The following guest post is the first in a series of "Meet a Gold Medal Plates Competing Chef" interviews you will see on foodiePrints and our partnered blogs for Gold Medal Plates Ottawa. It comes from one of our favourite food bloggers Rachelle of Rachelle Eats Food.

And without further ado...

Last week I paired up with Ottawa-based food bloggers Shari from Whisk: A food blog, and Don and Jen from foodiePrints to see what we could do to get everyone talking about the Gold Medal Plates event set for November 16th. Being the ultimate celebration of Canadian Excellence in cuisine and wine, not to mention athletic achievement (net proceeds from Gold Medal Plates are given to the Canadian Olympic Foundation), it seemed like a natural fit - and of course, a very exciting one. Our goal is to feature one of the competing chefs, or any other interesting fact about the event, on every Friday leading up to the event. Here is our first one.


Chef Marc Lepine of Atelier

You know how some people are just so nice you want to scream out to the world about them? That's how I felt today after meeting Chef Marc Lepine from Atelier restaurant. This soft spoken, modest and genuinely friendly man made this first-time interviewer feel at ease. I imagine working for him must be the same. I hope you enjoy the conversation as much as I did.

What's your philosophy when it comes to food and your restaurant?
"I'm not much of a philosopher. I don't take it that seriously I guess. But if I had to answer that, I guess I'd like to not take myself too seriously and not have our diners take the restaurant too seriously. I like using high quality ingredients but having fun with it."

What inspires you? How do you come up with ideas for the dishes that you create?
"We get asked that a lot and I think they're all random things. It's always something different. I have a 5-year-old daughter and, sometimes I'll be at home on my day off playing and an idea will strike for a dish. I get inspirations from that - just from something she's playing with...Sometimes from other chefs, going out and eating and just the slightest thing that someone has done... It can be a movie, we've had dishes based around movies... Seasons definitely, like the produce that's coming out - the amazing cherries that we had this year. That's the easiest inspiration, you get that and your dish makes itself..."

I know your menu changes often. With the current one you have right now, what's your favourite dish on the menu and
why?
"Probably the tomato salad. It's something we call Tomatrix Revolution. Visually I love it and there's something going on there that really appeals to me. I think because it feels really seasonal and being tomato season it just brings me outside. That's corny but I really like that, and because of how intricate it is and I don't think it's something you could find in many restaurants."

"I also like a dish called Subterranean Homesick Alien that we have on at the moment. Which is the name of a Radiohead song, but it's a dessert based on star anise and cherries. I like the visual, the artistic side of plating something."


Tomatrix plating

What's the ingredient you can't live without? (other than basics)
"I don't think I have one honestly. Whatever the ingredient is we use it. I guess part of the larger philosophy of this style of cooking is that there's no ingredient that has superior culinary value over another ingredient. I mean, you can take any ingredient and turn it into something quite amazing if it's treated right."

"We could never have a menu that doesn't have a minimum amount of fish and meat on it because Ottawa wouldn't go for that... if we had no restrictions we could do a menu that had no meat on it or minimal meat and still be as happy with it just because whatever the season, the ingredients that are coming in are all amazing."

Is there anything you won't eat?
"McDonald's or Burger King. I don't eat foie gras... (but) there's nothing I don't eat because I don't like the taste, I just choose not to eat certain things."

Guilty pleasure?
"Potato chips."

What was your most memorable meal and why?
"Hands down it would be the 24-course dinner at Alinea in Chicago. It was very inspiring. It made my head spin. Overwhelming in an enjoyable kind of way. To this day I still think about some of the things that went on."

What would your last meal be?
"Big bowl of grapefruit. Simple. I would love it - grapefruit is one of my favourite things to eat."

If you could travel to just one place in the world for food, where would you go and why?
"Spain. Because I haven't been there yet and there's so many amazing restaurants that I'd like to try there. Particularly Roca."

Describe your perfect Sunday.
"Spending time with my kids. That's pretty perfect. And a nice dinner out that night would be good. With or without the kids."

