It is accompanied by Marie-Claude Savard, Colombe St-Pierre and Christian Dubé, who appear as part of the show The true natureJean-Philippe Dion had an unforgettable weekend full of emotions, confidence and moments of madness.
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Here are 11 behind-the-scenes secrets from the “True Nature” episode with Marie-Claude Savard, Colombe St-Pierre and Christian Dubé:
Boating adventures
The journey by boat was epic! Colombe was in costume: she wore a black wig and a large fur coat! Marie-Claude rowed for a few minutes before realizing that the boat was still attached to the dock. Christian felt the same way: it took him a moment to realize that there was a second rope connecting him to the dock. Finally all my guests arrived safely. When the three of them set off in the boat, it was floating on the river due to the current. The team had to rescue her in the middle of the river. It's been a long time since we had such beautiful adventures by boat!
A strict father
Photo: Eric Myre / TVA Publica
Christian's father was the captain of an icebreaker. When Christian was young, his father left the house for several months. However, his return home was not as celebratory as one might imagine, as he was a strict father towards his children. Christian told us a lot about this relationship with an authoritarian father. This shaped his behavior and character. When he started working in accounting for mergers and acquisitions, he, like his father, had a more grumpy side. He quickly understood that he had to modulate his personality. Through contact with the Lemaire brothers at Cascades, where he was vice president, he understood the importance of taking care of his teams.
A little caramel with it?
Christian's team had told my team that Christian ate caramels when he was stressed. It's his way of calming himself down. So I gave him a pot of caramels. Later that day he told us that his team sends him a caramel emoticon during a stressful time, which is a sign that he should take one to calm himself down! One day, when he thought his microphone was off, he declared, “I think I'll have some caramel…”
Lighthouse keeper
Colombe also had a connection with boats and the river since she grew up on the island of Bicquette, off the coast of Bic in Bas-Saint-Laurent. His father was the lighthouse keeper on the island. She is a child who grew up in nature. In his family we ate whatever was around. For this reason, Colombe wanted to highlight local Quebec products by offering them on the menus of his restaurants.
A difficult childhood
Marie-Claude was looking forward to coming to La vérité nature. We know that she lost her parents in quick succession and had a difficult childhood. She wanted to be part of this experience and experience it, but the thought of diving back into her memories also made her feel a certain tension. I felt it nervously. We tried to vary the topics so as not to just address difficult memories. We found the recipe book she used to cook with as a child. At age seven, she was cooking chicken, desserts, or tuna salad to take care of her mother. Marie-Claude told us that her parents had bought her the “Gospel on Paper” by Claude Lafortune. The team worked hard to find these books, which are no longer published today. Our team of prop designers managed to find the two original books and we were able to surprise him.
Blackmail the minister
When he was young, Christian Dubé belonged to a choir that sang in rhythmic masses at a time when priests wanted to bring the faithful back into churches. It seems that the choir was so good that they were commissioned to sing at various events. One of the classics was Jack Monoloy by Gilles Vigneault. So we played it on the turntable and the health minister started singing. It was one of my favorite moments with him.
Eggs Benedict in a sandwich…
When preparing breakfast, the team always asks our guests what they would like to eat. Since our guests wanted Eggs Benedict, our chef Yves helped me prepare it. I was cooking when Colombe St-Pierre arrived with a sweater with a picture of Quebec, a blue wig and a microphone. She was full of energy and in a good mood! Christian Dubé was too. He had gone to get the eggs from the chicken coop. They both started whistling to wake Marie-Claude. The party was packed! I loved the atmosphere so much that I made the Eggs Benedict in a way that wouldn't have been possible: I put an English muffin on top like I was making egg sandwiches. I was completely confused! The guests made fun of me, especially Colombe, who is a great cook. To fully enjoy this meal, Christian pulled out three bottles of the top vintage Viré su'l, his maple syrup.
A drunken evening
Photo: Eric Myre / TVA Publica
Christian became an accountant and worked for large companies. I wanted to understand how politics played out in his career. It was Pierre Fitzgibbon, his former boss when he worked at Domtar and who became a friend over the years, who invited him to enter politics. I knew that this invitation had been made to him one drunken evening when he was at a spa with several rather tipsy businessmen. In his haste and desire to get involved, he decided to give it a try. The next morning he realized that he now had to break the news to his wife…who wasn't particularly pleased with the outcome of that evening.
Financial difficulties
Over dinner, Colombe admitted to us that she would have gone bankrupt in recent years if she hadn't shown her salary on Les chefs! would have had. Recovery is difficult due to inflation and labor shortages, among other factors. It is still sad to know that this renowned chef, who keeps our culinary heritage at arm's length, is in great financial trouble. She had to close her restaurant to open a coastal canteen because she no longer had the means to support her business. She even said she couldn't afford to eat at her own restaurant anymore!
In the reconstruction phase
People will be touched when they hear Marie-Claude tell her story. We know the story of her difficult childhood, but we also understand the strength of character she displayed. In recent years it has been in a reconstruction phase. She explains to us what she was going through in her head and in her heart. All her life she made no real decisions: she went where she was expected to go. She wants to finally decide where she wants to go to start the second part of her life.
Jean-Philippe's last word
We welcomed a brilliant trio consisting of Chef Colombe St-Pierre, Marie-Claude Savard, the well-known hostess, and Christian Dubé, Quebec Health Minister. He was supposed to come last year, but at the last minute his team had to cancel his presence due to a crisis in the emergency room. We were therefore afraid that we would not be able to count on his presence this year either. We said to each other, “We’ll believe it when we see it…” These three didn’t know each other, but they wanted to get to know each other. From the moment Marie-Claude Colombe asked if she would like a drink and she replied, “A lot!”, the fun began! It was a wonderful weekend… And we agreed: Christian is a true gentleman.
The consequence of The true nature starring Marie-Claude Savard, Colombe St-Pierre and Christian Dubé airs Sunday, February 18 at 9 p.m. on TVA.