According to chef Juneau, Montreal is a great epicurean and inspirational city but it unfortunately lacks some openness towards the rest of the country. The Pastaga team will open up their kitchen and their dining room to these invited chefs who will have carte blanche when it comes to the running of each event.

The December 3first edition of Royal Canadian Monday saw chef Marc Lepine, winner of the 2012 Gold Medal Plate award and chef of the critically acclaimed Atelier in Ottawa taking over the Pastaga kitchen. Chef Lepine created an unbelievable 6-course tasting menu for the occasion. Every dish was like a playful and beautiful work of art. I still can’t decide which of the evening’s dishes was my favourite.

There was the 46 degrees sous-vide arctic char, cherry tomatoes, red pepper gel sheet, dehydrated black olive, 65 degrees sous-vide quail egg, fried capers, caper brine sponge, tarragon aioli that was a definitive contender. But the butternut squash soup, crab apple nitro-noodles, puffed wild rice and crispy duck’s contrast of textures, temperatures and flavours was my most memorable moment of the evening.

The “crab apple nitro-noodles” were made tableside by chef Lepine himself using liquid nitrogen, which brings out the kid in all of us, no matter how worldly we may think we are. The contrast between the sour-sweet frozen crab apple noodles and the warm soup was just unbelievable. Chef Lepine’s Atelier restaurant has been referred to as “Canada’s Alinea” and it was nice to experience some of that talent at this first edition of Royal Canadian Monday.

The line-up of chefs for the upcoming events is impressive and includes Jonathan Gushue (Langdon Hall), John Horne (Canoe), Jeremy Charles (Raymonds) and Quang Dang (West) all scheduled to make an appearance at Pastaga in the next few months.

This is extremely exciting news for Montreal and its food lovers! It is a great opportunity to discover some unbelievable culinary talents from around the country without leaving home. Look out for Jonathan Gushue of Langdon Hall – ranked #77 on the San Pellegrino World’s 100 Best Restaurants 2010 – who is scheduled to be at Pastaga around mid-January.

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THE DETAILS

Pastaga Restaurant, 6389 Saint Laurent Boulevard

To reserve your table for the next Royal Canadian Monday: (438) 381-6389

The post PASTAGA WELCOMES TOP CANADIAN CHEFS TO THEIR ROYAL CANADIAN MONDAY appeared first on Tourisme Montréal Blog.

The thing is, we have the same crops here as do many cities in our latitude – mushrooms, greens, tomatoes, squash – and yet our chefs always find new and ever more appealing ways to showcase the season’s bounty. Here are five beautiful dishes that showcase the city’s harvest cuisine this fall.

Gaspesian crab cakes with creamed swiss chard and smoked cauliflower: Chef Martin Juneau at Pastaga invents unpredictable and suprising cuisine de terroir from the best local ingredients, even on a rainy Saturday brunch.

Tarte aux blettes: Speaking of chard, this tart was on offer – but not on the menu – recently at Foodlab, where chefs Michelle Marek and Seth Gabrielese honoured Provence in a one-night-only menu. It’s a classic Provencal tart (blette is slang for chard) made from the unusual combo of chard, apples, and pine nuts. Keep your eyes peeled for more upcoming special events as Foodlab celebrates their one-year anniversary.

Crabapple sorbet: Martin Picard of Pied du Cochon fame has always had a wry sense of humour in his menus, especially for dessert. This tart and delicate crabapple sorbet is part of his Cabane à sucre (Sugar Shack) fall menu, that showcases apples especially. The special menu runs weekends until the end of October, and is sold-out except for a few seats that open on Thursdays. (Photo: Alexandra Forbes)

Fried green tomatoes: Though most Quebecois cooks prefer to make Ketchup Vert with their unripened tomatoes to go with fall-favourite Tourtiere, at Kitchenette they do it Southern-style, with a crunchy breading and sweet fresh cherry tomatoes as garnish.

Agnolotti with Girolles: At Lawrence Restaurant on St-Laurent as in many restaurants in Montreal, the menu changes weekly based on what’s in season. While not groundbreaking or headline-making, this subtle and delicate agnolotti with girolle mushrooms was comforting and pitch-perfect for lunch on a crisp fall afternoon.

The post FIVE MONTREAL HARVEST PLATES appeared first on Tourisme Montréal Blog.