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The award ceremony for Quebec’s brand new culinary prize, Les Lauriers, is here — on Monday night (April 16), the winners of 15 categories, including chef of the year, restaurant of the year, and sommelier of the year, were unveiled at Salon 1861, in Montreal. The prize is roughly similar to the James Beard Awards in the USA, aiming to recognize excellence in a range of forms from across Quebec’s culinary industry — restaurants, chefs, producers (and beyond) from across the province were eligible, and were whittled down to small groups of finalists back in March.
The winners (except for one people’s choice category) were chosen half by an anonymous jury from a range of professions connected to the culinary and restaurant worlds — any restaurant affiliated with those jury members was not eligible for a prize. A much larger brigade of close to 2,000 voting professionals made up the other half of the voting process — the jury and the brigade votes counted towards 50 percent of each prize.
For comments from some of the key winners, see here.
Restaurant of the Year
Winner: Le Mousso (Montreal)
Finalists:
- Battuto (Quebec City)
- Bistro Rosie (Montreal)
- Candide (Montreal)
- Chez St-Pierre (Bic, Bas-St-Laurent)
- Le Club Chasse et Pêche (Montreal)
- Initiale (Quebec City)
- Marconi (Montreal)
- Montréal Plaza (Montreal)
- Le Vin Papillon (Montreal)
Chef of the Year
Winner: Colombe St-Pierre (Chez St-Pierre, Bic, Bas-St-Laurent)
Finalists:
- Mehdi Brunet-Benkritly (Marconi, Montreal)
- Marc-Olivier Frappier (Joe Beef, Le Vin Papillon, Mon Lapin, Montreal)
- Éric Gonzales (L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon, Montreal)
- Nancy Hinton (Les Jardins Sauvages, Saint-Roch-de-l’Achigan)
- Marc-André Jetté (Hoogan & Beaufort, Montreal)
- Frédéric Laplante (Légende, Quebec City)
- Stelio Perombelon (M.Mme, Montreal)
- Antonin Mousseau-Rivard (Le Mousso, Montreal)
- John Winter Russell (Candide, Montreal)
Prize for Influence on Quebec’s Culinary Culture
Winner: Normand Laprise (Toqué, Montreal)
Finalists:
- François Chartier
- Michel Lambert (author, L’Histoire de la cuisine familiale du Québec)
- David McMillan and Fred Morin (Joe Beef, Montreal)
- Martin Picard (Au Pied de Cochon, Montreal)
The Public Laurier
A people’s choice-type award for the most popular culinary figure in Quebec.
Winner: Ricardo (Ricardo Cuisine)
Finalists:
- Christian Bégin (Curieux Bégin, Télé-Québec)
- Josée di Stasio (di Stasio, Télé Québec)
- Chuck Hughes (Garde-Manger and Le Bremner, Montreal)
- Normand Laprise (Toqué, Montreal)
- Louis-François Marcotte (La Cage Brasserie Sportive)
- Marilou (blogger, Trois Fois Par Jour, Quebec City)
- Martin Picard (Au Pied de Cochon, Montreal)
- Soeur Angèle (ITHQ and beyond)
- Daniel Vézina (Laurie Raphaël, Montreal and Quebec City)
Revelation of the Year
An award for new or young culinary talents.
Winner: Stéphanie Cardinal (Chef de cuisine, Le Vin Papillon, Montreal)
Finalists:
- Pascaline Gouin (sommelier-owner, Le Voisin, Quebec City)
- Maxime Lelièvre (pastry chef-owner, Le Gentleman Pâtissier, Drummondville)
- Ann-Rika Martin (pastry chef, La Plaque and O’Ravito, Quebec City)
- Suzy Rainville (chef-owner, Baumann Smokehouse, Sherbrooke)
Pastry Chef of the Year
Winner: Patrice Demers (Patrice Pâtissier, Montreal)
Finalists:
- Paul Croteau (Battuto, Quebec City)
- Stéphanie Labelle (Rhubarbe, Montreal)
- Gabrielle Rivard-Hiller (La Cabane sur le Roc, near Deux Montagnes)
- Gaël Vidricaire (Gaël Vidricaire Pâtisseries, Quebec City)
Table Service Prize
For the best server.
Winner: Alexandre Van Huynh (Montréal Plaza, Montreal)
Finalists:
- Arielle Bernard (Bouillon Bilk, Montreal)
- Marc Lamarre (Le Clocher Penché, Quebec City)
- Rolande Leclerc (Initiale, Quebec City)
- Jonathan Thériault (Lionel, Boucherville)
Mixologist or Bartender of the Year
Winner: Patrice Plante (L’Atelier, Quebec City)
Finalists:
- Patrick Beaulieu (Hono Izakaya, Quebec City)
- Nader Chabanne (Nacarat, Montreal)
- Alexis Taoufiq (Le 4e Mur, Montreal)
- Tao Zrafi (Taology, Montreal)
Food Truck of the Year
Winner: Landry & Filles (Montreal)
Finalists:
- Das Food Truck (Montreal)
- Duck Truck (Montreal)
- Mi Corazon (Montreal)
- Monsieur Crémeux (Montreal)
Sommelier of the Year
Winner: Marc Lamarre (Le Clocher Penché, Quebec City)
Finalists:
- Émily Campeau (Candide, Montreal)
- Véronique Dalle (Pullman Wine Bar, Montreal)
- Vanya Filipovic (Le Vin Papillon, Mon Lapin, Montreal)
- Véronique Rivest (Soif, Gatineau)
Gastronomic Event of the Year
Winner: Montréal en Lumière
Finalists:
- La Grande Table
- MTL à Table
- Omnivore Montréal
- Québec Exquis!
Company or Initiative of the Year
Winner: La Tablée des Chefs (feeding families in need and providing food education)
Finalists:
- C’est Moi Le Chef! (Culinary education for youth)
- Chef514 (connecting chefs with local producers)
- Fourchette Bleue (an organization certifying sustainable seafood)
- La Transformerie (collecting unsold produce to make preserved goods)
Gourmet Tourism Award
Winner: Les Événements Prenez le Champ (all over Quebec)
Finalists:
- Cassis Monna & Fils (Île d’Orléans, Quebec City)
- Domaine Acer (Auclair, Bas-St-Laurent)
- Le Fumoir d’Antan (Magdalen Islands)
- Miels d’Anicet (Ferme-Neuve, Hautes-Laurentides)
Artisan of the Year
Winner: Anne and Catherine Monna (Cassis Monna & Filles, Île d’Orléans, Quebec City)
Finalists:
- Benoit Couillard (Brasserie Auval, Gaspésie)
- Nathalie Jouannette (Fou du Cochon, Kamouraska)
- Frédéric Simon (Pinard et Filles, Magog)
- Phillip Viens (Aliments Viens, Montreal)
Producer of the Year
Winner: Miels d’Anicet (Ferme-Neuve, Hautes-Laurentides)
Finalists:
- Cerf de Boileau (Outaouais)
- La Ferme des Quatre-Temps (Hemmingford)
- Le Porc de Beaurivage (Chaudière-Appalaches)
- La Société des Plantes (Kamouraska)
Homage Prize
For exception contributions to Quebec’s culinary world. No nominees or finalists.
Winner: Quebec’s premier culinary school, L’Institute de tourisme et d’hôtellerie du Québec (ITHQ)
Disclosure: former Eater Montreal editor Ian Harrison and occasional Eater contributor Allison Van Rassel were members of the five-person jury that voted on Les Lauriers’ winners. The jurors’ identities were not revealed publicly (including to Eater) until the award ceremony.