived from the original on April 12, 2023. Retrieved September 21, 2016.
  19. ^ Forbes, Paula (2012-03-05). "Behold the Cover for Ludo Lefebvre's LudoBites Book". Eater. Retrieved 2024-08-08.
  20. ^ "Coming to the Taste: Ludo Lefebvre". Los Angeles Times. 2012-08-28. Retrieved 2024-08-08.
  21. ^ "Nomination dans l'ordre des Arts et des Lettres juillet 2015 - Ministère de la Culture et de la Communication". www.culturecommunication.gouv.fr. Archived from the original on 2015-09-23. Retrieved 2016-07-17.
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