Ludo Bites America: Ludo Lefebvre Gets a TV Show

The Sundance Channel today announced a new series with Los Angeles chef Ludo Lefebvre (of the insanely popular pop-up restaurants LudoBites fame) called Ludo Bites America in which he and his business partner/wife Krissy travel across America and set up pop-up restaurants at local eateries.

At a press event this morning, Lefebvre explained that he "wanted to learn about America and culture and food." He elaborated, "I was tired of cooking for rich people and I get tired wearing the white coat every night and the frou frou..."

Produced by Authentic Entertainment (Ace of Cakes, Flipping Out, The Best Thing I Ever Ate), the series will premiere sometime this summer and run for six episodes, with each episode set in a different city. Locations so far include Mobile, Alabama, Marfa, Texas, and South Carolina.

In the show, they take over an existing restaurant that doesn't do dinner — a bakery, sandwich shop, etc.— and in six days, they hire the staff, source the ingredients, and open a one-night only pop-up restaurant. Lefbevre wants to get to know the people, the culture, the area, and then cook for them. Reasoned Lefbevre, "I'm a chef and that's what I do for people."

Lefebvre is no stranger to television, having competed on season two of Top Chef Masters and appeared on Hell's Kitchen. Said Krissy about his Top Chef Masters loss: "He blames me for losing Top Chef because I didn't teach him now to make tuna casserole."

Also, separate from the show, we learned that LudoBites is headed to New York. Speaking to the Lefebvres, they told us they're eying New York City for an LA-esque LudoBites pop-up restaurant sometime this fall. Details will be revealed when we know more.

Press Release

Classically trained Ludo Lefebvre is a 5-star French chef who's writing his own restaurant rulebook. He and business partner/wife, Krissy, are hitting the road to reinvent American cuisine. From Texas barbeque to Baltimore crab cakes, each episode finds Ludo and Krissy setting up innovative pop-up restaurants at local eateries desperate for fresh ideas. Working together with their hosts, the creative duo try to fuse Ludo's high-end cooking with American classics and reignite a community's passion for food--inspiring them to live a little more outside their comfort food zone.

· All Ludo Lefebvre Coverage on Eater [-E-]
· All Ludo Bites America Coverage on Eater [-E-]

—With reporting by Hilary Tuttle