If you've never been to Atelier, it's definitely one of those places you must add to your go-to list. The entire experience is like no other. I was there earlier this year and had an amazing time. I'm so looking forward to my next visit!



Facebook Page: Gold Medal Plates Ottawa

To purchase tickets for Gold Medal Plates, contact Sue Holloway (contact information below) or click here.

Particulars:
Gold Medal Plates Ottawa
Tuesday, November 16, 2010 6:00 pm
National Arts Centre
53 Elgin Street

Sue Holloway
818 Nesbitt Place
(613)274-3107 phone
(613)274-0851 fax
hollowayjoy@rogers.com

Before we begin, for those readers of foodiePrints who know me personally, you know I am not a fan of Valentine's Day. I think it an artificial holiday, originally intended to benefit greeting card and mass-produced candy companies. In fact, I used to celebrate Valentine's Day with other detractors, many single and some in relationships, and an Anti-Valentine's trip to a pub. There, we would toast the couples who find themselves obligated to dine in fancier than usual restaurants for one evening of the year.

According a Wency Leung piece in the Globe and Mail, restaurants' front of house staff hate working Valentine's evening because of the heightened sense of tension amongst two-seater tables. The socially imposed ideal of a candlelit dinner on Valentine's Day, complete with flowers and chocolates, is not for everyone. Yet, couples engineer a night out that they end up spending in uncomfortable silence or loud bickering. The piece includes an account of public debauchery that I won't get into.

Now that I have found my better half, I am a proponent of embracing the aspects for which Valentine's Day seemingly celebrates with over-sized red plush dogs who have pink and white hearts sewn on them. That is, appreciate your significant other throughout the year. This includes everything from making them breakfast spontaneously on any given weekend to picking up flowers for them on the random occasion. Maybe the sun is shining especially bright one day.

Needless to say, I prefer not to celebrate Valentine's on February 14th. Last year, Jenn spent Valentine's Day with friends, skating the canal during Winterlude and shopping. I did have dinner awaiting everyone when she got home. But...I have been known to take her out several days before. This year, I am keeping that tradition. My gift to her: I'm leaving foodiePrints' camera and notebook at home.

Speaking of restaurants, I know some of my readers will have been rushing this past week to negotiate reservations for Valentine's Day. The day when a dozen roses costs 4-times to 10-times what they regularly cost. The day when store shelves are bereft of boxes of chocolates. The day when bins of red plush dogs are mysteriously empty.

Here are some suggestions for your last minute plans. Firstly, Ottawa has a large number of fine dining establishments, but bear in mind they vary from lower end sit down to higher end sit down. The following recommendations also happen to be the same as I give for the rest of the year. But, I do have one caveat. If your better half has a favourite restaurant, go there. Otherwise...

Small Plates
For small plates, something that won't break the bank, try Stephen Beckta's and Chef Michael Moffat's Play Food and Wine (1 York Street). The difference between the small plates format and traditional table d'hote or a la carte is structure. You have less structure and many more options with small plates. Having gone to Play twice, I really enjoyed the freedom of being able to order two plates (completely ignoring courses) and leisurely eating them amidst great conversation. If I were still hungry, I ordered another. Expert wine suggestions were even printed on the menu. Stephen Beckta was once somelier for the legendary Chef Daniel Boulud.

Bistros
For bistros, try Chef/Owner Arup Jana's Allium (87 Holland Avenue), which happens to be my favourite restaurant, or Chef/Co-Owner Steven Mitton's Murray Street Bistro (110 Murray Street). What I absolutely adore about bistros is the fact that you will eat great food, but in a more laid back atmosphere than higher end expensive restaurants. Heck, signature dishes to judge bistros by are steak and fries (steak frites) and mussels and fries (moules frites). I would normally recommend Black Cat (428 Preston Street), but its chef, Steve Vardy, recently departed, so I consider it a new restaurant, which I have yet to try.

