Nestled along the scenic shoreline of Lake Mission Viejo and offering many sought-after premium wines, cheeses, pâtés, charcuteries and specialty products, La Maison Gourmet brings a delicious taste of European-style food and culture to Southern California. 

Opened in April 2003 by French Canadian owners Louise Côté and Marc Raymond, the shop offers more than 675 different labels of premium wines, as well as up to 85 mostly imported or artisan cheeses ranging from cow’s to sheep’s to goat’s milk. La Maison Gourmet also offers an exotic variety of mousses and pâtés, with all inventory constantly monitored to please the sophisticated tastes of its loyal clientele.

Marc Raymond, owner: 

Possessing a passion for good food, fine wines and living life to the fullest, Marc Raymond is the resident wine expert at La Maison Gourmet, seeking out the world’s best, sought-after vintages for the collective enjoyment of his grateful clientele. The husband of Louise Côté, Marc brings to the venture more than 25 years’ experience in the upscale French Canadian food, beverage and hospitality industries. Learning this detailed and competitive business from the ground up, Marc eventually became Banquet Director for prominent Canadian hotel chain, l’Auberge des Gouverneurs, where he managed and supervised the complex operations of 42 banquet halls. 

Gaining insight from l’Auberge chefs into the culinary nuances of pairing the right foods with just the right wines, the multi-faceted Marc – also a former golf pro -- brought that knowledge to his position as Head of Tournament & Event Coordination at the celebrated Le Mirage Golf Course in Québec, owned by Céline Dion and her husband, René Angelil.  At Le Mirage, he continued to fine tune his talents for creating a memorable dining experience, taking on the heavy responsibilities of producing 45 major tournaments a year, including the multiple dining events that come before and after each competition.

“I love to cook at home, to experiment and create new dishes, different kinds of sauces,” says Marc.  “Most of all, I love to discover unusual food and wine pairings that bring out the best flavors in each that others who are less adventurous may not consider.”

“There is not one wine in this store that I have not personally tasted,” continues Marc. “Quality is very important to us, and to our customers. I love everything about wine – the aromas, the subtle tastes created by various grapes and different fermenting times and techniques. Plus, in moderation, it’s a natural, healthy juice that’s good for the blood, good for the heart. Through La Maison Gourmet, I truly want to share this love.”

Louise Côté, owner:  

As administrator extraordinaire of La Maison Gourmet, Louise Côté brings to this labor of love a wealth of experience and expertise in the Food and Beer industries.  Her impressive, 25 plus year background includes serving as Promotional Director for a major national food chain in her native Québec, as well as Brand Manager for Budweiser in Canada and Field Marketing Director for Labatt USA. 

Louise oversees many of the managerial, purchasing and marketing tasks associated with running a retail business 24/7.  Along with her husband Marc Raymond, she shares a vision for La Maison Gourmet to be an oasis of European-style culture and fine food in an American society. In addition, Louise is the in-house expert on cheeses, and shares with Marc a passion for pairing just the right cheese with its perfect wine complement.  In fact, they love sharing their own knowledge, a treasured resource for customers looking to throw the perfect dinner party, and illustrates La Maison’s commitment to being the best wine and cheese shop in Southern California.

“We really put our hearts and souls into La Maison,” says Louise. “Everything  . . . and  each product we offer has to be something that we ourselves enjoy eating or drinking or we won’t carry it – even if it has a good profit margin.  The customer comes first, and that is how we do business.”

Dream comes true

The hometown of La Maison Gourmet owners Louise Côté and Marc Raymond -- is known for many things.  Great art. Fine cuisine. Cosmopolitan ambiance and European-style culture.  Unfortunately, it is also known for being cold.  Forty degrees below zero, bone-chilling, snow storming cold.

It was no surprise, then, that the dream of Marc and Louise, was to live in a wonderfully warm locale.  How about beautiful sunny Southern California?

Fate and circumstance seemed to intersect to ultimately bring about the birth of La Maison Gourmet in Mission Viejo, California.

Louise was a successful marketing executive for InterBrew, a world renowned beverage company.  Marc was a golf pro and Head of Tournament & Event Coordination for Le Mirage, a prestigious golf course owned by Céline Dion and husband René Angelil. In fact, Marc and Louise met through mutual friends on this very same golf course. Marc relates that on their first official golf date, he got a hole in one.  “I knew right then I was going to marry her,” he jokes.

Marc and Louise had good jobs and were reasonably happy.  Each year, they would escape the harsh weather by going on vacations to Mexico or Florida. Also, each year, Louise would check the “willing to relocate” box on her annual review form at Labatt/InterBrew. Nothing every happened. Finally, she complained to her boss.  “I don’t know why I bother checking off this box – the company never transfers me.”

In March 2001, her luck would change. Louise was scheduled to travel to San Francisco to make a presentation to Anheuser-Busch regarding the success of the Budweiser brand in Canada. Just as she was to leave for the airport, the president of Labatt called to wish her good luck. Louise was suspicious. She knew her boss well:  that was not the real reason he called. In fact, he was calling to offer her a promotion and transfer to Labatt USA!

From there, Louise and Marc’s life moved at lightning speed. In three weeks time, they got married, sold their house and moved to Rancho Santa Margarita, California, where Louise started her new job.  Marc immediately started practicing for his PGA ranking. He scored 7th out of 95, and was readying to get a job teaching at a golf course and perhaps managing their banquet facilities.

Yet, several months later, the bottom seemed to fall out of their world. Labatt acquired Beck’s, and re-organization was underway. Louise’s job was imperiled; if she wanted to stay with the corporation, she’d have to move to Connecticut. Now used to the sunny weather and loving their new lifestyle, the couple decided to step back and re-evaluate their goals. Their decision? They would not move to the Northeast U.S., but instead open their own food business – a dream they each had since they were children.

But what kind of food business? Originally, they wanted a breakfast place, but realized that busy Americans rarely ate a big sit-down breakfast, except on weekends.  Then, they struck on an idea. Since they had moved to Southern California, they were driving all the way to Beverly Hills to find the imported cheeses they both craved. Certain kinds of wines were also hard to find in Orange County. There was definitely a need for a European-style gourmet boutique that would carry specialty wines and cheeses. Thus, La Maison Gourmet was born, opening its doors in April 2003.

With its popular Friday night wine tastings, scenic lakeside location, personalized service and top-quality products, La Maison Gourmet has prospered.  In a world where the “Mom and Pop” shop is frequently threatened by large franchises, this enchanting little boutique has found a niche that the “big guys” can’t duplicate. And for one hard-working French-Canadian couple, the American Dream has indeed become a wonderful reality.