Prime Montreal cooks are turning inns and motels into eating locations, out and in of town

When Danny Smiles first visited the Willow Inn in Hudson, Que., before the pandemic, he was looking for a wedding location, not a job. But last spring, the Food Network Canada star and former chef at Montreal’s Le Bremner suggested a new relationship with the owners of the 10-room under-the-radar inn: now he’s the manager and head chef at the helm of his Breakfast, lunch, dinner and weddings.

Although Smiles hasn’t finished planning his own wedding, he has hosted three at the inn. He also found time to update the menu. Instead of the usual pub dishes, there is now Nordic shrimp antipasti with vegetables from the garden for dinner; local trout with beurre blanc and zucchini; and an 18-ounce rib eye for two with garlic scapes and pepper sauce.

Smiles isn’t the only respected Quebec chef to have recently gone to greener pastures. Éric Gonzalez, formerly L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon at the Montreal Casino, is now at StoneHaven The Manor in the Laurentians, near Mont-Tremblant.

He left the casino long before the restaurant was finally closed and accepted the mansion’s offer to return as head chef after consulting on the original menu in 2019. He then persuaded five of his former Montreal chefs to join him, which wasn’t a big deal for a property with a lake, pool, and kitchen with a view. When he asked, the answer was everywhere, “Oui, chef, oui, chef,” he says.

Likewise, Smiles easily convinced five Montreal sous-chefs to join him in Hudson, a peaceful area 45 minutes west of the city. It was an easy sale too, especially at a time when restaurant jobs were hard to come by in a sealed-off city. The fresh country air certainly didn’t hurt.

Commenting on the reasons why Smiles chose the Willow Inn, he says, “I think I just needed a new challenge. I was in Old Montreal for 10 years. ”In a new environment that allows him to reconnect, go outside, have a garden and be on the water, he feels like a different version of himself, he adds. It was also inspired by a friend, chef Vincent Dion Lavallée, who opened the rural Cabane d’à Côté in 2018, a gourmet sugar shack near the famous maple hut Au Pied de Cochon in Mirabel, Que.

It’s not just chefs looking out of town. So are gourmets. Culinary tourism already exists all over the country – think Pluvio in BC, Pearl Morissette in Ontario and Fogo Island Inn in Newfoundland – but it’s well on its way to growing as Canadians vacation more locally.

“I think this is going to be the future of fine dining,” says Gonzalez, noting that in addition to the quieter surroundings, chefs can also be closer to the local produce that they have championed for years. In France, he adds, renowned Relais & Châteaux hotels and Michelin-star restaurants have long since dragged Parisians out of the capital. Canada just has some catching up to do. But while guests are on vacation, that doesn’t mean cooks are. “When you have a podium in Montreal [for the best restaurants in Quebec], I want to be on that podium, ”says Gonzalez. Ambitious, yes, but the fact that after training with the late chef in Paris he spent about 15 hours perfecting Robuchon’s mashed potatoes speaks for his perfectionism.

The iconic porridge will show up on StoneHaven’s menu at some point, he says, but for now you can find his pâte-à-choux-style potato dauphinois with bacon (and a delightful pile of butter) to accompany his slow-cooked duck with cherry Jam, pan-fried foie gras, apricot gel fried in honey and almond foam. He probably also deserves a medal for his black cod, which is topped off with ricotta and squid cavatelli, chorizo ​​and a lime and saffron foam on seasonal peas, asparagus and fava beans in champagne and poured over with cream. Meanwhile, a Montreal hotel has lured back a top talent for vacationers traveling to the city. Jason Morris, the former head chef at Pastel restaurant in Montreal, spent much of the pandemic training in Japan, but upon his return the Four Seasons Hotel Montreal has led him to revise the seafood menu designed by Marcus Samuelsson. While Morris’ crab and red snapper dishes are not available on the hotel’s newly opened Mistral Terrace, the Marcus Restaurant terrace is a good spot for a fine dining experience with wine. Happy are those who only return to their suite after dinner.

As hotels and inns continue to attract world-class culinary talent, a new era of destination dining is imminent. However, book quickly for the out of town options because while you can take the chef out of town, it remains to be seen how long you can get the chef out of town.

When you go:

The Willow Inn is open from Thursday to Sunday for lunch and dinner (and breakfast for hotel guests). Rooms start at $ 195 a night and blend charm and modernity with lake views, cotton sateen linens, bluetooth speakers, and onekas, Canadian-made bath and body products made with organic and wild-harvested herbal extracts.

StoneHaven The Manor is open daily for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Rooms start at $ 340 a night and have stately charm with thick bedspreads, sleek carpets, and hardwood furniture. There is a pet-friendly floor, a full spa and Finnish sauna, and picnic baskets for your hike over the scenic Laurentine Hills.

Marcus Restaurant at the Four Seasons Hotel Montreal is open from Wednesday to Sunday from 4:00 p.m. to 1:00 a.m. Rooms start at $ 540 per night. The suites have a boudoir decor with pink stools, floor-to-ceiling windows, marble showers, iPad room controls, yoga mats, and four-poster beds. Ask for a room with a view of the Leonard Cohen mural or just have a drink in the Mistral for a breathtaking impression.

Travelers are reminded to educate themselves about any health restrictions that could affect their plans.