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Montreal fish-and-chippery Brit & Chips has launched a full year of pop-ups featuring prominent chefs and other Montrealers. Each month, the micro-chain is inviting one local personality to create a fish and chip dish, with a dollar from each dish sold going to a charity of that personality’s choice.
First up is a pretty big one — Joe Beef co-owner and chef Marc-Olivier Frappier has crafted a squid and chips dish. Brit & Chips co-owner Paul Desbaillets describes it to Eater.
“He went on a very classic batter with a really nice spice to it and a great aioli sauce in place of a tartare sauce to accompany it.”
Frappier won’t be working the fryers to produce it (in any case, it’s on the menu at all three Brit & Chips locations, and cloning isn’t a viable option) — but it’s a nice affordable opportunity to get one’s hands on some Joe Beef-created food, without negotiating the difficult task of scoring a reservation at Joe Beef. A dollar from each squid and chips plate will go to Crohn’s and Colitis Canada, a charity dedicated to finding cures for those respective health conditions.
That dish will be available all through May — in June and July Brit & Chips will step outside the food world with an Argentinian take on fish and chips from a Metro reporter, followed by an Osheaga organizer.
Later on in 2017 (through to early 2018), Maison Publique owner Derek Dammann and Blackstrap BBQ and Tejano co-owner Dylan Kier will each contribute takes on fish and chips.
Desbaillets tells Eater that he’s doing running the pop-ups to coincide with the city’s 375th anniversary celebrations (though it has no affiliation with the city’s official events), and to bring different scenes together.
“It’s not just the restaurants — it’s sports, arts, fashion...just a real combination of what makes Montreal, Montreal.”
The full list of guests is still to come — but charities who’ll benefit from the pop-ups include the NDG Food Bank, Welcome Hall Mission, and the Quebec Breast Cancer Foundation.
