Mon Lapin's Cookbook

Mon Lapin is launching its brand-new book with the prestigious publishing house Phaidon, making it the second Canadian restaurant — and the first in Québec (!) — to join a globally renowned catalogue. And we love it when Québec shines!

A Phaidon Editor Sat Down at the Bar, Alone

It all started with Emily Takoudis, who sat down at the bar at Mon Lapin one evening, on her own. She ate, and she left. It was only later, by email, that the team found out who she was: an editor at Phaidon, the house that published Noma, elBulli and Chez Panisse. Her question: would you be open to writing a book with us? “It’s a bit of a Cinderella story,” the team sums up. Except that here, the glass slipper is a 300-page book that makes Mon Lapin the first Québec book to join those celebrated ranks. The subtitle confirms the publisher’s intentions: “Made in Montréal, with love.”

Nine Years of Recipes That Existed Nowhere on Paper

The idea of a book wasn’t really on their radar, but it hovered, a bit like daydreaming between colleagues: we really should put our recipes in a binder, a proper Google Doc. The problem is that Mon Lapin’s chefs — Jessica Noël and Marc-Olivier Frappier — almost never write their recipes down. Nine years in business, menus that change constantly, dishes that lasted one evening only, others born in the middle of the pandemic: the chefs had to sit down, weigh every ingredient, document techniques that had never been formalized. Several of the house classics existed nowhere in writing before this project. For the writing, Jessica and Marc-Olivier had help from Vanya and Mireille Silcoff.

Mon Lapin’s book is a lot like the restaurant itself; one of a kind, original, full of fabulous recipes and gripping stories, and it takes you into a world like no other. The real challenge, apparently, wasn’t the writing but the choosing. Ten crab dishes, twelve asparagus recipes: they had to cut, keep one representative per ingredient, avoid the same product coming back too often. A funnel, they say, where the team kept circling back to its own choices only to confirm it had chosen well. And what you get, of course, is only the best. For those asking, yes, the much-celebrated croque-pétoncle is in the book.

Grams, Cups or Ounces: Publishing Across Three Continents

Working with a publishing house present on three continents brings its share of challenges, some more technical than you’d imagine. The subject that heated up internal discussions at Phaidon the most? Units of measurement. Québec wanted grams. The Americans, cups. The British, ounces and pounds. The French simply didn’t understand why it wasn’t all in grams already. The final compromise mixes systems depending on the recipe — proof that even in international publishing, cooking remains a matter of sharing.

Yes, We Speak French; No, Québec Is Not Ontario

What was never up for negotiation, on the other hand, is the voice of the book. Rather than a standard French translation, the team pushed hard to preserve an authentically québécois voice. Jessica calls it a good fight. The realization behind it is simple: working with teams in Paris, London, New York and Tokyo, the team saw how much of what is obvious to us still needs explaining elsewhere — yes, we speak French; no, Québec is not Ontario. The book answers that without a speech or a justification, just by being true to itself. Same logic on the creative side: Dominique Lafond on photography, Raphaël Labrie on illustration, Montréal agency Paprika on design; an entirely Montréal collaboration, because Mon Lapin, neither quite a bistro nor quite a wine bar, instigator of Fun Dining, always prefers the people who understand the soul of the house to be the ones speaking about it.

Made in Montréal, With Love

The book’s subtitle, “Made in Montréal, with love,” sums up the intention of the work: plenty of love, generosity, a little joual, stories of friends, of encounters. The object is steeped in the city through its market gardeners, its fishers, a map of the Gaspésie drawn to explain the richness of our seafood. The book also lingers on hospitality and wine. Vanya Filipovic having been named best sommelier in North America, she shares all sorts of stories and anecdotes there, and tells of Montréal and its legendary hospitality the way only she can.

The September 27 Launch and Where to Get the Book

The launch takes place on September 27 and you can get the book on presale or from any cookbook retailer. The book is magnificent and very well written. Another success from this stellar team.

In ten years, the team hopes for one simple thing: that someone, somewhere, picks up a recipe like their chicken liver mousse as a reference. In the meantime, they admit to a far more down-to-earth intention — making their lives easier for Christmas gifts (ours too!). A fine calling card for the restaurant and for Montréal. Now the whole world just has to read it.

Bravo, friends!