“Growing up we always had kind of a Belgian and American influence in our cuisine,” Whitcomb said. “We also had Americanized versions of Belgian dishes, so it’s kind of a cool thing to recreate that for people.”
Whitcomb, who is 50 years old, has worked in the restaurant industry for about 25 years. He said it wasn’t until he was 30 that he decided to attend the Culinary Institute of America in New York. At that time, he was a general manager at a restaurant and wanted to go to school to prepare himself to one day own his own restaurant.
“I really went on a whim,” Whitcomb said. “It was one of those moments I just felt like it was the right time.”
Although he did not finish culinary school because his mother was diagnosed with cancer, he went on to work in Philadelphia and Washington D.C. He moved to Cincinnati in 2010 to open Table with the late-Chef Jean-Robert de Cavel and assisted with the opening of French Crust Café and Bistro and Pigalls Le Bar a Boeuf. He said he worked with de Cavel for about eight years and in the interim was a partner in a Chicago restaurant group.
He opened his first iteration of La Petite in the Oakley Kitchen Food Hall in 2021 after agreeing to join before the pandemic. He operated there for about year before moving to Asheville, North Carolina to be a restaurant consultant.
Whitcomb moved to the Dayton region for the opportunity to once again own and operate his own spot.
La Petite Kitchen features Carbonnade, the national dish of Belgium that’s also known as Belgian Beer stew. It features beef shoulder that is simmered in Belgian beer, brown sugar, onions, thyme, bay leaves and mustard. It’s then served over house made mashed potatoes. While operating in Cincinnati he typically would serve this dish over French fries, but the spot he has at 2nd Street Market does not have a hood system.
Other popular items La Petite Kitchen offers includes:
- Brussels-Style Belgian Waffle (a classic fluffy waffle with butter and powdered sugar)
- Croque Monsieur (grilled sourdough with bechamel, Dijon mustard gruyere cheese and shaved ham)
- Smoked Salmon Salad Box (house smoked salmon salad with brioche toasts, hard boiled egg, cornichons, pickled red onion and sprouts)
- Beet & Goat Cheese Salad (roasted beets, goat cheese, arugula, pickles red onion, toasted hazelnuts, local honey and Meyer lemon vinaigrette)
He also offers an American and Euro-style grilled cheeses and smash burgers. The smash burgers have been a hit with the Euro-style featuring gruyere cheese, black truffle mayo, arugula and French fried onions. The American-style burger has American cheese, shredded lettuce, mayo, yellow mustard, ketchup and dill pickles.
Since opening in July, Whitcomb said his food has “fit in really well with the people of Dayton.”
“I think maybe that’s because it’s a very diverse group of people in Dayton and a lot of military too that have traveled the country,” Whitcomb said.
His biggest influences in his cooking career are his mother and de Cavel.
“I like sharing my experiences with people and I hope they love them as much as I remember them,” Whitcomb said.
More details
Whitcomb runs La Petite Kitchen with the help of his partner, Cindi Koetzle. Starting next year, he hopes to offer DoorDash on Thursdays and lunchbox deliveries for businesses.
For more information about La Petite Kitchen, visit the vendor’s Instagram page (@lapetitekitchenllc).
2nd Street Market is located at 600 E. Second St. in Dayton. The Market is open 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Friday, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday and 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday. For more information, visit metroparks.org or the Market’s Facebook page (@2ndStreetMarket).
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