Pascal Oudin, born in Bourbon-Lancy, France, was working in professional kitchens at age 13. Within a few years he was being recognized as a wunderkind apprentice chef. Then came further training under Alain Ducasse, three-star Michelin masters Roger Vergé and Joseph Rostang, and the late, great Jean-Louis Palladin, who mentored the young man upon his arrival to the States in 1982. Two years later Pascal landed in Miami, where he embellished his classic French technique with tropical touches, which subsequently garnered him a loose association with the Mango Gang. Oudin tilted toward more traditional cookery during his lengthy stint as executive chef at Grand Café in Coconut Grove's Grand Bay Hotel, and by the time Pascal's on Ponce premiered in 2000, he had returned all the way home to country French fare — with a bit of... More >>>