About

A Sicilian native, Vincenzo Betulia grew up in Milwaukee, Wisconsin after his family emigrated to the United States when he was two years old. He began his career there at age 14 with an after-school job in Paul and Joe Bartolotta’s Ristorante Bartolotta. He ultimately attained the chef position, became a Bartolotta protégé and helped open two additional Bartolotta restaurants in Milwaukee, including the James Beard award-winning Lake Park Bistro serving classic French country fare. While attending the Kendall Culinary School in Chicago, Chef Vincenzo further honed his skills at Bartolotta’s acclaimed Spiaggia. In Chicago and later in Milwaukee, he also worked with Michael White, a fellow Kendall alum and and Bartolotta protégé. On a vacation in Naples, Florida, Chef Vincenzo fell in love with the area and secured a chef’s position at Campiello. He worked his way up to head chef, a position he held for nine years, before opening his namesake restaurant Osteria Tulia in 2013 and Bar Tulia, an Italian gastropub and craft cocktail bar, in December 2014. A culinary trendsetter and leader in Naples culinary evolution, Chef Vincenzo opened his third restaurant, The French, a French brasserie, in January 2017.

Chef Vincenzo was the first chef in Naples to host a Friends of James Beard Benefit dinner, and cooked at the world-renowned James Beard House in New York City in September 2016. His restaurant, Osteria Tulia, was recently voted Best Restaurant in Naples for the second time in the Naples Illustrated Dining Readers' Choice Awards. He has won a Best Chefs of America Award every year from 2013 to 2016. Chef Vincenzo was also featured in a segment of Emeril’s Florida, which aired on the Food Network and Cooking Channel, and was selected by Chef Emeril as the only Chef from Naples to participate in Emeril’s Taste of Florida, an event hosted by Visit Florida for the Association of Food Journalists’ annual conference. USA Today’s 10Best recognized Osteria Tulia as the #1 Cream of the Crop, #1 Italian restaurant and #1 Lunch Spot in Naples, Florida. Chef Vincenzo received a Naples Illustrated Readers’ Choice Award in 2015 for “Best New Chef.” Osteria Tulia was also recommended by Forbes Travel Guide, Peter Greenberg, The Fifty Best and Fodor’s. Further, the restaurant was awarded a Naples Illustrated Readers’ Choice Award in 2015 for “Best Restaurant,” Trip Advisor Hall of Fame, for receiving a Certificate of Excellence for 5 years in a row, and an Open Table Winner’s Choice Award 2016 and 2017. Osteria Tulia also received a Golden Spoon Award in 2013, 2016, 2017 and 2018 by Florida Trend magazine, which selects the top restaurants in the state of Florida. Both Osteria Tulia and Bar Tulia have also received numerous accolades by Gulfshore Life magazine. The French received Best New Restaurant by Naples Illustrated and Gulfshore Life in 2018, and was recognized as one of the Best New Places to Dine in the State of Florida by Florida Trend magazine.

Frank Pullara brings 16 years of restaurant experience to Osteria Tulia's staff. While still in his teens, he had a passion for food, cooking and the dining experience, and the calling to be a chef. His career path began with a job as a line cook at a leading restaurant in his hometown of Milwaukee. He worked his way up the ladder while simultaneously attending culinary school and mastering classic techniques. On the night he graduated, he celebrated at an Italian restaurant that defined his ultimate dream of serving the simple, intensely-flavored dishes of his childhood, inherited by generations of grandmothers and mothers, based on finest quality ingredients that could be found. Although trained and experienced with diverse cuisines, his graduation night celebration recalled the gathering of his extended Italian family that included his cousin, Vincenzo Betulia. The cousins shared the dream of introducing diners to the ancient traditions of Italian home cooking with virtually every dish prepared from scratch. And more, to share the familial warmth rarely found in fine dining establishments. They began working together at top-rated restaurants, a journey that lead them to open Osteria Tulia, Bar Tulia and The French. Chef Frank is Executive Chef at all three concepts, managing a kitchen staff of more than 50 people, creating new menus and developing recipes alongside his cousin.

Having grown up in a household where everything was made from scratch and the family motto was, “Always leave room for dessert,” it comes as no surprise that Jessica King began creating her own culinary pastry masterpieces at an early age. She recalls having dessert every single night, of which her favorite was pie! Hailing from Winkler, a small town in Manitoba, Canada, Jessica first began cooking for large groups of people when she worked at a fishing lodge. It was at the lodge, where she learned the value of time management and organization necessary for fast pace, high quality production. With a desire to expand her knowledge of confection, Jessica moved to a town in Ontario and began making desserts and pastries for a coffee shop. This experience lit a spark that fueled her passion for becoming a chef. Upon moving to Naples with her husband, Jessica worked at an upscale restaurant alongside Chef Vincenzo until he opened Osteria Tulia where she started as the pastry chef. Now, as the Executive Pastry Chef at Osteria Tulia and The French, Jessica enjoys the hands on creativity involved in creating and preparing indulgent sweets; and finds great satisfaction seeing guests savor every bite. However, Jessica’s creativity isn’t limited to the kitchen. In her time off, you can most likely find her knitting. As an avid knitter, she will knit for up to six hours at a time! Whether knitting or baking, Jessica gets in the zone, and loves being successful in all she puts her hands to.

