Meet the people behind Petaluma’s Table Culture Provisions

“One of the most rewarding things that has come from opening a restaurant is seeing our guests enjoy the company of those that they love in our dining room,” says co-owner Steven Vargas|

The opening of Table Culture Provisions in its own space had been in the works for several years, and was ultimately spearheaded by the three co-owners – Stéphane Saint Louis, Steven Vargas, and Marta Saint Louis. The last name is no coincidence – Stéphane and Marta are married.

Steven Vargas was born and raised in Petaluma, graduating from Casa Grande High School in 2010. Steven said he played a lot of youth sports, so did not have a lot of time for cooking, only gravitating to it as he got older. “I really developed an admiration for the craft as a young adult working in restaurants with passionate chefs that showed me the nobility in the profession.”

Prior to attending the Culinary Arts Program at Santa Rosa Junior College, Steven worked as a cook for Chef Ricky Garcia at Dinucci’s in Valley Ford. While attending culinary school, he worked at both Healdsburg’s Brass Rabbit/Dukes Common and Cotati’s venerable Down to Earth Café under the tutelage of Chef Chris Ball.

Steven’s first job after culinary school was at Della Fattoria, where he first met Stéphane. “Stéphane and I both share the same goals and values professionally. The decision to join him on this venture to open a restaurant was easy for me because he is someone I hold a great deal of admiration for. He is not only a mentor to me professionally, but a brother to me.”

When Stéphane moved from Della to the Shuckery as the head chef, he invited Steven to join him as Sous Chef. Just as Chef Stéphane has a knack for tapping into and helping develop local ingredients and flavors, his Midas touch seems to have extended to selecting who he works with.

Although we did not know it at the time, we have been enjoying both chefs’ food for quite a while, inadvertently following their flavors from Della’s first dinner services back in the mid-2010’s through to the Shuckery, before having it under the Table Culture Provisions last year during their stint in Wishbone’s space on the Blvd North.

Steven’s current favorite dish is TCP’s pan seared scallop. “My favorite type of food to make is simple in development but elevated through technique and quality of ingredients.”

With a slightly French accent and a very French last name, Stéphane Saint Louis was actually born in New York, although he spent his youth in Haiti before moving to Northern California during his teens. He attended the California Culinary Academy and worked throughout the United States, logging plenty of time in Sonoma and Petaluma. He also studied in Lyon, France at the Institut Paul Bocuse, where he was tapped to help teach and work in places like Copenhagen and Shanghai.

During one recent visit, after the dinner rush had slowed, Stéphane shared some stories with us of teaching in China, where he did not speak the student’s language, and most did not speak his. The most lingual student in each group would attempt to act as translator, however, pantomiming was the common form of communication. “But the students were so passionate about learning that it was a genuine pleasure to work with them,” recalls Stéphane. “That experience also helped me expand my palette.” There are clear Asian influences that pop up throughout TCP’s menu.

When asked what his favorite dish is right now, Stéphane says it is the morning catch. “That’s a course that I’ve been working on for a while and that has become a signature dish.” The fish of the morning catch is often different from day to day, but the foundation of the dish is currently Kohlrabi Gratiné, Red quinoa and soybeans and Tobiko and Caviar Beurre Blanc Sauce.

The third member of the TCP team came about through a connection to Stéphane too. Marta grew up in Gdańsk, Poland, formerly known as Danzig during Prussian and German rule, but changed back to its traditional name at the conclusion of WWII. Gdańsk holds the dubious distinction of being the initial battle ground of WWII, when Germany first invaded Poland on Sept. 1, 1939, attacking the military transit depot at Westerplatte, which sits on the Baltic Sea and is part of Gdańsk. Thankfully, the city was rebuilt after WWII and has regained much of its former glory as a picturesque coastal trading center, dating back to the 10th century. Just as with her hometown, Marta has a historical elegance and determination, which she channels into a well thought out and operated front of house, which is key to enhancing a dining experience beyond the food, not matter how good the kitchen is.

Marta graduated from the Hospitality and Culinary Institute of Poland, which also helps explain why the front of house at TCP runs so smoothly.

“I got a majority of my training there. All the basics like styles of services and customer service dos and dont’s. I also learned about marketing and economics. We covered everything from administration to bookkeeping.”

She also interned at the Institut Paul Bocuse, which is where she met Stéphane.

“He went to Copenhagen to work but I had to finish one more year of school in Poland. so for about a year I would travel to see Stéphane in Copenhagen about once a month,” reminisces Marta.

In March of 2015, Stéphane moved back to the U.S. to assist Chef Aaron Weber at Della Fattoria and Marta came to visit that summer. She had to return to Poland once her visa was up but when she returned a second time, “that was it. I never looked back again. … When I first visited the U.S. I came here to Petaluma and fell in love with this small town.”

The couple married in late 2015 and now have a 4-year-old son, and a brand-new restaurant together.

At dinner time, Marta’s favorite starter is the delicata squash rings, “and the tomahawk Steak for main course. That tomahawk is something else! For brunch, I love fried chicken and biscuit, but I will also get the French toast if I want to treat myself.”

Although much has been made of the co-chefs’ investing their pandemic stimulus checks in Tesla, which helped them grown their investment funds for their restaurant launch, the reality is that opening a restaurant these days takes more than a bit of investment luck. “The most challenging part of getting the restaurant up and running has been the lack of financial resources for young entrepreneurs/first time business owners,” says Steven. “This didn’t come as a surprise to us with all things considered, but it was one of the most difficult parts of getting the business up and running. Securing working capital was our biggest hurdle but the most rewarding. This challenge taught us how to analyze and adapt to our strengths and weaknesses as a startup.”

Steven immediately follows up with the positives. “On the flipside, one of the most rewarding things that has come from opening a restaurant is seeing our guests enjoy the company of those that they love in our dining room.”

“It’s always been Stéphane’s goal to own a restaurant,” says Marta. “It’s been his dream ever since I can remember. He would always talk about it and come up with ideas and menus. To see his dream come true has been the most rewarding. He’s happy and that makes it all worth it.”

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