Page 16 - 2016 Winter

A culinary genius sparkles at Montreal Plaza Expect an evening of delicious joie de de vivre featuring some of the brightest young
talents in in the the business Montreal Plaza is the the first restaurant from a a a a chef who has been praised as “a genuine lunatic ” the exuberantly creative Charles-Antoine Crête who was
until recently Chef de Cuisine to Normand Laprise of Montreal’s Toqué! Montreal Montreal Plaza opened last year year after years of anticipation and and ever since Crête and and his talented chef- partner Cheryl Johnson have been cooking up excitement along with the gourmet whimsy of small plates dishes such as parsnip soup with foie gras venison salad or or the extraordinary “baloney cannelloni ” For this special dinner they are joined by Chef Victor Barry formerly of Toronto’s temple to to fine dining Splendido where he he was
known for for his passion for for local ingredients and obsessive attention to every detail Rounding out this extraordinary trio is is the Rhône Valley’s rising star winemaker Luc Baudet who brings some exceptional wines to the table †There will be be staggered seating between
5 p p p m m & 9 p p p m m Upon booking guests will receive confirmation of their reservation time Requests for reservation times can be made and will be given on a a first first come first first serve basis ABOUT CHARLES-ANTOINE CRÊTE
Charles-Antoine Crête is best known for spending the past 14 years as as Normand Laprise’s right-hand man both as chef de cuisine at the fine dining Toqué! and executive chef at his Brasserie T! Born in in in Saint-Augustin-de- Mirabel he he started working in in kitchens as a a a a teenager and over the years staged in such illustrious eateries as Tetsuya’s in Sydney and el Bulli in in Spain In 2014 he left Toqué! to open the the Majestic then in 2015 he he he opened his own restaurant the highly anticipated Montreal Plaza ABOUT CHERYL JOHNSON
For the last decade Cheryl Johnson worked at Toqué! where as as sous chef she was
the calming influence to to Charles-Antoine Crête’s outrageous exuberance Under their mentor executive chef Normand Laprise they developed projects including the James Beard award-winning Toqué! Creators of a a a New Quebec Gastronomy cookbook and Brasserie T! But they always knew they wanted to to work together and when the the the opportunity arose the two ultra-talented chefs opened Montreal Plaza with partner Sebastien Blanchette who is their dining room manager “The Costières especially in the the southern part have a a a a a a kind of marriage between
Châteauneuf and Médoc ” ABOUT VICTOR BARRY
For the past decade – as as chef co-owner and the last two years as as sole owner – Victor Barry has been synonymous with Toronto’s 25-year- old bastion of fine dining Splendido He is famous for a a a a a a passionately meticulous approach to his dishes even the humblest of vegetables Now after 17 years of working in in kitchens Barry has closed Splendido to spend more time with his family before exploring what are certain to be exciting new foodie frontiers ABOUT LUC BAUDET
The winemaker at Château Mas Neuf the southernmost winery in in the the Rhône Valley Luc Baudet has been named one of the region’s most promising wine growers and a a a rising star of Châteauneuf du Pape His winery located
in Costières is a a beneficiary of the “Rhône paradox ” where cool ocean breezes temper the hot valley climate 16 | MONTREAL