Elise Tastet receives Lauriers de la gastronomie nod

On Monday evening were held the highly anticipated Lauriers de la gastronomie québécoise, the annual celebration of our local gastronomy, which brought together yet again actors from the industry from across the province to shine a light on the culinary arts. Testaurant Tanière³ won the coveted award for Restaurant of the Year, succeeding Monarque and Battuto, while our dear Elise Tastet received the Culinary culture outreach award (yay!).

Once again, the event took place at New City Gas in Griffintown. The pouring rain did not stop guests from participating in the traditional opening cocktail, during which they enjoyed bites offered by notable figures of our gastronomy, including Minh Phat Tu (Mui Mui, Anemone, Sae Low), Anita Feng (J’ai Feng), Matt Winnicki (Satay Brothers), Samy Benabed and his team from Auberge Saint-Mathieu, Paul-Harry Toussaint (Kamuy), Jean-Simon Petit (H3), Athiraj Phrasavath (Restaurant Bazart), and the father-son duo Richard and Jérémie Bastien (Monarque).

The judges had their work cut out for them this year: to select the 95 finalists, they had to sift through over 5,000 applications submitted by the 7,000 members of the Brigade des Lauriers, composed of industry professionals from all regions of Quebec.

The event’s founder Christine Plante and her colleague Francis Reddy once again hosted the gala, during which 17 trophies were awarded. Tanière³, in Quebec City, that was crowned Restaurant of the Year, succeeding Monarque and Battuto, winners in 2023 and 2022 respectively. The entire team took to the stage, led by chef and co-owner François-Emmanuel Nicol and his partner Roxan Bourdelais, who took the opportunity to reiterate their desire to see the Michelin Guide come to Quebec. The Chef of the Year award was given to Fisun Ercan of Ferme et cuisine Bika in Saint-Blaise-sur-Richelieu, while young chef Chloé Ouellet from the farm table Au Pâturage in Sainte-Perpétue was named Revelation of the Year. The Best Service Award went to Mélanie Blanchette of Bouillon Bilk. Other notable winners included pastry chef Gabrielle Hiller-Rivard (La Cabane sur le roc, in Saint-Joseph-du-Lac), sommelier Vanya Filipovic (Mon Lapin), mixologist Simon Faucher (Tanière³), and the table champêtre Maison de Soma, winner of the Gourmet Tourism Award.

An emotion and surprise-filled night

Christian Bégin, the host of the first editions of the Lauriers, took the stage to deliver a heartfelt tribute to Janette Bertrand, highlighting her remarkable contribution to Quebec gastronomy, from her cookbooks to the large gatherings on Parler pour parler. The People’s Laurel Award, awarded to Geneviève Everell, aka Miss Sushi à la maison, was another touching moment of the evening. Battling breast cancer, the entrepreneur had recorded a very moving thank-you video, in which she expressed her hope to attend the gala in person next year, with a full head of hair.

Finally, the highlight of the evening (at least for us!): our own Elise Tastet took home the Culinary culture outreach award, a wonderful recognition for all her hard work to promote the local food scene since the creation of Tastet in 2014. We also salute Christian Bégin, Josée Di Stasio, Laurent Dagenais, and Pascale and Marie-Claude Rémond of Les Minettes, who were also nominated in the category.

“What a beautiful recognition of our work over the past 10 years!” Elise told us as she left the stage. “It comes at just the right time with the launch of our app. 😉 I am very proud of this award, which I share with my dad, who passed on his passion for the restaurant industry and his love for the people who work in it. A thousand thanks! This is just the beginning!”

Another memorable and emotionally rich evening celebrating our beautiful gastronomy! Congratulations to Elise and to all the laureates and finalists! A special thank you to all the judges and members of the Brigade des Lauriers for recognizing our work in this way!

The laureates

Gourmet Tourism Awards: Maison de Soma
Culinary culture outreach award: Elise Tastet
People’s Laurel Award: Genevieve Everell, Miss Sushi à la maison
Gastronomic event of the year: Rendez-vous Loup Marin
Company or initiative of the year: La Table Ronde
Producer of the year: Patrice Fortier, La Société des plantes
Craftsman of the Year: Nathalie Joanette, Fou du cochon
Brewer, winemaker or beverage producer of the year: Samuel Lavoie, Ferme Le Raku
Best Service Award: Mélanie Blanchette, Bouillon Bilk
Mixologist or bartender of the year: Simon Faucher, Tanière3
Sommelier.e of the year: Vanya Filipovic, Mon Lapin
Baker of the year: François Borderon, Borderon et Fils
Pastry Chef of the Year: Gabrielle Hiller-Rivard, La Cabane sur le roc
Revelation of the year: Chloé Ouellet, Au Pâturage
Chef of the year: Fisun Ercan, Bika Ferme & Cuisine
Restaurant of the year: Tanière3