DO WE NEED A FRENCH CHEF?
For and against Casino’s new hire
Five reasons I’m against L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon at the Casino de Montréal: 1.
Show us the money! Millions are rumoured to have been funnelled into this project, but Loto-Québec is unwilling to divulge any financial details. Robuchon was reportedly paid for his franchise as well as a consulting fee, and casino employees were sent to France and Las Vegas for training. Plates, cutlery and glassware were all imported from Europe. All that adds up. Why no transparency, considering public funds were spent? 2.
News flash, fellows: you’re subsidizing the competition. By pouring money into the luxury restaurant at the casino, the government is undermining our taxpaying restaurateurs. At a time when our restaurants are scrambling to stay alive, why should our heavily taxed chefs have to compete with a foreign brand bankrolled by our government? 3.
What happened to “maîtres chez nous”? In the past 20 years, there has been a radical shift in Quebec gastronomy. Once a city where chefs from France ruled our top restaurants, today Montreal boasts a vibrant, homegrown food scene where chefs like Normand Laprise, Martin Picard and David McMillan are raking in the accolades for creating an authentic Quebec cuisine. But in bypassing the opportunity to feature any local talent, it’s apparent casino bigwigs think little of Quebec chefs. They’re supporting a chef who may have 28 Michelin stars to his name, but will rarely be on site. 4.
They say Robuchon will bring in the bucks. High-end restaurants use expensive ingredients; therefore, margins are slim. Union salaries are also high at the casino. With 50-some seats in play here, there’s a limit to how many customers they can accommodate. Add to that the huge initial investment and a big promotional budget, and how can this restaurant turn a profit? 5.
They say Robuchon will attract foreign foodies. Yeah, right. The international foodie crowd wants the new, the rare, the exciting — not a dated luxury franchise that was launched in 2003, of which there are 10 Atelier de Joël Robuchons worldwide. And the argument that it will lead to increased business for our local restaurants is equally preposterous. The casino brass needs to know that Montreal is already a gourmet destination. The idea of turning to a French chef to put us on the map reeks of old-school colonialism. Even Robuchon admits our products are great. Why do we need him to tell us how to arrange them on a plate?
Five reasons I’m in favour of L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon at the Casino de Montréal:
1. Robuchon is French, he is well trained, he is well travelled, he has succeeded. He was named Chef of the Century by the Gault Millau restaurant guide in 1989, and he chaired the committee for the current edition of Larousse Gastronomique.
2. He is not a loutish Brit who screams at people, makes entirely suspicious foods and lends his name to so many products that he looks like one of his own tarts.
3. Food capitals are by definition cosmopolitan, open to the world, ready to compete, ready to challenge and be challenged. Montreal, as usual, is ambivalent: why do we need a foreigner coming in to show us what to do? As punishment for unleashing Ricardo on the world, that’s why.
4. Michelin stars. Robuchon has 28. That qualifies as a constellation. Even if they don’t matter the way they once did, they are nevertheless a significant indicator of success.
5. Robuchon suits the space. There was once a lovely and tasty restaurant in that space at the casino — beautiful, even elegant light, utterly different from the overall tawdriness of the casino. To have a world-class food atelier there — not an emporium, not a saloon and not a whatever conceptual new wave of the moment ramen joint, but a place to eat refined food? That works for me, even if I probably can’t afford to go. Maybe lunch.