Ludovic Lefebvre (; born 1971) is a French chef and restaurateur. He has owned and operated several restaurants in Los Angeles.

Early life and training

Lefebvre was born in Auxerre,

Burgundy Burgundy ( ; ; Burgundian: ''Bregogne'') is a historical territory and former administrative region and province of east-central France. The province was once home to the Dukes of Burgundy from the early 11th until the late 15th century. ...

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. Lefebvre's culinary training began at age 14 at the restaurant ''L’Esperance'' in

Vézelay Vézelay () is a Communes of France, commune in the Departments of France, department of Yonne in the north-central French region of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté. It is a defensible hill town famous for Vézelay Abbey. The town and its 11th-century Ro ...

under chef Marc Meneau, where he worked for three years. He then worked with Pierre Gagnaire at his eponymous restaurant in

Saint-Étienne Saint-Étienne (; Franco-Provençal: ''Sant-Etiève''), also written St. Etienne, is a city and the prefecture of the Loire département, in eastern-central France, in the Massif Central, southwest of Lyon, in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes regi ...

(now closed), then with Alain Passard at '' L'Arpège'', then with Guy Martin at ''Le Grand Vefour''.

Career

Restaurants

In 1996, Lefebvre moved to Los Angeles and began working at L'Orangerie under Gilles Epie. In 2004, he moved to the restaurant Bastide on Melrose Place. He created a series of pop-ups called LudoBites. 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 Crypto.com Arena (originally and colloquially known as Staples Center) is a multi-purpose indoor arena in downtown Los Angeles. Opened on October 17, 1999, as Staples Center, it is located next to the Los Angeles Convention Center complex along F ...

. In March 2016, the second location of LudoBird opened at City Walk, Universal Studios Hollywood. In 2013, Lefebvre opened Michelin-starred Trois Mec in partnership Jon Shook and Vinny Dotolo. It was named to ''

Esquire Esquire (, ; abbreviated Esq.) is usually a courtesy title. In the United Kingdom, ''esquire'' historically was a title of respect accorded to men of higher social rank, particularly members of the landed gentry above the rank of gentleman ...

'''s and '' GQ'' 's Best New Restaurants lists. The restaurant's Grilled Baby Corn with Black Garlic was named one of ''

Food & Wine ''Food & Wine'' is an American monthly magazine published by Dotdash Meredith. It was founded in 1978 by Ariane and Michael Batterberry. It features recipes, cooking tips, travel information, restaurant reviews, chefs, wine pairings and sea ...

'''s Best Restaurant Dishes of 2013. In 2014, Lefebvre opened Petit Trois, a bistro concept, next door to Trois Mec. Petit Trois was a 2015

James Beard James Andrews Beard (May 5, 1903 – January 21, 1985) was an American chef, cookbook author, teacher and television personality. He pioneered television cooking shows, taught at The James Beard Cooking School in New York City and Seaside ...

finalist for Best New Restaurant.

Television appearances

In 2006, Lefebvre appeared on ''Iron Chef America,'' challenging

Mario Batali Mario Francesco Batali (born September 19, 1960) is an American chef, writer, and former restaurateur. Batali co-owned restaurants in New York City; Las Vegas; Los Angeles; Newport Beach, California; Boston; Singapore; Westport, Connecticut; and ...

in a battle of Big Eye Tuna, where Batali prevailed. Beginning in 2009, Lefebvre appeared on the first and second seasons of ''

Top Chef Masters ''Top Chef Masters'' is an American reality competition series that aired on the cable television network Bravo (American TV network), Bravo, and premiered June 10, 2009. It is a spinoff (media), spinoff of Bravo's hit show ''Top Chef''. In the ...

''. He was a guest judge on season 8 of ''

Hell's Kitchen Hell's Kitchen, also known as Clinton, or Midtown West on real estate listings, is a neighborhood on the West Side of Midtown Manhattan in New York City, New York. It is considered to be bordered by 34th Street (or 41st Street) to the south, ...

'' in 2010, and season 20 in 2020. 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. In 2013, Lefebvre appeared as a judge/mentor on the ABC cooking competition show '' The Taste''. 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 Selena Marie Gomez ( ; born July 22, 1992) is an American actress, singer, songwriter, producer, and businesswoman. Gomez began her career as a child actress, appearing on the children's television series ''Barney & Friends'' (2002–2004), a ...

's cooking series, ''Selena + Chef''. In 2022, he co-hosted the TBS cooking competition ''Rat in the Kitchen'' with

Natasha Leggero Natasha Leggero () (born March 26, 1974) is an American stand-up comedian, actress, and writer. She rose to fame after appearing as the host of the MTV reality television series '' The 70s House'' in 2005, and as a regular roundtable panelist on ...

Books

* ''Crave: The Feast of the Five Senses'' (2005) * ''LudoBites: Recipes and Stories from the Pop-Up Restaurants of Ludo Lefebvre'' (2012)

Personal life

Lefebvre is married to Kristine. The couple resides in

Sherman Oaks, California Sherman Oaks (founded in 1927) is a neighborhood of the city of Los Angeles, California within the San Fernando Valley region. The neighborhood includes a portion of the Santa Monica Mountains, which gives Sherman Oaks a lower population density ...

with their children.

Recognition

* Chevalier of the Order of Arts and Letters (2015) * Relais & Châteaux named him one of the World's 50 Greatest Chefs

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lefebvre, Ludovic 1971 births Living people People from Auxerre French cookbook writers French chefs French male chefs French expatriates in the United States French restaurateurs Participants in American reality television series People from Manhattan Beach, California Chevaliers of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres Chefs from Los Angeles