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.

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, 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. 

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.

A native of Arles in Provence, it is the door of the Camargue, one of the most beautiful natural zones 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 a 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 and 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.

Jason hails from the small town, but big city of Hoboken, New Jersey, also known as the birthplace of Baseball, Frank Sinatra and Jason Diaz. He moved to Naples in 1998, and at the age of 14, had his first foray in the hospitality and customer service industry when he started working at a popular quick service restaurant. Their philosophy of a careful and thoughtful approach to business, and helpful hand in community stuck with Jason through the years. When Jason entered Naples High School, he became a retail manager at a sports store. Jason was influenced by his Mother's challenge to be better and do better, and his Father's work ethic and heart of gold. With that influence in his life, he works hard at everything he does and believes it's what got him to where he is today. After attending Florida Southwestern State College, he was recruited by P.F Changs where he worked as a server, bartender, lead employee and finally manager. Jason ultimately wants to create a little magic in every experience for each person that walks through the door. Even before working as Restaurant Manager at The French, he always felt welcomed by the comforting atmosphere at The French, Osteria Tulia and Bar Tulia -- his favorite restaurants in town.

Canadian-born and raised just outside of Toronto, Sarah attended the University of Guelph with majors in Sociology and Hotel and Food Administration. Her original plan was to follow in her father’s footsteps and become a hospital CEO, but that particular area of study at was eliminated at the University of Toronto, where he received his degree, and Sarah’s guidance counselor suggested the hospitality industry as an alternative. “Heads in beds,” she said, “and everyone needs to eat.”

Upon graduation, she accepted an internship with Hilton Hotels and Resorts in South Carolina and after only one year, she knew she was done with living in cold weather. She has spent the majority of her career managing catering operations and hotel food and beverage departments for Starwood Hotels and Resorts and Omni Hotels in Nashville, Atlanta and Austin. In Texas, working with C.K. Chin, Austin's number one hospitality guru taught Sarah that no gesture is ever too small, that every interaction counts, and how you take care of your team is everything.

Sarah says after seven years in Austin, she became enamored with the restaurant industry and took her passion and knowledge about food to a new level. Someone told her if you want to be in the hospitality business, you need to realize that you are signing up to make other people’s holidays, birthdays, and anniversaries special. If you are ok with that, then you are in the right field.

“I enjoy the sound of guests laughing and glasses clinking. I love the feeling of camaraderie between the back and front of the house after working through a busy night,” says Sarah. “I love meeting new people and greeting return guests. It’s fun to surprise a couple with champagne on their anniversary, for example.”

When she’s not working, Sarah likes to read, refinish furniture, listen to music, and research new recipes. She cooks with her chef fiancé on days off.  “He's a chef and I am very much not, but we have fun.”