Chef Laurant Gras, L2O, Chicago, Illinois
A native of France, Chef Gras worked his way through a “Who’s Who” of Michelin-starred kitchens with Alain Senderens, Jacques Maximin, Guy Savoy and Alain Ducasse before coming to the United States in 1997 to take the helm at New York’s Peacock Alley in The Waldorf-Astoria. In 2001 he took the position of Executive Chef at San Francisco’s renowned Fifth Floor, where he was named San Francisco Magazine’s Chef of the Year and Food & Wine magazine’s Best New Chef in 2002.
Laurent Gras was born and raised in Antibes on the Côte d’Azur in France, in a family and culture that was very food oriented. Throughout his childhood, he did not think it was exceptional to have fruit orchards at the country house, or fresh fish from the Mediterranean at the market, or a family olive orchard that pressed 100 liters of oil every December. At the age of 15, when the time came to choose his métier, Gras was intending to enter one of the mathematics universities. On a lark, he took the entrance exam to hotel school with his friends and passed. His resume of the next ten years is a formable list of Michelin starred restaurants and great chefs. Each chef had a unique personality that yielded different 
lessons for the young cook: Jacques Maximin‘s spontaneity, Guy Savoy’s generosity and dedication to his staff and la maison, Alain Ducasse’s ambition, Alain Senderens’s research and thought process. One thing they all shared in common was a dedication to the highest level of quality in ingredients, staff, and resources. It is in this atmosphere of excellence and hard work that Gras began to shape his own ideas of cooking.
After achieving 3 Michelin stars as the chef de cuisine at Alain Ducasse, Paris in 1996, Gras decided the time had come to find his own restaurant.
He chose New York City because as he says “it is a very interesting place for a chef to be because of the energy and excitement in the restaurant industry. A restaurant’s success is driven not only by the food, but also by the experience of dinning and the personality of the chef. New York gave me a greater freedom of expression on the plate, the opportunity to be involved in my industry, all things that do not really exist for a chef in France.” Gras arrived in New York City in 1997 at the Waldorf 
Astoria’s Peacock Alley.
Gras next conquered the west coast, taking the helm of the Fifth Floor restaurant in San Francisco. The next three years would be a discovery of the bounty of California’s farms and waters, and furthering his relationship with American diners. In 2007 Gras moved to Chicago to begin working on L2O with Chicago-based restaurateur Richard Melman, the founding chairman of Lettuce Entertain You.
Chef Gras's:
Dungeness Crab~Avocado~Kaffir Lime~Olive Oil
serves 10 Ingredients: 450 gr Dungeness crabmeat 22.5 gr light soy sauce 22.5 gr brown rice vinegar Sea salt Grounded pepper Method: Pick up the crab from the let over shells. Place the crab in a mixing bowl, season with sea salt, pepper, soy sauce and rice wine vinegar. Avocado serves 10 Ingredients: 5 medium size ripe avocado Murray Salt Method: Cut the avocado in two; remove the seed and the skin. Slice finely in the widthwise. In the mold, half spherical, place a plastic film. Place the avocado slices on the side of the mold to cover it completely. Place the crabmeat in the middle to fill up the mold. Remove from the mold; place in a plate. Season the avocado with Murray salt. Kaffir Lime Broth Ingredients: 400 gr mineral water 50 gr lemon grass 4 gr sea salt 15 gr jalapeno meat 10 gr kaffir lime leaves Jalapeno seed Method: Pound the kefir lime lightly to release the oils just before infusing into the broth. Peel the jalapeno and cut both edges; split it and remove the seeds. Pound the meat in a mortar. Trim the edges of the lemon grass and slice finely. Pound the lemon grass in a mortar. Place the lemon grass in the gastrovac. Pour the water. Season with sea salt. Pressure the cooker at 0.9 bar. Infuse at 90̊C for 15 minutes. Open the gastrovac; add the kefir lime leave and the jalapeno. Let infuse for 5 minutes, spice with the seeds. Strain the broth through fine chinois and in a coffee filter. 
Crab Meat 
serves 20
serves 20 Ingredients: 400 gr kaffir lime broth 4 gr gelatin 100 gr olive oil 50 gr lemon juice Method: Soak the gelatin into cold water. Warm the broth to 40C and dissolve the gelatin. Pour into container. Cool down in the blast chiller. On the plating season with olive oil and lemon juice.
Kaffir Lime Gelee
