PEOPLE ARE
TALKING ABOUT QUINTESSENCIA

"With Quintessencia, above all, everything is fresh, delicious highlighting seasonal ingredients. We love Patricia’s Provencal flair – it’s a true delight to any gourmand!"

– Liz Henri, Assistant Director, Westside Dance Physical Therapy, New York, NY

TEAM

Culinary Professionals with a Passion for Excellence

Quintessencia is led by a group of seasoned culinary professionals with deep domain expertise, superior knowledge, and exceptional business experience. With significant courage, dedication, and a passion for excellence forged in the performing arts, the Quintessencia team guides strategic direction of the firm and manages rapid execution to ensure 100 percent client satisfaction.

 

Patricia Catenne

Founder, CEO, Chef, Event Strategist, and Health & Nutrition Counselor

An Inherited Gift

Born in the quiet countryside of Obernai in the Alsace region of France, Patricia Catenne grew up to love everything about food. From childhood, she was enchanted with growing fruits and vegetables in her backyard. From May through October, every month provided her with a bounty of fresh foods to cook, to preserve, and to enjoy. In her spare time, she helped professionals in local restaurants and bakeries, learning essential techniques and soaking up cooking knowledge.

From a young age, she traveled extensively with her parents. From the souks in Marrakesh to the floating markets in Bangkok and the food halls at Harrods, she spent hours trying new dishes and savoring the flavors of the world.

A Woman’s Story

In Patricia’s family, cooking has always been a woman’s story. From the 19th century, her great grandmothers were culinary pioneers. Distinguished Cordon Bleu chefs and ambassadors of the most exquisite recipes, they left the beautiful countryside to take the command of kitchen of the great families of the capital, Paris. "My mission is to use my culinary and nutritional skills to fulfill the vision expressed so well expressed by the Dalai Lama:

’Each one of us is responsible for all humankind. We need to think of each other as true brothers and sisters and to be concerned with each other’s welfare. We must seek to lessen the suffering of others. Rather than working solely to acquire wealth, we need to do something meaningful, something seriously directed toward the welfare of humanity as a whole.’ "
– Patricia Catenne After years of hard work, most returned home and passed on their recipes to their descendants. With this vast experience as a foundation, Patricia started her apprenticeship.

Dancing on Air

While it has always been her passion, cooking has not always been Patricia’s main activity. At the age of four, Patricia started a dance career that would last over 30 years.

However, food was never far from her mind. As a dancer, Patricia had to make many sacrifices. Finding the best diet, while eating small amounts of food, forced Patricia to master the world of nutrition at a very young age.

Dancing requires a lot of discipline and courage, both of which prepared Patricia for her career as a chef. As with dance, a dinner event needs extreme attention to detail, extensive preparation, the ability to deal with unexpected problems, and a top-notch team able to deal with everything in a very short time. For Patricia, planning a menu or event is like choreographing a dance – she ensures that everything is in harmony and that everything flows naturally.

A Real Treat for the Senses

Recognized for using only the finest fresh ingredients, Patricia has merged the finest in French cooking with multitudes of flavors from around the world. Her goal is to deliver a real treat for both your taste buds and your body.

According to Patricia, there are principles one cannot learn in a book or in school. The only way to learn these techniques is by watching – watching someone who does not need a scale to know the amount of flour to add, someone who can tell "Touching a person through their five senses is my challenge. The smell in the room, the different qualities of each dish – crunchy, smooth, silky – the sound of it sizzling on your plate. I want to create dishes that you discover through each of your senses."
– Patricia Catenne the cake is baked solely by smell, or someone who can tell that something is getting close to burning when the frying pan makes a dry sound. With her mother and grandmothers, Patricia embarked on this odyssey. With the strong base of knowledge gained from her hands-on training, Patricia seeks to engage the senses in her cooking – she delivers personalized cooking that tantalizes all five senses.

Quintessencia

Years of personal research and comprehensive studies at the Integrative Nutrition Institute in New York culminated in Patricia founding Quintessencia. Offering personal chef, private event, and health and nutrition counseling services, as well as cooking classes, parties, workshops, and food-related travel programs, Quintessencia is a new concept – an integrated culinary service company that is changing the way people think about food. Highly acclaimed by her clients, at Quintessencia she uses the finest fresh, organic, sustainably farmed ingredients to nurture body and soul, and by integrating personal chef services with health and nutrition counseling, she brings together nutrition and food itself.

Culinary Beauty

With her background as an artist, Patricia turns any recipe into a work of art. To Patricia, beauty and presentation are key, but taste is of paramount importance. Patricia’s passion is delighting all the senses and, through delicious meals, offering a unique and unforgettable culinary experience. For Patricia, food is more than just food – it has a healing energy that brings people together.