Kayla was born in Greenwich Connecticut but was raised right here in Florida by her mother and father, (also a chef) on the other coast in Jupiter. Kayla gained a strong passion for the culinary arts from seeing her father in the business as well. Pulling on his apron strings, Kayla made it a point that she wanted to follow in her father’s footsteps so she started in the business as a hostess at the age of 14. She was drawn to “The Rush” of service and making the customers happy. She worked further into the business until she graduated high school and enrolled into the Culinary Institute of America. After graduation she headed to the culinary epicenter of America, New York City. There,l Kayla worked under some influential chefs such as Andrew Carmellini, (Locanda Verde, Bar Primi, The Dutch & Lafayette), Terrance Brennan (Picholine) and Brad Farmiere (Saxon and Parole)

Kayla’s passion of cuisine and the hunt to elevate her career brought her down to Naples, where she accepted a sous chef position at The French Brasserie. Kayla worked through all the positions in the kitchen while leading her team. Now as Executive Sous Chef, she has taken the stage at The French expressing her culinary talents through the menus, specials, wine dinners and everything back of house.

Kayla loves being able to create an experience for the guests "that they will not forget”. To her, every detail matters. She also embraces being a teacher to the staff, and working with the team day after day as her family.  Her  inspirations come first from her family, as they have supported her decisions throughout her entire career. She has gained immense inspiration from the past chefs that she worked for listed above, and also she looks up to Chef Carlo Mirarchi of Roberta’s Pizza & Blanca in Bushwick NYC. Her motivation comes directly from the people she works with. She embraces their passion which drives her to always want to learn more and be even better at what she does. 

Born and raised in Michigan, Jason gathered regularly with his extended Polish family for "feasts of epic proportions" ranging from rye bread and real mincemeat pie to fresh made sauerkraut and sausages. These gatherings, along with a small push from his mother, inspired Jason to enter the restaurant world. Starting as a dishwasher while still in high school, his career spans more than 18 years and virtually every restaurant position, including line cook, lead cook, sous chef and assistant manager, in restaurants in Michigan, Colorado, Hawaii, and Florida. In between jobs, he studied chemical engineering in college. Jason's extensive restaurant experience, exposure to a numerous cultures and cuisines, scientific education, and family feasts, has made him a well-rounded communicator with diverse groups of people. His experience as the General Manager at Osteria Tulia and Bar Tulia, and passion for leadership and growth, combined with his training and love of food and genuine hospitality make him ideal for his new role at The French. Jason oversees the front of the house staff, manages the wine and beverage program and helps ensure an unsurpassable guest experience.

A native of Arles in Provence, it is the door of the Camargue, one of the most beautiful natural zone in Europe. In France, we are asked at the young age of fourteen to make a career choice and I had no idea. But one day, I met a guidance counselor who clearly asked me this question: “Why don’t you go to the hospitality business?” I said to myself: “Why not?”. During my first year at Grenoble, I dreamt of being a cook, and admired the chef and his passion. He asked me to weigh out a recipe for pastry and was exact EXCEPT for 1g of salt! Chef lost his temper because of this miniscule error. At that point, I decided to work front of house. This does show that sometimes, life hangs by a thread. For me, it was 1g.

After having obtained all my diplomas in restaurant management, service, sommelier training as well as cuisine, which were given by my academy’s promotion godfather Alain Chapel, I went to Barcelona, to learn Spanish.

After few months in this beautiful city, my first dream appears in my head. I was working on the world’s largest ship. At that time it was ‘’SS Norway’’ formerly known as ‘’The France’’. So, I decided to go back to school in London attending English classes, and six (6) months later I boarded that same ship hailing to my first official port of call, Miami, USA, realizing then my first dream.

But the heart of my career really began in Québec City in Canada, where for more than twenty-five (25) years, I created a name for myself in the field of hotel and restaurant management. After being head waiter for a few years, I decided to make good use of my young experience and opened, (over a period of five (5) years), the following businesses: A fine dining restaurant which garnered Four Diamonds by AAA. Next was a Bistro, as well as a catering service and boutique, which pioneered (at that time) “sous vide” vacuum cooking... All of my restaurants reflected my favorite Mediterranean cuisine from Spain to Greece.

In 1996, I decided to move on in my career as Food Beverage Director at Le Bonne Entente, which will eventually become a Five Star hotel and Four Diamond restaurant, while at the same time teaching at an international hospitality College... These two contracts lasted twelve (12) years and I exploded in my creativity and profession as I travelled to Paris, New York, Chicago an Toronto.

In 2008, another dream made its appearance ‘’The international adventure’’, the plane becoming so to speak my “office”. Indeed, during the week, I have been teaching on an Indian Reserve in Northern Canada while spending my weekends in Barbados, in the heart of the Caribbean, all that before settling down on the island of St. Maarten, over the next eight (8) years.

During all these experiences, I took my inspiration from global winemaking leaders and personalities such as Christian Moueix, owner of Pétrus, who once told me: “Every morning, I listen to my vines” or Nadine de Rothschild: “Elegance is an attitude that gives you your altitude’’, or Paul Bocuse that I met in Chicago “Passion keeps you young in this job”. In fact, they all transmitted to me the fact that enthusiasm activates our personality, communicates our passion and bring a beautiful energy to others.

Since 2016, I have been living in Naples. I love spending time with my wife Francesca, playing soccer, training for a triathlon, reading and traveling.

Since the opening of The French, I love to share “my French flair” especially since my primary motivation is self-realization, which is entirely dependent upon the group of people that I am managing.