Daniel Boulud: from chef to CEO. Managing paradoxes for a growing haute cuisine business, ECCH – European Case Clearing House, 312-262-1.

This case study is about a history of product and geographic expansion in haute cuisine around a chef’s individual business model. Daniel Boulud is a French chef who moved, over the course of his career, from cook to Michelin-starred chef, businessman, leader and mentor for younger chefs. Daniel Boulud is now the head of an empire of 15 restaurants located throughout the world – eight of them in different areas of NY – and a variety of activities such as catering, online sales of private label products and the creation of a cooking TV program. The case analyzes the making of an individual business model, discussing managerial challenges and organizational paradoxes of performing, learning, belonging and organizing in haute cuisine and ending up with a reflection upon the evolution towards being a ‘celebrity chef’