High End
For something high end, there is Le Cafe, currently operated by Chef Michael Blackie. Le Cafe is the restaurant my better half and I visited on very special occasions when we started dating, then under the tenure of the late Chef Kurt Waldele. We have since returned to be served good, but not spectacular, food. Why do I recommend Le Cafe? Because it is a restaurant in Ottawa that aspires to provide the candlelit dinner ideal Valentine's Day perpetuates. If you need to go that far, Le Cafe meets all the necessary requirements: white linened tables, multiple sizes of forks and spoons, tea cozy lights, small floral center pieces, and classic French food.

Brunch?
Here is a suggestion that is somewhat avant garde. Given Valentine's Day falls on a Sunday this year, take your better half out to brunch. My suggestion is Benny's Bistro (119 Murray Street). As the Urban Foodie (@whisk_food_blog) wrote in her Metro Ottawa review, it is a little piece of Paris in downtown Ottawa. Only, the service is better and the dishes use local ingredients. Besides, with the French Bakery on the same premises, you know the bread will be good.

Links to write-ups on Allium, Play, Le Cafe and Benny's.

Here are some prospects for eateries I consistently hear great things about, but have not yet tried. For high end, there's Chef Rene Rodriguez's Navarra (93 Murray Street) and Stephen Beckta's eponymous Beckta Dining and Wine (226 Nepean Street). For a bistro option, there's Chef Chris Deraiche's Wellington Gastro Pub (1325 Wellington Street). Another brunch option is Jak's Kitchen (479 Bronson Avenue), in which I have only had coffee, but marveled at the menu and the plates served to tables around me.

Catered Valentine's
If dining out is out, it may be a little late to schedule a catered meal at home, like Andrea Tomkins of "A Peek inside the Fish Bowl" writes in her blog, but here are two caterers I know will put out an amazing spread: Epicuria Fine Foods and Catering (Chef/Owner Tracey Black) and Essence Catering (430 Parkdale Avenue) (Chef/Owner Jason Laurin). Linked are their Valentine's catered meals.

As for me, I'm taking my better half to Atelier (540 Rochester Street) for a 12 course meal that should prove another wondrous epicurean adventure. She and I foodies, we will have fun figuring out what Chefs Marc Lepine, Sarah Allen, and Michael Holland intended by the dishes. We also expect to have next to no idea how the dishes were prepared. Oh, I made reservations a month ago...

(The idea behind the images of the gummy bears out for a Valentine's dinner comes from the "á la discothèque" blog.)

Particulars:
Play Food & Wine
1 York Street
(613) 667-9207

Allium Restaurant
87 Holland Avenue
(613) 792-1313

Murray Street Bistro
110 Murray Street
(613) 562-7244

Black Cat Bistro
428 Preston Street
(613) 569-9998

Le Cafe
53 Elgin Street, Ottawa
(613) 594-5127

Benny's Bistro
119 Murray Street
(613) 789-6797

Navarra Restaurant
93 Murray Street
(613) 241-5500

Beckta Dining & Wine
226 Nepean Street
(613) 238-7063

Wellington Gastropub
1325 Wellington Street
(613) 729-1315

Jak's Kitchen
479 Bronson Avenue
(613) 230-2088

Epicuria Fine Food Store and Catering
419 Mackay Street
(613) 745-7356

Essence Catering
430 Parkdale Avenue
(613) 850-4776

Atelier
540 Rochester Street
(613) 321-3537

More after the jump...

And without further ado, the remaining 7 course from last week's dinner at Atelier.

The first five have their own blog post elsewhere on foodiePrints.

Sixth Course: Choose Your Weapon (strawberry and rhubarb)
This course was just plain fun. First, our host came to our table with a tray of "implements", asking us to choose between them and eating with our bare hands.

Weapons
On the tray were spoons, forks, and plastic bendy straws. With four people at my table, we each chose something different.

Me, I chose bare hands. Mine was by far the most spectacular to watch. It came with a table-side demonstration, involving a galvanized steel bucket of liquid nitrogen and a plastic encased tube of strawberry and rhubarb puree.

Nitro Freezie

Freezie, served
What amounted to a seasonal "nitro"-freezee pop (freezee) was frozen right before my eyes. Unfortunately, the liquid nitrogen worked too well, causing the freezee to harden into a long block of ice. Its flavour was exquisitely spring, but only after my better half melted it enough for me to eat.

