Culture

Served crispy and sizzling in grease. When it comes to preparations, few could be as delightful and decadent as a good, old-fashioned deep fry. We dip the Mind of a Chef basket in hot oil on this episode, serving up everything from oyster poboys to pig’s head, from alligator filets to sardine spines.

How does a chef trained in the finest kitchens of France translate his haute cuisine to fast food? Ludo’s obsession with a perfectly cooked bird can be traced back to France, where he learned to roast chicken.
His love for the American classic was solidified in 1996 when he arrived in LA and ate at KFC for the first time. “It was the same sensation,” he’s said, the crunchy skin and juicy flesh, and the gap between his two worlds was bridged. In this episode we learn how a Frenchman became famous for a truly American dish.

Perhaps there is no architectural feature more distinctly Angeleno than a strip mall. The city is full of them with their busy facades and bright neon signage. Their wonderfully eclectic, multi-purpose tenants give shape and home to the multitudes of ethnic communities that make up LA’s diverse population.
Trois Mec and Petit Trois can be found side-by-side in a Hollywood strip mall, nestled between a dry cleaners and a Yum Yum donut. Ludo’s restaurants and the dishes he creates for them embody the cultural mash-up and high/low flair that is the strip mall philosophy.

La mer means, simply, 'the sea.' Ludo came up under mentors like Alain Passard and Mark Meneau, chefs with an almost pathological obsession with ingredients. His eyes light up when he describes the Lobsters of Brittany, the Oysters from Cancale, and the myriad of other extraordinary culinary jewels.
In this episode, we explore how the oceanic bounty of France is some of the best anywhere by profiling the ingredients that can be pulled from it.

Trading in the animal world for the vegetable one, the garden is a place where ingredients for some of Ludo’s favorite dishes are cultured, grown and harvested. Today’s chef reveres his gardener as much as his butcher.
In this episode, Ludo explores the vegetables, gardens, and memories he uses to cook some of his dishes. We also explore how terroir is as much a place as a taste.

A bistro is typically defined by its modesty – they are relatively small, affordable and humble. The bistro has become rather ubiquitous these days but despite its many incarnations, at its core, a bistro is a place where every man can eat, and eat well. With Petit Trois, Ludo Lefebvre has brought the spirit of the bistro to Los Angeles.
In this episode, Ludo brings us back to Paris to introduce us to some of the people and places that first inspired him to begin a culinary career.