"Is there a billionaire or a despot anywhere on earth who at this precise moment is eating better than us?" ~ Anthony Bourdain
"Once every few decades, maybe every century, a nation will produce a hero, an Escoffier, a Muhammad Ali, a Dalai Lama, Joey Ramone, someone who changes everything about their chosen field, who changes the whole landscape. Life after them is never the same. Martin Picard is such a man. A heretofore unencountered hybrid of rugged outdoorsman, veteran chef with many years of fine dining experience, renegade, innovator. He is one of the most influential chefs in North America. He is also a proud Quebecois, and perhaps he more than anyone else has defined for a new generation of Americans and Canadians, what that means. He is an unlikely ambassador for his country and his province."
~ Anthony Bourdain
His food is what excites. The recipes, all using maple syrup, are bold, flavour-filled Quebecois and French bistro-style dishes. From sugar shack brioche to marrow bones and caviar, from patriotes cake to maple pig’s head and lobster, from hare with orange and maple syrup to foie gras tatin, from maple macarons to whole pig with omojo sauce, the book is “my love letter to maple syrup and the cultural tradition of the Quebec sugar shack.” he says. “Maple syrup is an ethos of the Canadian spirit.”
(source: Vancouver Sun)
Montreal to me is the culinary mecca of Canada. Au Pied de Cochon is one of our favourite restaurants, and we always try our best to squeeze it in our hectic schedule every time we visit the city. I first fell in love with foie gras at the 3-star Michelin restaurant Alain Ducasse at the Dorchester, London. No foie gras had come close to it...... until I tasted Au Pied de Cochon's. Naked Foie Gras, or Foie Gras Tout Nu, as it is noted on the menu, is my favourite (although I have yet to taste their foie gras poutine!!). Foie gras to me is my ultimate comfort, rich, decadent food. I have been fortunate to try various high-end restaurants around the globe, and can attest that only a handful of restaurants does it justice.
When two foodies meet and talk passionately about food...
Peking duck in orange sauce (and foie gras chunks!)
Liquid foie gras exploding in your mouth as you eat this yummy amuse bouche.
Foie gras tout nu (naked foie gras).