At first I thought adding a liqueur to the puree mixture would improve the freezee's texture the same way alcohol does sorbets. Then, I realized that everything and anything freezes in liquid nitrogen.

My better half chose spoon.

Warm custard with Strawberry and Rhubarb Nitro Noodles

Sprinkled with ground Pistachio

Test Tube Spoon
She was served a lovely bowl of warm custard with liquid nitrogen frozen strawberry and rhubarb noodles. Her spoon was equipped with a cork stoppered test tube, containing ground pistachio. To eat, she emptied her spoon's contents onto the custard and dug in. She told me the juxtaposition of textures and temperatures was great. She thoroughly enjoyed her dish.

My dear friend Yannick chose straw.

Strawberry and Rhubarb Soda
Yannick was served a strawberry and rhubarb soda with a star anise froth. He happily drank his with the straw, smiling at the whimsy.

His better half, Alex, chose fork.

Rhubarb Compote, Cheese, and Sliced Strawberries
He was served sliced strawberries, rhubarb compote, and a raw milk cheese from Quebec, called La Sauvagine. La Sauvagine happens to be Chef/Owner Marc Lepine's favourite cheese. Alex enjoyed his dish, pairing fruit and cheese with every bite.

As a fan of raw milk cheeses and pairing them with fruit, were I to choose again, fork would be my weapon of choice. It looked delicious.

Seventh Course: Pork Belly

Sous Vide and Sauteed Caramel Pork Belly
The pork belly was my favourite dish of the evening. I also sent pictures of it onto Twitter along with the tuna sashimi. Chef Allen wasn't kidding two weeks ago when she tweeted "It's all about the pork belly."

It was cooked sous vide at 82°C for 9 hours. Then it was marinated in a caramel sauce and sauteed. Each piece was served with a raw apple relish with jalapeno, snow peas, a piece of textured puree of snow peas, and a cube of purple potato.

The pork belly was impossibly tender.

Texture
Sauteeing it on high heat seemed to make the caramel even more complex. Topping it off with a few large grains of kosher or sea salt made it perfect. The accompaniments complemented the pork belly well: sweet and fruity salsa with a very light bite; green flavours from the snow peas; and a perfectly cooked piece of potato. There was only a minor textural exception with the partially overcooked snow peas.

Here is my perfect bite:

Glorious little bit of everything

Eighth Course: Muskox

Muskox Sashimi
Two reasons I will always be excited to go to Atelier involve my having absolutely no clue what will be served and, for the most part, my having no idea how each dish is made. I very much enjoy not being able to have preconceived ideas. For instance, when I walked into the restaurant with a dripping umbrella to greet assembled guests, I had no idea the evening's menu would take me to Nunavut!

The eighth course was wild arctic muskox, prepared sashimi style and marinated in tamari. Tamari is an very richly flavored Japanese soy sauce that is made from soybeans. Whereas, shoyu, which you are normally served in a sushi restaurant, is made from a mixture of soy beans and wheat.

Before our host explained to us what was served, I thought I had a plate of kobe or wagyu placed in front of me. Sliced thinly against the grain, the muskox was well marbled and dark. I am unsure if the colour was due to the tamari or if it were the meat's natural colour. Red meat darkens when treated with soy.

Whatever the case, those of us at my table who were used to soy, just loved it. Those of us who have cut out soy sauce from our diets, found the marinade strong. The texture, on the other hand, was enjoyed by all. It reflected the incredible ratio of meat to fat, literally falling apart in the mouth.

The muskox sashimi was served with sauteed shiitake mushrooms, dehydrated onion, caramelize onion leather, and a few pieces of lamb's quarter (chenopodium album).

For reference, this is what muskox look like in the wild:

Family of Muskox
Source: "The best of readers' Canada Day photo submissions", Globe and Mail

Ninth, Tenth, Eleventh, and Twelfth courses follow after the jump...

More after the jump...

