How this chef runs a kitchen like a platoon

Ben Weaver
Feb 5, 2020 6:59 PM PST
1 minute read
Army photo

SUMMARY

If you’ve ever served in the Army, you know chain of command is everything. Orders flow down from the Commander, and the success of the mission is a direct reflection of the rigor and discipline with which his or her subordinates execute. <hr…

If you've ever served in the Army, you know chain of command is everything. Orders flow down from the Commander, and the success of the mission is a direct reflection of the rigor and discipline with which his or her subordinates execute.


General George S. Patton: good plans, violently executed.

If you've ever worked in a gourmet kitchen, you know that chain of command is everything. Orders flow down from the Chef, and the success of the meal service is a direct reflection of the rigor and discipline with which his or her subordinates execute.

Chef Ludo Lefebvre: great meals, violently delegated. (Meals Ready To Eat screenshot)

Cute, right? Yeah, it's true though. The parallels between a deployed military force and a busy professional kitchen are abundant and revealing. Discipline, hierarchy, preparation, trust in team — it's all there. And no one gets this more clearly than Army veteran Will Marquardt, who now serves as Chef de Cuisine (second in command) to celeb Chef Ludo Lefebvre in his five-star Hollywood hole-in-the-wall, Petit Trois.

The Lieutenant of Petit Trois, hard at work. (Go90 Meals Ready To Eat screenshot)

Meals Ready To Eat host August Dannehl took the 405 to the 10 to drop in on Petit Trois, where he found a young lieutenant at the top of his game, executing dish after perfect dish with precision, exemplary leadership, and an added dash of creativity.

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