In 2023, sustainable gastronomy will undoubtedly be a major challenge facing all chefs and restaurateurs. This movement, already started by many, is certainly characterized by a so-called “local” cuisine, but also by a concern for waste reduction.
The "eco-responsibility" scale goes from simply not serving mangoes, avocados or asparagus in February and tomatoes in April (unless canned in July and September), to abandoning completely the use of pepper, lemon and olive oil.
Here are some restaurants where it is good to enjoy sustainable gastronomy 12 months a year.
Proud pioneer of a practice of sustainable gastronomy (and without waste), chef Maurin Arellano Frellick offers her customers a very honest menu that evolves from week to week and concocts with the best ingredients from small local farms. Her Mexican origins do not betray her, and this, for our happiness. Vivace is possibly the most Quebecois Mexican restaurant in the province.
► vivacemtl.com
► 101 Pine Avenue, Montreal
Since 2015, the Candide restaurant has been proving to Quebecers that it is possible to cook 100% locally 12 months a year. Intrepid chef John Winter Russell manages to wow our taste buds with panache, without even using a milligram of black pepper or a teaspoon of olive oil. This “ultra local” awareness makes the experience even more memorable and inspiring.
► restaurantcandide.com
► 551 Saint-Martin Street, Montreal
This restaurant located a stone's throw from the Quartier des Spectacles in Montreal is a must-see destination, summer and winter alike. The all-female brigade exercises a completely local cuisine punctuated by modern techniques, where audacity, flavors and gluttony are kings. The wine list follows this guideline, offering only organic wines without input. Before a show or after a walk in the neighborhood, an evening at the Labo Culinaire is always punctuated with wonderful discoveries.
► sat.qc.ca/fr/labo-culinaire
► 1201 Saint-Laurent Boulevard, Montreal
This vegetable farm offers a fun, lively, conscientious gastronomic experience that does a lot of good. Chef and farmer Dominic Labelle cleverly honors the “farm-to-table” concept by sharing his land with his visitors in summer (in picnic mode), then his house in winter (in intimate mode). The latter therefore uses all his own vegetables, then works together with a few local pickers and craftsmen, developing on each occasion a fixed menu combining originality and aplomb.
By reservation only.
► parcellesaustin.com
► 21 Taylor Road, Austin
La Ferme Bika's country table is the dream project of the passionate (and passionate) chef Fisun Ercan, who ran her successful restaurant Su for nearly 15 years in Montreal. From June to October, she alternates between a chef's knife and a farmer's hat, offering a limited number of guests a tasting menu honoring her Turkish roots, but also her land, as well as that of her neighbours. A meal at the Bika Farm comes very close to a gastronomic experience that one could live on the coast of the Aegean Sea in Turkey.
► bika.farm
► 980 Grand Bernier Road, Saint-Blaise-sur-Richelieu
Ingredients produced within a radius of 150 km, electric cooking, strict composting, recycled oils, no paper menu... This restaurant, located in the Saint-Sauveur district of the Capitale-Nationale, is a model in terms of sustainable development. It is with these convictions that Chef Moroney runs one of the best tables in town, recently ranked number 10 of the best new restaurants in Canada.
► restaurantalentours.com
► 715 Saint-Bernard Street, Quebec
“A restaurant on the way to self-sufficiency”, can we read straight away on the Maison Boire web page. An obviously revealing sentence, supported by the many concrete actions that the team makes a point of accomplishing. Biointensive garden a few minutes from the table, roof garden, water recovery and heating system, not to mention composting and the many methods of food preservation. A gastronomic experience as delicious as it is good for the conscience!
► maisonboire.com
► 13, rue Court, Granby
Reducing waste and promoting an eco-responsible lifestyle are at the heart of this bulk grocery store. On site, it is more than a hundred food, cleaning and body products, but also many ecological accessories and local crafts. Online, we can either do our grocery shopping there, or find tips and tricks to make our daily life even more responsible, even minimalist.
► larecolteenvrac.com
► 980 Cartier Avenue, Quebec
► 885 3rd Avenue, Quebec
Tommy Dion is a columnist/food critic and founder of the web platform and gourmet guide www.lecuisinomane.com
