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.

Chef Ludo Lefebvre began his US career cooking at Los Angeles restaurant Bastide, but after it closed for renovations he opted not to return and instead chose to do things his way. Borrowing a friend’s bakery space, which was closed in the evenings, Ludo created a unique dining experience in the form of small, reservations-only, “chef’s choice” dinners. These dinners became known as LudoBites, a pop-up deemed by Pulitzer Prize-winning food critic Jonathan Gold as "a transforming moment” for the LA dining scene.

Beef and brine. This 'Best Of' episode of the Mind of a Chef explores the wet and dry side of our culinary world. Magnus Nilsson dry-ages a steak in kidney fat as long as he possibly can, April Bloomfield hallucinates while at a butcher shop, Ed Lee makes a ribeye with eel puree, and more.

The sweet stuff. This "Best Of" episode of The Mind of a Chef takes a long, hard look at the cherry on top of a dining experience. On the list is burnt miso apple pie, the English classic Banoffee pie, sorghum ice cream. Grab a spoon.

All about our feathery friends. This 'Best Of' episode of The Mind of a Chef opens the birdcage on some of our familiar (and some not so familiar) poultry dishes. Chinese chicken noodle soup, and chicken and dumplings make an appearance, but also stuffed Faroe Island puffin and duck-on-a-string get some screen time as well.