Patrice Perron, Chad Karp & Stéphane Gattacieca
It all started back in 2005 when Patrice and his wife Elodie visited an old friend, Pascal Comte, who had just bought a house in Ocala. They immediately fell in love with this little city, far from tourist routes and yet very charming and quite typical of the region. As they looked for places to eat, they enjoyed many different restaurants but noticed the lack of French ones. That gave birth to their idea, the most singular idea of setting up a traditional French cooking restaurant in Ocala.
Upon returning to France, Patrice shared his dream with friends and family. The subject inevitably arose at dinners and other gatherings until he shared his thoughts with Stéphane, one of his relatives. As they talked it through, the dream grew and became ever more stubbornly fixed in their minds so that its realization became undeniable. For the both of them, it had become an obsession, the project of a lifetime!
 Stéphane and Patrice both share a long-held passion for cooking and eating. They were both raised by families who enjoyed good food, in regions of France known for their strong culinary traditions. Stéphane was born and raised in the French Alps, in Annecy, which is famous for the large variety of mountain pasture cheeses as well as its beautiful lake. He learned how to cook from a very young age, under the supervision of his father who used to be a professional pastry chef. Patrice was born in Lyon, a city known as the French capital for gastronomy. At a very early age, his parents instilled in him a very deep seated appreciation for great cuisine. He always enjoyed helping his mother in the kitchen as she prepared all sorts of products from the “terroir.” His father took the family to the finest restaurants in town: La Tour Rose, Paul Bocuse, Orsy.
Lately, Patrice has worked at “Daniel & Denise”, a well-known traditional cooking restaurant in Lyon, under the direct supervision of the Chef Josef VIOLA who was awarded the title of Meilleur Ouvrier de France (MOF) in 2004 by a board of examiners composed of world famous chefs: Joel Robuchon, Alain Ducasse and Paul Bocuse.
"For both of us, our desire to live out our dream and our passion, led us to put our respective jobs on hold to draw up a business plan. We decided to attend advanced cooking classes at the world famous Paul Bocuse Institut in Lyon. After carefully reviewing marketing, financial as well as personal aspects of the project, we took the plunge and crossed the ocean, bringing both of our families."
Patrice Perron & Stéphane Gattacieca
Co-owners
La Cuisine Restaurant
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