For those of you who don't know, Jenn and I organized a pre-Canada Day dinner at Atelier, inviting everyone to join us, be they foodies, gastronomes, gourmets, or simply adventurous eaters. In total, 9 people attended, including several local twitter personalities (@spoonsie and @epicuriadotca). Our intention was to support a local restaurant on a traditionally slow day of the week.

Our 12 course meal included an appetizer/amuse bouche, 8 savory courses, and 3 dessert courses. It culminated with what has become a signature dish for Atelier's pastry chef, Chef Michael Holland: the Elvis Truffle.

However, before we begin, let us start with the restaurant itself.

Unassuming Building
Located at 540 Rochester Street, Atelier is situated in an unassuming building with purposely aged iron grates and no signage. This is for two reasons. Firstly, the word "atelier" is French for "workshop" so the building resembles one outwardly. Like other avant garde restaurants, such as Chicago's Alinea, Atelier's food speaks for itself. Secondly, when the restaurant opened, signage simply wasn't a priority. When time permits, Chef/Owner Marc Lepine has said he will look into something subdued.

Here is Atelier's utilitarian kitchen with its compliment of ubiquitous equipment to make highly imaginative dishes, which are best described as "avant garde."

Left to right: Chefs Allen, Holland, and Lepine
It is amazing to think that approximately 552 dishes (12 course x 23 seats x 2 days) are produced in this small space during Friday and Saturday service alone. It is a very efficient space.

Atelier's dining room is elegant with its simplicity. Its walls and ceiling sport shades of white. Its tables, a dark stain. Its chairs, white leather upholstery.

Dining Room

Local Art
The chairs were specifically chosen to allow patrons to sit comfortably through Atelier's 12 course tasting menu. A meal can easily last 3 hours.

I feel the intention is to take nothing away from the meal, whose individual courses are meant to be experiences for the senses. As such, the wall decorations, furniture, and colours chosen are meant to be neutral. They mimic a canvas. They also encourage patrons to dispense with any formalities, speak to each other, and enjoy themselves. Regarding the wall decorations, all of the paintings come from a local Canadian artist, Chef Lepine's (then 3 year old) daughter.

For a little history, Atelier's Chef de Cuisine, Sarah Allen, directed me to a thread on the E-Gullet forum that includes pictures of what the restaurant looked like before. With permission, here are before pics.

Formerly Chaba Thai

Kitchen before renovations
The transformation is striking: repaired masonry, painted brick, gutted and entirely re-built kitchen.

Now, on with the food!
As we were seated, we were presented with Sour Cream and Onion Bread with Flaked Butter and the Wine List.

Sour Cream and Onion Bread with Flaked Butter

Wine List
The sour cream and onion bread is a dish that Chef Holland discussed on twitter (@pastryoverlord) several months ago, even asking his followers what "flavour" he should try next. Before, he baked up loaves of barbecue bread, which Chef Allen (@sarah_j_allen) assured me was delicious, even attracting local wildlife to the restaurant's garbage bin. To make the barbecue bread, Chef Holland replaces all of the liquid from a regular bread recipe with barbecue sauce. I have absolutely no idea how he makes his sour cream and onion bread.

Nevertheless, with its baguette-style texture, oven freshness, and "from my childhood" flavour, I was grateful just to eat it.

Sour Cream and Onion Bread Texture
The bread was served warm and perfectly sliced. The warmth actually just softened the butter flakes enough to allow them to be spread smoothly onto the slices. My dear friend Yannick, who writes the Endorphin Buzz blog and who joined me for dinner, told me the butter was actually sprayed onto the serving tray. This attention to detail (spreadable non-softened butter) and creative take on a traditional restaurant element (table bread), demonstrated the innovative whimsy of the dishes to come.

Regarding the wine list, I should point out that Atelier has two sommeliers on staff. The first is Steve Robinson, who presided over our meal. The second is Chef Lepine (@marclepine). Besides being a celebrated chef, he carries sommelier credentials and trained at Ottawa's Algonquin College.

