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Marc Lepine, the acclaimed chef-owner of Atelier on Rochester Street and two-time winner of the Canadian Culinary Championship, plans to open a second restaurant this year on Somerset Street West.
Lepine’s new venture will be a 20-seat restaurant at 636 Somerset St. W. called La Petite Sauterelle — the little Grasshopper” in English. Its key feature, as announced on Lepine’s social media, will be a year-round, indoor garden.
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In his social media posts, Lepine, who is renowned for his cutting-edge modernist cuisine, revealed an enthusiasm for esoteric produce that he grew at an indoor garden he began before the pandemic.
“We grew things like ice plant, Calendula flower, crystal apple cucumbers, dark galaxy tomatoes and cream of Saskatchewan watermelons,” says the post.
In an interview, Lepine said he just got the keys this week to La Petite Sauterelle and he has “whole restaurant to build.” He is aiming to open La Petite Sauterelle later this year.
“Our indoor garden gives us the freedom to grow all the unique foods we want — pungent herbs like papalo, epazote, and huacatay, enchanting flowers like primrose, honeysuckle, and pincushion, and of course warm, vibrant tomatoes that will never see the inside of a fridge,” Lepine said.
“Seasons will be eliminated, it will be constant summer and the menu will showcase that,” he added. The format of the menu and its prices have yet to be determined, he added.
At Atelier, which Lepine opened in the fall of 2008, the chef currently serves a tasting menu of more than 40 items. On this year’s Canada’s 100 Best Restaurants list, Atelier ranked 43rd.
Lepine won the Canadian Culinary Championship in 2012 and 2016. He is the only Canadian chef to have won the national event twice. In 2018, Canada’s 100 Best Restaurants named him the country’s most innovative chef.
phum@postmedia.com
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