Gagnaire, Mugaritz, Server Beefs Evoke Wrath

STAR CHEFS— Pierre Gagnaire and Hervé This, in town for a big ITHQ gala and seminar this week, were dinner guests at Maison Boulud last night and gave executive chef Riccardo Bertolino and his charges a photo op to remember. [Twitter]

STAR CHEFS— First Pierre Gagnaire and now Mugaritz. Andoni Luiz Aduriz, the chef of the Basque Michelin two-star and 'World's 50 Best Restaurants' standby, will take part in a swanky soirée at the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec's The Parquet with Toqué!'s Normand Laprise on Thursday. The event is a benefit for the Ataxia Charlevoix-Saguenay Foundation. [Twitter]

FOOD MEDIA— The companion piece to Lesley Chesterman's restaurant pet peeves has elicited a deluge of online criticism. Sadly, few of the offended commenters seem to grasp the gist of the article by two Montreal servers. [Gazette]

SWITCHEROOS— As of January 3, the Fairmont Queen Elizabeth will have a new executive chef to oversee a kitchen that employs 80 and serves some 2,000 covers a day. Alain Pignard has quit his post after more than two and half decades at the venerable hotel. [Voir]

BARBECUE WIRE— A team of Québécois cooks recently won a top prize at a big barbecue competition in Las Vegas for a fèves au lard side dish. [Gazette]

WINE WIRE— Fresh off the recent Salon du RASPIPAV private wine import event at Marché Bonsecours, the SAQ will hold La Fête des Vins du Québec in the same Old Montreal space over the weekend. [fetedesvins.ca]