Ian Perreault gets new setting for his creations

Chef Ian Perreault is returning to restaurant cuisine after an eight-year absence. Chef-owner of the former Amherst St. restaurant Area, Perreault will cook dinner the first Wednesday of every month at the McCord Museum’s Café Bistro beginning this week. The museum is open Wednesday evenings until 9, and there is no admission charge from 5 to 9 p.m.

Diners with long memories will again be able to savour Perreault’s signature mashed potatoes, which will be served Wednesday alongside a duck breast flavoured with juniper berries and a red wine sauce. An appetizer will be accompanied by a glass of sparkling wine. Included on the menu will be scallops with puréed squash, cheese and a salad of apples with a lime vinaigrette, plus dessert of sugar pie with whipped cream.

The five-course dinner will be served between 6:30 and 9 p.m. Price is $59. There is an option of three glasses of wine for $29.

Perreault, who turned to full-time catering after the bankruptcy of his innovative contemporary-chic restaurant in the Gay Village, will present his next McCord dinner April 3. The museum has just launched an exhibition titled Haiti: Chaos and Daily Life, with photographs by Montrealer Benoit Aquin.

To reserve for dinner, call 514-398-7100, Ext. 306. Chefs offer cooking classes

Les Touilleurs, the kitchen equipment store at 152 Laurier Ave. W., is registering students for spring cookyour-dinner courses with top Montreal chefs. Classes, which start at 6:30 p.m., begin April 1 and run on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday nights until June 12. Each costs $110. Students can bring their own wine to accompany the meal cooked in class.

Participating chefs include Thierry Baron (Vertige), Éric Dupuis (Dominion Square Tavern), Fisun Ercan (Su), Monick Gilles (Scarpetta), Alexandre Gosselin (Chez Victoire), Philippe Laloux (caterer), MarcAndré Lavergne (Accords), Stelio Perombelon (Sinclair), Marie-Fleur St. Pierre (Tapeo) and Jean-François Vachon (Projet 67).

To reserve, email cuisine@ lestouilleurs.com. For more information, including topics and dates, visit lestouilleurs. com or call 514-278-0008.