The owners of one of Campbell Rivers Newest Restaurants, Mattone Italian Kitchen are a husband and wife duo, Ryan and Katrina Gark.
Ryan grew up in Willow Point, Campbell River, where he spent many days baking up a storm with his mom and grandmother. At 19, he left for culinary school in Vancouver before kick-starting his career. He has cooked all over the world in places like Vancouver, Honolulu, Portugal, Tofino, and most recently, Caesars Palace in Las Vegas.
In 2014, he applied to be on Chopped Canada and came out as champion.
Katrina comes from an Italian family in Burnaby, BC. She grew up going to the Italian markets around the city and making authentic Italian food at Nonna’s house. So, when the opportunity came to open an Italian restaurant in Ryan’s hometown, they jumped on it.
Ryan and Katrina met working in Tofino many years ago. After living in Tofino, they moved to the Comox Valley for several years and got married. Their latest adventure brought them to Las Vegas and now they have decided to lay their roots in Campbell River, raising their two children and working together to open businesses in the beautiful growing community of Willow Point.