Gratitude Guaranteed

"What I wouldn't give to dine at Toqué!" If you've heard it once, you've heard it a dozen times (especially around the holidays) from friends, relatives and colleagues hoping someone might make their dream come true. Feel like playing Santa this year? Why not give a Toqué! gift certificate? Slip it inside one of our T-shirts or caps, or place it on top of one or two of our beautiful ceramic plates designed by Kate Baker. Gratitude guaranteed!

An Inspired Menu

No one can accuse our Fairy Godmother of sleeping on the job. At the wee hour of 5 a.m., just as the espresso machine starts heating up, she makes her way into Toqué!, greets the maintenance staff (2) and oversees clean-up operations. Shortly thereafter, she watches the incoming parade of pastry chefs (4), followed by their colleagues from the kitchen brigade (14), who begin the loving preparation of cakes, creams and ice creams, along with stocks, sauces, infusions and reductions. Next comes a wave of deliveries, including laundry, water, fruits and vegetables, game and meat. At 9 a.m., the accountant and secretary make their entrance, and at 11a.m. (or sooner) Christine and Normand arrive, their arms filled with fresh produce.

This is the Fairy Godmother's cue to inspire the dinner menu. She supervises the inventory of the wine cellar and places important orders. When she spots Normand dashing to his car, she knows he's on his way to select the prize catch of the day, or drive out to Dorval to pick up Mingan crab or Princess scallops from the Magdalen Islands. At 4 p.m., she greets the dishwashers (2). Half an hour later, she greets the waiters and busboys (12), whom she watches set the tables, memorize the daily specials, button-up their starched shirts, and welcome the evening's first diners. And it's not over yet! At 5 p.m., she watches suppliers drop off such precious ingredients as wild mushrooms, sea plants and aromatic herbs. Only then does our Fairy Godmother know that her head-count is complete (36) and that Toqué!'s guests are in for a memorable gourmet experience!

On October 28th, the Montreal version of the Toques et Clochers auction was held at the Saint-Enfant-Jésus church in the presence of Baroness Philippine de Rothschild, Pierre Mirc, President of Vignerons du Sieur d'Arques. Following mass and breakfast, a wine tasting provided the opportunity for buyers to select vintages from barrels and lots set aside for the Montreal sale, with a part of the proceeds going to the restoration of the Saint-Dominique Street church bells and bell tower. Since the event began 12 years ago, a president is always selected from amongst France's top chefs. This year, Normand was honoured to have been selected to preside over the North-American premiere. He spoke of the ironic connection between wines and church bells, one dating back to New-France, when church builders would include a ration of wine in their contracts. Toqué! purchased a half-barrel and 120 bottles of this wine, red and white, for service by the glass. Although these remarkable wines from the Languedoc region aren't available at your local SAQ, they can now be savoured at Toqué!

Trotter and Laprise, Side by Side

On Saturday, August 18, 2001, Normand, Christine, Alexandra, Lionel, Hans, Charles-Antoine, Mehdi and Karine arrived in Chicago loaded with fresh ingredients and ideas to help Charlie Trotter celebrate the 14th anniversary of his eponymous restaurant.

After greeting the Toqué! team at the airport, Trotter whisked them, where his staff welcomed the weary travellers with a round of applause on the sidewalk. After a tour of the take-out restaurant, the group was driven to Charlie Trotter's and given the same warm reception by cooks, pastry chefs, waiters, and busboys. That evening, Trotter served one of his trademark feasts to his Montreal friends and a few other guests from his adjoining television studio.

Trotter wanted the following night's grand anniversary dinner to bear two signatures: his own and Normand's. At 10 a.m., both teams began preparing 10 courses to be presented to some 100 guests. Trotter also invited ten of Chicago's top chefs to his studio to discover and savour the cuisine of Normand Laprise.

As a symbol of their spiritual brotherhood, Trotter presented the two first and two last courses together on separate plates: Magdalen Islands Princess Scallops marinated with strawberry jus (NL) & Skate Wing Terrine with Enoki Mushrooms Puree and Ginger (CT); Chilled Cod Soup & Chilled Mussel Soup; Warm honeyed Blueberries with Wild Ginger Ice Milk & a Study in Plums ; and a Raspberry Dacquoise with a Quebec Catherinette Sorbet & a Roasted Peach Tart with Crème Fraiche-Sauternes Ice Cream.

Prior to dessert, Trotter served Loup de Mer with Curried Artichokes and Veal Tongue Tortellini, while Normand tantalized with Slow-Roasted Bluefin Tuna Belly and Pennsylvania Lamb Saddle Roasted with Junniper Berries. Proceeds from the event went to the Charlie Trotter's Culinary Education Program. "There are no words to describe Charlie Trotter's depth of generosity," reflected Normand.

Charlie Trotter's website

A Regional, Ecological, Fairtrade Feast

Good news for healthy gourmets: advocates of organic farming are growing in numbers thanks, in part, to the support of Équiterre. On September 20, Toqué! did its part to raise money for the organization by serving a nine-course meal made from local, organic produce. As the meal was vegetarian (not vegan), two cheeses, amongst other items, were added to the lineup: an Ancêtre cheddar with cep mushrooms, and a Victor et Berthold, lightly melted atop ; parsley root with a bouillon of caramelized onions with argania oil.

In the News

Toqué! has been featured in several restaurant guides, newspapers and magazines over the past few months. In their portrait of Montreal today, Brussels's Le Soir praised its fine cuisine. Intrigued by Normand's appearances at Ken Oringer's Boston restaurant Clio, Alison Arnett of the Boston Globe, came to Montreal for more, and used the words "masterpiece" and "perfection" to describe the succulent textures and flavours of the dishes she sampled. In the Montreal Gazette, Lesley Chesterman wrote of Normand's uncanny ability to discover rare products and to balance flavours in every course. Her glowing review also reminded those of her readers who had only stopped in once or twice to come back to find out what Toqué!'s international-calibre chef would come up with next.

Normand has also been seen on television. Daniel Pinard and Josée Di Stasio joined him in Toqué!'s kitchen to cook up four recipes for a fun-filled one-hour program; Jean Soulard invited him to share his culinary tips and ovens; François Dompierre from "Ici tout est permis" managed to get both professional and personal secrets out of him; and this fall, Air Canada aired a short documentary on Normand and his incomparable restaurant!

Pop-quiz

1st clue : Andrew Stairs raises it in the fields of Stairsholme on his Hemmingford farm.
2nd clue : It drinks milk and eats grain.
Answer : Super-organic, tender, and succulent veal, brought to you exclusively by Toqué! and David Mc Milan of Globe.

1st clue : They're raised in the Magdalen Islands.
2nd clue : When they're picked up at the airport, their shells crackle with joy.
Answer : Princess Scallops, a delicacy best suited to the company of red fruit or Iranian caviar.

1st clue : It's ripe even when green.
2nd clue : There are red and yellow ones in the same family.
Answer : The green Zebra tomato, a bittersweet variety whose pulp, perfumed with cinnamon and almonds, is served with vanilla pound cake and wild thyme ice milk.

1st clue : It's a fat.
2nd clue : It's found in the nut of an ancient Moroccan tree.
Answer : Argania oil, whose golden shimmer brightens kampachi white tuna and whose taste mellows even the spiciest Guinea pepper.