For an additional $55, Atelier includes a wine pairing to go with its 12 course meal. The wines chosen represent a veritable multi-continent tour, with a partial preference towards Canadian wineries. While members of the other table opted for the pairing, I chose not to. I was however assured by those who did that the pairings were well chosen.

First Course: Pretzel Pop

Pretzel Pop
When our host explained what went into this first course, I immediately thought "creamsicle." The "pop" portion was attached to an authentic rolled-paper lollipop stick. It consisted of a Dijon mustard cream that was frozen on an "anti-griddle", dipped in honey, and then covered with crushed salted pretzels.

Cross Section
An anti-griddle is the opposite of a regular griddle, rapidly cooling foods instead of heating. It gave the cream an ice-cream texture.

The dish's flavour pairing is classic (Bavarian pretzels with hot mustard), just completely revisioned: slightly sweetened, with contrasting textures, and cold. It was great. Even my better half, who dislikes dijon, enjoyed this appetizer/amuse bouche.

Second Course: Halibut Cheek

Halibut Cheek
This fish course served a portion of fish that is extremely prized in Asian cultures. Cooked sous-vide for several minutes with star anise, it sat atop Jerusalem artichoke puree and was accompanied with asparagus heads, pieces of crumbled bacon, and drops of olive paste (finely ground tapenade).

Overall the dish was good. Its flavours worked well with one another and everything was expertly plated. For unfamiliar patrons, this would have been an excellent fish course. However, since my better half and I grew up eating this portion of fish, we found it slightly overdone. While it was by NO means harsh, we are just used to this portion being softer and much more succulent. Interestingly, before dinner started, my table even discussed a Chinese meal of fish heads.

Aside: It was after the second course that we started seeing subtle differences in the service between Atelier and other restaurants.

• Our hosts were extremely knowledgeable about the dishes, demonstrating an understanding about them, not just reciting facts. With the sheer number of different dishes and constantly changing menus (sometimes weekly), we assumed they must be food enthusiasts. Else, Atelier employs two of the best front of house staff in the city.
• The cutlery changed with each course, ensuring no leftover flavours or textures.
• While each course came promptly after the previous, the ladies of our party were served theirs first, a courtesy that other restaurants seem to have lost.

Suffice it to say, despite the number of courses, we were tended to very well.

Third Course: Lobster

Atlantic Lobster
The third course was a wonderful multitude of textures and flavours. Butter poached Atlantic lobster came served atop truffle oil pancakes. It was topped with a very thin slice of black truffle and a chardonnay foam. It was accompanied with cinnamon mushrooms, a dehydrated leek ring, a piece of chive, and two sauces: watercress mayonnaise and egg yolk.

This course made up for the previous one. The lobster was perfectly cooked and the earthy truffle and mushroom flavours, a wonderful compliment. The onion, raw chive, and watercress provided a nice green and onion contrast, all carried well by the rich egg yolk and mayonnaise. My perfect bite: lobster, with several bubbles of foam, a sliver of truffle and pancake, a bit of chive, a scant touch of mayonnaise, and some egg yolk. Yum!

Fourth and fifth courses follow after the jump...

More after the jump...

Yesterday night Jenn and I, and 7 other guests, headed over to what is shaping up to be Ottawa's trending foodie destination, Atelier. There, we sat for 12 courses of what promised to be a true culinary adventure. It was.

Ottawa Citizen's own restaurant critic Anne Debrisay calls it a "brilliantly creative place." The Citizen's food editor, Ron Eade, writes that Atelier practices "kitchen alchemy." The National Post's Amy Rosen writes that Atelier practices culinary chemistry. Pure Canada writes that "Atelier gives old-school ingredients new-school treatment." Its dishes have even been featured on Wired.com.

