A Family Legacy: Inside Bleu Provence with Chef Gaspard Toulouppe

A Family Legacy: Inside Bleu Provence with Chef Gaspard Toulouppe

Bleu Provence provides a taste of Southern France in the heart of Naples, Florida. And Chef Gaspard Toulouppe, Executive Chef, is helping write its next chapter. Originally from Marseille, Chef Gaspard was raised in the kitchen of his family’s restaurant. He sat down with us to share about his lifelong passion for food—and his hope to always make his workplace feel like one big family reunion.

Carrying on a Culinary Legacy

“Bleu Provence is a family restaurant. It's been open for 25 years by the Cariot family,” says Chef Gaspard. “They still own it, and the parents are retiring now, so the two sons will take over.”

Having joined the team as Executive Chef, Gaspard sees his role as both steward and collaborator. “I'm on the back of the house as executive chef. I work with them, and it's amazing. It's a new adventure, but we will still continue the legacy of Bleu Provence.”

That legacy includes an award-winning wine cellar, a loyal team, and a commitment to honoring the roots of French cuisine. “Lysielle and Jacques opened 25 years ago, and now it's one of the greatest French restaurants in Southwest Florida and one of the most renowned wine cellars in the world. So, that's kind of a big deal.”

From Marseille to Naples

Gaspard’s culinary point of view is shaped by his upbringing in Provence—and by the flavors of his family’s table. “I grew up in Marseille, and my dad had a small restaurant in Les Goudes. Simple cuisine, but amazing,” he recalls. “My mom at home cooked a lot. She loved Provençal ingredients, but North African spices, too. She was from Algeria. She enjoyed cooking big meals and inviting all the family over.”

He first discovered Naples during his honeymoon. “We fell in love with Naples,” he says. “A couple of years later, we met Lysielle and Jacques, and they asked us to come and start working for them. We really felt a connection.”

A Southern French Kitchen with Florida Roots

At Bleu Provence, the menu is grounded in French Mediterranean traditions but shaped by the land and climate of Florida. “The cuisine is really French Mediterranean. We try to take the classic French dish, for example, beef bourguignon and bouillabaisse, and we twist a little, adding some new ingredients,” he explains. “It's a mix between French food and Florida produce.”

Much of that produce comes from a farm the restaurant owns. “We try to use everything from the farm that we have,” says Gaspard. “We’re affected by the weather. So, we don't choose the produce. In fact, the land chooses it for us.”

The result? A menu that adapts to whatever is in season. “We make the special with what we have. We can have passion fruit, jalapeño, ginger, sweet potatoes, carrots,” he says. “We try to have the freshest produce, because you don't need to work too much around it.”

Among his current favorites: Pan-seared black grouper over carrot and turmeric mousseline, topped with sweet potato chips and papaya and lime vierge sauce. “It's the black grouper coming from the Gulf, so fresh every morning, and everything inside of it we use, all of the vegetables and garnishes we use from the farm we own.”

Wine and Kitchen in Conversation

At Bleu Provence, wine is part of the menu conversation from the start. “We select the wine by region or country. After that, we sit down, talk together, and choose the produce,” Gaspard explains. “Wine and food in French, they go together.”

He works closely with Clement Cariot, Advanced Sommelier, to create a series of wine dinners. For Gaspard, pairing is about more than general rules. “We say go for red wine if we have red meat, but that's not entirely true. You can choose something else with it. And even with meat, you can have rosé, you can have white.”

A Kitchen That Feels Like Home

More than anything, Gaspard values the people who make the restaurant feel like home—for both staff and guests. “Most of the staff have been here for more than 10 years, so this is really like a family,” he says. “We don't talk to each other like the chef talks to the sous chef or the chef de partie...it's like a family reunion every day.”

“Whenever guests come in, we want them to feel like family, not just a customer enjoying great food.” And the ultimate goal? “If we can create a memory for the guests coming in, that's what we want,” he says. “It's not just dinner, it's really a journey. It's the greatest gift they can give me...feeling happy and leaving with a smile.”

For Provençal dishes made with fresh Florida produce, ONLY Paradise will do.