Our story
Born and raised in South Louisiana, Chef Craig was inspired by his family meals and his grandmother's cooking. His heart and soul are Southern, which transcends into his cooking. With a degree from Le Cordon Bleu, where he studied classic French cuisine, and after working in some of the world's most renowned restaurants, opening two of his own restaurants in Louisiana, and honing recipes as a private chef, Chef Craig and his wife Kristen moved to Southern California. They began feeding their friends and neighbors from their home kitchen when the pandemic hit. By the end of COVID, they were turning out more than 80 meals per day.
The most popular meal was his fried chicken, inspired by his Southern roots and first made famous by Chef Craig in Aspen at the 7908 Supper Club. The idea to open a fast-casual restaurant devoted to his popular fried chicken took on a life of its own, and Le Coupé was born. The name for Le Coupé in French translates to "The Cut." The cut of Chef Craig's fried chicken thigh makes his chicken unique.
He uses a technique that frenches the bone of the thigh while keeping the meat intact, allowing for a unique flavor profile and presentation. The name is also a nod to being all cooped up during the quarantine. Le Coupé has become a local sensation in the burgeoning Melrose Hill area of Los Angeles. This husband-and-wife operation was named the best fried chicken sandwich in California by Yelp -- and everyone who tries it!
"At Le Coupé, we believe that great food is the bridge to all humanity"
Le Coupé combines the quality of fine dining with fast casual food to make it less pretentious and more accessible without compromising on the innovation of the recipes and the quality of the food and service. For Chef Craig, Le Coupé represents an opportunity to showcase his take on Southern cuisine inspired by a Cajun-French saying – lagniappe. Which means "a little extra." Chef Craig and Kristen, a former event planner, ensure everyone visiting Le Coupé feels like the experience was a little extra.
Chef Craig Walker
Co-Founder/Executive Chef
Growing up in South Louisiana, Chef Craig Walker brings a lifetime of experience to his Southern-inspired cooking. His training in Austin, Texas, at Le Cordon Bleu, gave him the added layer of classic teachings of French cuisine that melded with his Southern roots, ultimately blending the Cajun style of Southern cooking with traditional French training.
Chef Craig began his journey in the kitchen at a young age, learning from his grandmother, who still inspires his cooking today. He has worked in some of the most well-renowned restaurants in the country. After culinary school, he worked at Café LÈurope, a Palm Beach food culture institution where he worked alongside internationally recognized chefs. When Katrina hit his hometown of Louisiana, Chef Craig returned home to contribute to rebuilding and built Charcoals, his first restaurant, a gourmet burger bar. It took five years to develop and open, so he opened a smaller restaurant called "Something Else Cafe" because it was something else to do while waiting for Charcoals to be completed. After successfully establishing both restaurants, he sold them and began expanding his recipes as a private chef.
As the executive chef, he helped open 7908 Supper Club, the first supper club in Aspen. It was there that he met Kristen, his wife and business partner.
After designing, organizing, and launching the Supper Club into one of the top-rated culinary establishments in Colorado, they both moved to Southern California to transition his focus to providing individual clients with a unique culinary experience. Chef Walker also appeared as a chef contestant on The Food Network's hit show – Chopped. When the pandemic hit, he and Kristen began cooking for their neighbors. The demand was so high that they turned out more than 80 meals daily. The most popular was Chef Craig's fried chicken, which inspired his current and most successful enterprise, Le Coupé, which offers the best-fried chicken in California, according to Yelp and anyone who has tried it. Le Coupé is located in the burgeoning Melrose Hill area of Los Angeles and has a cult following that lines up to get their fix of Chef Craig's 24-hour-buttermilk-brined chicken thighs that are fried and then tossed in a chili/honey glaze —served bone-in or on a sandwich; Anson Mills blue cornbread made with duck fat and brown butter, topped with Steen's pure cane syrup butter – all made in-house; puffed chicken skins tossed in Southern seasoning; mustard-and-chive potato salad; queso fresco corn ribs; and fusilli mac and cheese, with salads such as a lardon-topped wedge and compressed melon with feta, saba and pistachio and all Chef Craig's specially made sauces. This husband and wife team at Le Coupé combines the quality of fine dining with fast casual food to make it more accessible without compromising on the innovation of the recipes and the quality of the food and service.
For Chef Craig, Le Coupé represents an opportunity to showcase his take on Southern cuisine inspired by a Cajun-French saying – lagniappe. Which means "a little extra." Lagniappe sums up the experience that diners have at Le Coupé.
When Chef Craig gets out of the kitchen, it's no surprise his hobbies are also food-related. Growing up on the bayou fishing, he enjoys getting out on the water in California and is happiest when he is hooked on a bluefin tuna. Chef Craig is also an avid gardener with a home garden where everything is edible -- including 20+ varieties of heirloom tomatos, yuzu, squash, lemons, limes, corn, avocado, and passion fruit – to name a few. For now, though, he will spend most of his time in the kitchen building Le Coupé with his wife and continuing to create delicious dishes that will always be a little extra and will reflect his take on his native Southern cuisine.
Kristen Walker
Co-Founder/Director of Operations
Born and raised in New York, Kristen Walker studied hospitality at Florida Atlantic University. While still in college, Kristen worked at Palm Beach's renowned Buccan with James Beard Award nominee Chef Clay Conley. Buccan is one of the island's toughest reservations to get and is credited with revolutionizing the Palm Beach dining scene. It was at Buccan that Kristen worked with their event manager and found her passion for event planning and design.
In 2017 Kristen received a job offer from 7908 Supper Club in Aspen to be their Event Manager and Maitre d'. She met her husband Craig, the Executive Chef, on her first day in Aspen. After successfully launching Aspen's first supper club, Kristen and Craig moved to Southern California in August of 2018, where Kristen was the Event Manager for The Picnic Collective. In this role, Kristen honed her skills for creating memorable experiences in the events she planned -- from intimate picnics, wedding proposals, weddings, corporate events, and birthdays. This was a high-volume company with a minimum of 40 events per week with a team of coordinators under her to execute the events.
When the pandemic hit, Kristen and Craig began serving dinner to their neighbors. The dinners became so popular that they served more than 80 people a night. The most popular dish was Craig's fried chicken, and the nugget for Le Coupé began to form.
In 2022 Kristen started working on opening Le Coupé full-time. She runs the front of the house as a seasoned hospitality professional with a fine dining background -- allowing her to orchestrate an extra unique dining experience within a fast-casual setting. She also handles all the catering and operations. And, importantly, she is the baker behind their famous chocolate chip cookies!
