Strength sometimes shows up as knowing when to make your move. As the global pandemic of 2019 and the lockdown of 2020 shuttered many small restaurants,

Stéphane Saint Louis and his co-chef Steven Vargas planned an opening. To get there, they invested their stimulus checks in a reeling stock market. This is the business side of Saint Louis. Their return was enough to propel the popup he and Vargas had been operating into today’s brick-and-mortar Table Culture Provisions in downtown Petaluma, fondly known as TCP, is a neighborhood restaurant committed to local suppliers and a seasonally tuned menu.

Saint Louis is purposeful, determined. From the Insitut Paul Bocuse in France he went on to work in some of the world’s best restaurants. Advantaged by his multicultural background and education, he brings that same curiosity and delight in food to the menu he prepares for his guests in Petaluma. Saint Louis finds inspiration in contrasting the simple with the complex. His food is meant for the senses and each course sharpens that focus. A dish does not leave his kitchen until it’s perfectly composed and flavor, texture, and presentation are balanced. His approach has elevated TCP to the forefront of the fine dining Renaissance in Sonoma County. Asked if he considers himself a lucky man, Saint Louis pauses for a long time. “Blessed,” he eventually says. Driven may be the better word.

Years before TCP, before Paris, before Paul Bocuse, when Saint Louis had just graduated from the California Culinary Academy, an early job at a family restaurant opened a window to his future. Young and yet to become fully committed to the industry, he says, “I felt something when I walked into that space.” A vision for a way of life was forming. Home and family remained key as Saint Louis built his career. An army of aunts and cousins in the U.S. and abroad supported him. Sometimes with a tuition check, other times with a couch to sleep on. Eventually, he met his wife Marta at Paul Bocuse. She now runs TCP daily operations. Together, they are making a statement. Saint Louis is proud of building a 100% minority-run infrastructure, from the front of the house to the wine director to his Polish wife who runs the business.

“TCP is elevating its people to positions of influence and leadership within the industry. And we are getting recognition for running a top restaurant; a well-oiled machine.” TCP is widely written up and regularly appears on lists of Top Restaurants.

“Michelin is the ultimate goal,” says Chef Saint Louis.