Atelier has also been referred to as Ottawa's Alinea. Alinea is an award winning Chicago restaurant that serves what its Chef/Owner Grant Achatz calls "progressive American" cuisine. He openly denounces the jargon "molecular gastronomy" because he believes his is not food born of science. While he happens to use equipment that is more familiar to laboratories, similarities end with the shared toolset. In fact, the word "alinea" has etymological roots in alchemy, not chemistry. Similarly, Atelier has been said to serve "progressive Canadian" cuisine. There are no gas lines in Atelier's tiny kitchen. There are no banks of convection ovens. There are no gas burners. In their place are sous vide setups (powered by immersion circulators), hot plates, and canisters of liquid nitrogen. Its chefs, Marc Lepine (Executive Chef/Owner), Sarah Allen (Chef de Cuisine), and Michael Holland (Pastry Chef), would prefer their practiced cuisine be referred to as "avant garde." It is frontier cuisine that represents a natural progression from what has come before, evolutionary not revolutionary.

Indeed, chefs in the restaurant industry have started adopting "avant garde" cooking techniques in their professional kitchens. Cooking food, vacuum-sealed in plastic, sous vide ensures that juices are not lost to the cooking liquid and temperatures are carefully controlled. Using liquid nitrogen to make ice cream permits chefs to use otherwise unheard of flavours and ordinarily impossible ingredients. The ice cream is also "frozen" so quickly that large ice crystals cannot form. As such, the mouth feel of the resultant ice cream is impossibly smooth. To many, the equipment and techniques originally popularized by master chefs Ferran Adria and Heston Blumenthal each represent today's "blender." They are becoming mainstream. Some may become indispensable.

Atelier's kitchen also accomplishes something that other professional kitchens do not, versatility. With mostly ubiquitous equipment, its chefs can maximize their minimal workspace, enabling them to put together a large breadth of possible dishes. Equipment can simply be put away and others taken out, almost in a modular way. Such becomes necessary to produce the 12 innovative tasting courses that make up Atelier's ever changing menu.

Before my guests and I sat for dinner, Jenn and I stopped by Atelier to interview its chefs.

Left to right: Chefs Allen, Holland, and Lepine
We asked the following questions:

1. Why did you choose to open Atelier? Why did you join Atelier?
2. Why do you choose to make avant-garde dishes?
3. Do you play music in the kitchen? If so, what genre and what do you think your choice in music says about you?
4. Which chef do you consider your inspiration?
5. What is your favourite ingredient to use and why?
6. Where do you get your inspiration for your dishes?
7. What dishes have you yet to attempt, but want to serve at Atelier?
8. If you could choose 1 person to cook for you tomorrow evening, who would it be and why?
9. What do you hope to contribute to Ottawa's restaurant scene?

Here is what we gathered:
Why did you choose to open Atelier? Why did you join Atelier?
Regarding why Chef Lepine opened Atelier, he saw it as the next step in his restaurant career. "It was time." To work out the logistics of dispensing with the traditional "a la carte" menu in his new endeavor, he even spent some time in the kitchen of Chef Achatz's Alinea. There, patrons can be served tasting menus with as many as 24 courses.

Chef Allen had worked with Chef Lepine before, including at the Courtyard Restaurant in the Byward Market. She wanted to work nowhere else. Atelier simply offered her the opportunity to be part of something new and exciting in Ottawa's restaurant scene.

Chef Holland is new to Ottawa, coming from Fredericton. When he arrived, he applied to several places in Ottawa and chose Atelier again because it was something "different."

Why do you choose to make avant-garde dishes?
When asked this question the chefs responded that they actually didn't set out to. However, to distinguish themselves from other restaurants, they chose techniques and developed dishes that set themselves apart from more pedestrian entrees like "rack of lamb" or "salmon."

All three agreed that the "time was right" in terms of new technology and Ottawa's openness to Atelier's new format and "evolved" dishes.

Further, with a dining room that only seats a maximum of 23 patrons, they are able to make more intricate dishes that would be impossible at larger establishments. The patron:chef ratio at Atelier is approximately 7:1.

Do you play music in the kitchen? If so, what genre and what do you think your choice in music says about you?
The chefs actually play no music in the kitchen during prep. Nor do they play music during service. There are two reasons. Firstly, during service, the chefs need to concentrate their attentions on the dishes to be served. Secondly, with a kitchen that has essentially the same floor space as its tiny dining room, playing music in the kitchen would disturb patrons.

