Three Star
Michelin Chef
Forbes
Five Star Chef
CHEF DAVID BREEDEN
Guest Driven Hospitality is led by Chef David Breeden, whose career was forged inside the world’s most demanding kitchens.
David Breeden is a chef, leader, and hospitality strategist whose career was shaped by sustained excellence. For over twenty years, David held senior chef leadership roles within three-Michelin-star restaurants, including The French Laundry and Per Se. He was responsible for directing teams, maintaining uncompromising standards, and ensuring flawless execution day after day, not as a moment, but as a mandate.
Through that work, David developed a deep understanding of what allows great restaurants to endure. He saw firsthand how leadership decisions shape culture, how systems protect performance, and how clarity at the top creates confidence throughout an organization.
Today, David works with investors, ownership groups, and executive teams to apply the systems behind elite hospitality to businesses with defined growth goals. His work supports both accolade-driven concepts and operators focused on multi-unit expansion, franchising, and long-term performance.
Guest Driven Hospitality reflects David’s belief that excellence can be taught, built, and sustained when the right framework is in place.
Chef David Breeden is often referred to as “Chef Smiley,” a reflection of his calm demeanor, approachability, and steady presence in high pressure environments. This balance of warmth and discipline has been a defining trait throughout his career and a key reason he has earned long standing respect across the hospitality profession.
David is widely recognized for his deep understanding of flavor, presentation, and technique, as well as his thoughtful approach to modern cuisine rooted in seasonality, sustainability, and craftsmanship. His ability to honor tradition while embracing innovation for over 20 years in the Michelin world has positioned him as a trusted leader and collaborator among peers at the highest level.
This combination of technical mastery and human leadership has allowed David to build teams that perform with confidence and cohesion. It is the same leadership style that informs his work today, creating environments where excellence is not only achievable, but sustainable.
CHEF DAVID BREEDEN
Experience that speaks.
TWO DECADES AT THE HIGHEST LEVEL.
David’s career at The French Laundry and Per Se represents sustained leadership at the highest level of global hospitality.
Over more than two decades, David served in senior chef leadership roles within environments defined by discipline, precision, and uncompromising standards. His responsibilities centered on leading teams, maintaining operational alignment, and executing within highly structured organizations designed to perform consistently under extreme pressure.
Through this experience, David developed a deep understanding of how elite hospitality organizations function when excellence is required every day, across evolving teams and circumstances. He observed firsthand how leadership, clarity, and discipline shape performance, culture, and longevity.
This long term exposure informed his ability to recognize the conditions that allow restaurants to endure, adapt, and perform at the highest level over time.
Excellence, at this level, is built.
RENOWNED CHEF COLLABORATIONS
Throughout David's career, he has worked alongside some of the profession's most influential culinary minds, contributing to his diverse and refined culinary style:
MICHEL BRAS | AUBRAC
ALAIN DUCASSE | MONACO
YANNICK FRANQUES | PARIS
YANNICK ALLÉNO | PARIS
MARK BEST | MELBOURNE
GORDON RAMSAY | LONDON
HELEN DARROZE | PARIS
PETER GILMORE | SYDNEY
NOBU MATSUHISA | TOKYO
JUAN MARIE ARZAK | SAN SEBASTIÁN
WHO ELSE IS ON THE TEAM?
A Curated Network of Specialists
When additional expertise is required, David builds a project specific team under his direct leadership. This may include branding strategists, kitchen architects, interior designers, sommeliers, beverage specialists, and service training professionals. Each collaborator is selected intentionally and integrated into a unified framework.
David remains the central architect of every engagement, ensuring alignment across all disciplines and maintaining accountability from concept through execution.
