EXCLUSIVE: Thomas Keller protégé chef Mathew Peters opening fine dining restaurant in Austin

Chef Mathew Peters may be one of the most accomplished chefs with one of the best resumes in Austin, regardless of whether the average diner knows the chef’s name or not.

The Pennsylvania native in 2017 became the first American chef to ever win the gold medal at the Bocuse d’Or, a global cooking competition known as the Culinary Olympics that is held every two years in France.

Peters’ achievement came after an eight-year career working for world-famous chef Thomas Keller at the French Laundry and Per Se, both of which boast three Michelin stars. The chef left his position as executive sous chef at Per Se following the competition and moved with his wife and fellow chef, Lorin Peters, to Lorin’s hometown of Austin in 2017.

He has spent the last several years starting a family (the 40-year-old chef and his wife are parents of two daughters), cooking privately, consulting and honing his vision for his first concept. His end vision is a Texas take on fine dining, Maven, which will approach elevated dining in Austin the way few concepts before it have attempted.

The restaurant will be located on the second floor of a former residence built at the turn of the 20th century at 707 W. 10th St. In the lead up to that restaurant’s opening, Peters will introduce high-end cocktail lounge Prelude to the public in April. That ground floor operation will serve sophisticated but approachable canapés that Peters says will lean toward the direction he eventually plans to take Maven.

We spoke with Peters about his background, decision to move to Austin and his plans with Prelude and Maven. Here’s what you need to know.

Peters' strong culinary background

A native of Meadville, Penn., Peters started his career in kitchens working at Allegheny College next to his childhood home as an after-school job. “Great Chefs of the World” on PBS introduced him to the artistry behind the craft and Peters decided to enroll at Le Cordon Bleu program in nearby Pittsburgh.

After a little more than a year at school, he took a job at the Ritz Carlton in Naples, Fla. and stayed there until 2006.

“I wanted to move somewhere I could really get my butt kicked. That was NYC,” Peters said.

He first worked for famed chef Alain Ducasse at Adour before joining Keller at Per Se. He worked a stint as sous chef at Keller's French Laundry in Napa, where he met his future wife, before returning to work as executive sous chef at Per Se.

The prestigious Bocuse d’Or

While the Bocuse d’Or may only be known to hardcore dining lovers and those in the culinary world, the competition has a sterling reputation throughout the global cooking community.

“In America, most, if not everything is driven by media — if it’s not on TV, it’s not important. I think that’s where we’ve always wanted to push Bocuse d’Or in the media, whether that be a documentary or TV show," Peters said. "I do think once people can immerse themselves in the actual competition and what it’s all about and the gravity of the importance of the detailed work that goes into the competition, I think people will be very attracted to it and want to support it."

Lessons from Keller

Peters said the biggest lesson he learned from Keller, the first American chef to simultaneously operate two different three-starred restaurants, was professionalism.

“It’s a one-of-a-kind restaurant, which is part of the reason why people always want to be part of that legacy he created,” Peters said of Per Se. “And it inspires you to want to become great. If you want to be the best, you go work for the best.”

Why Austin?

Peters knew coming out of the competition that it was time for him to set his own path and eventually open his own restaurant. He and Lorin wanted to start a family and New York City didn’t feel like the right place for that endeavor. They also wanted to be closer to family, so they chose Austin, where Lorin, a graduate of Hyde Park High School, was born and raised.

“Seeing the growth of Austin and the food scene and the direction it was heading, we just felt this was the best fit for us and somewhere we could establish a fine dining restaurant,” Peters said.

Life in Austin

Peters spent his first six years in Austin consulting and cooking privately, but his main focus initially was on growing his family and taking a considered approach to his first endeavor. Lorin also created boutique bakery Cookie Rich early in the pandemic.

More: French Laundry veteran and Cookie Rich founder opens savory concept in West Austin

“I really wanted to understand where Austin was going from a food scene perspective and what realistically is something I can open that is still going to be successful,” Peters said. “The consulting work allowed me the freedom to be with my family and take a breath and sit back and really understand what I wanted to do as a chef and as a business owner.”

The space

Through mutual friends and business connections, the Peters met developer David Kanne, CEO of LV Collective. Peters had flirted with a few potential locations around town for his first restaurant, but his patience, a quality he said Keller has always advocated, was rewarded. Kanne had recently purchased the historic building a few blocks southwest of the Texas State Capitol, and the chef felt the multistory building was the perfect fit.

“What I was really trying to find was a place that had some sort of connection to the city and the old parts of Austin. A place with some charismatic attributions, a place that was more homey and had some soul to it. The house has this overwhelming warmth and charm to it. It’s got everything we want,” Peters said. “It was challenging at times mentally just to figure out if Austin was the right city. We felt deep down in our gut that it was and we just needed to push through.”

Prelude

The operation will initially open with a reservations-only high-end cocktail bar and event space called Prelude, the name alluding to “grander things to come.” The food menu will be “approachable but with the refinement you see in a finer dining space.”

The menu of “fun canapes” will rotate seasonally, with the spring menu including artful dishes like a sweet pea croquette with spicy tomato marmalade and Meter lemon; chawanmushi toast; and grilled lobster with compressed cucumber and tomato water gelee. Peters will be joined in the kitchen by Sterling Ridings, a veteran of Uchiko and Guild.

“I think it’s going to be a great first introduction and a great introduction to the house,” Peter said, adding that Prelude will also give him and his team the chance to hone the high level of execution he expects at Maven.

Prelude is hosting a limited first-look sneak peak on Friday, with tickets available at prelude-austin.com, and guests who sign up for the email list via the link on the website will get first access to reservations at Prelude.

Fine dining restaurant Maven

The intimate, open-kitchen restaurant on the second floor will seat between 24-36 guests and is slated to open sometime in 2025.

While other cities like New York, Chicago and San Francisco have a history and distinct style of fine dining, Peters says his goal is to now try and figure out what fine dining in Texas means.

“I love elements of fine dining, but I feel like there’s parts of it that get a little too pretentious and get a little too uncomfortable if you’re not familiar with the proper way to use your fork and your knife,” Peters said. “It’s not relaxed enough, and I feel like Austin has always embodied that relaxedness. What we’ve always wanted to do is to bring some fun to it. The idea for the food is it’s, of course, going to be very French-influenced because that’s the core of my training, but it’s really going to be very well traveled and approachable. We’re not going to put any borders or a box around our ideas because we want to be able to adapt and create and find the niche that works perfectly for the space.”

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Bocuse d'Or winner Mathew Peters opening fine dining concept in Austin