Chef Allen "We work to the sounds of the blenders"

Besides, with maximized counter space, room for a sound system was sacrificed.

In some ways, I believe the lack of music actually allows the chefs, who work extremely well together, to be more innovative. When Jenn and I observed them working, they worked in close proximity of one another, but never impeded each other. It seemed to be an extremely pleasant and constructive work environment.

Which chef do you consider your inspiration?
Chef Lepine: Without pause, he answered, "Chef Grant Achatz"

Chef Allen: Chef Alice Waters, whose real love of food (stand-alone flavours and colours) and simplicity inspires her.

Chef Holland: While he did mention Chef Wylie Dufresne from WD-50 as a chef he admires, he does not feel that he is inspired by another pastry chef. His inspiration comes from random things.

What is your favourite ingredient to use and why?
Apparently, this is a difficult question to answer for innovative chefs, whose dishes employ many ingredients and different techniques than other restaurants. After some discussion, Chef Lepine acknowledged the ingredients he grows himself, both in his home's and Atelier's gardens.

Chef Allen "bacon...the whole pig..."

Chef Allen likes to work with just about anything pork. She is also fond of vanilla. Chef Holland particularly enjoys using condiments in his desserts.

Where do you get your inspiration for your dishes?
Ever since Atelier opened with its distinctive dishes and singular restaurant format, this question has been asked of Atelier's chefs many times. So it was with practiced precision that Chef Lepine answered, random happenings, conversation, and brainstorming. Chef Allen, novel ideas and concepts. Once she finds an ingredient, she tries to pair it with flavours and develops a dish. Chef Holland, names of desserts and seasonal ingredients.

What dishes have you yet to attempt, but want to serve at Atelier?
Answering this question may give away upcoming menus, so I clarified the question by asking them for more loose concepts than dishes. Currently, the chefs are working with lots of concepts. One includes spheres of flavourful liquids such as soups that patrons break into with their cutlery. Another, floating food.

If you could choose 1 person to cook for you tomorrow evening, who would it be and why?
Chef Lepine smiled warmly and answered, "Sarah." While the restaurant serves hundreds of dishes every weekend, he actually hasn't had the pleasure of sitting for an entire meal prepared by Chef Allen. Yes, the chefs take turns preparing "staff meals", but the food served differs greatly from what is presented to patrons.

Chef Holland "Can you choose yourself?"

Both Chefs Allen and Holland chose their respective fiances. Chef Allen's is especially adept in making breakfast. She also briefly considered Chef Thomas Keller of the French Laundry as he is retiring.

What do you hope to contribute to Ottawa's restaurant scene?
Like Alinea, Atelier's chefs hope to offer Ottawans and visitors to the city an exciting dining experience. They want to permit patrons to see, taste, smell, and touch sights, flavours, scents, and textures that represent what can be done with food. Their dishes are meant to be experiences for all the senses.

Doing so, there is an underlying philosophy that taste is paramount. While technology can permit them to accomplish many things like replicating life-like oyster shells, if it does not contribute to the dish taste-wise, the particular technique is abandoned. This is one of the reasons that the edible oyster shell concept resulted in a dish that lacks some visual cues from mother nature. It does not compromise taste or texture.

At the end of the interview, Jenn and I took with us that, eating at Atelier, may actually restore the "experience" component that seems lacking in dining out these days. I have actually been lectured by a chef (not one of the ones from Atelier) that dining at home tends to involve "one-note" dishes. Dining at a restaurant should involve a "symphony" of textures and flavours. By this token, Atelier's dishes are pieces and its 12 course tasting menu, an evening with one of the finest orchestras.

Credit: Please note that the idea for this interview comes from two tweeps I follow on Twitter, Jessica (@nooschi) and Emily Chen (@mchenwears). Both have come up with great lists of short interview questions to "get to know" people. @nooschi also interviewed Atelier's chefs when she went there with Ron Eade's Omnivore Ottawa's supper club a month ago.

Particulars:
Atelier Restaurant
540 Rochester Street
(613)321-3537