Get a behind-the-scenes look at the preparation of a show at the Videotron Center, from special requests from artists to the preparation of meals served to thousands of audience members.
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“The Miracle Department is always open,” says Sabrina Fiset, director of premium services at Levy, the company responsible for food offerings and artist requests at the Videotron Center.
Levy, who also offers the same service for the Cigale Festival and Igloofest as well as other Gestev events, is ready to do his best to respond to the requests sent to her.
“We already had an urgent request for a wine made from a grape variety that we couldn’t find here in Quebec,” recalls Ms. Fiset, whom Le Journal spoke to a few hours before Shania Twain’s show in Quebec. “We called a specialist sommelier to see if he had a contact for this wine and then had four bottles brought by taxi so we could have it in time,” she says.
In addition to the very specific requests expressed by certain artists, a headliner may also change their requirements at the last minute. However, this is not a cause for concern for Ms. Fiset’s team.
“The artist was sleeping on his tour bus and when he woke up he wanted a green juice with freshly squeezed ingredients,” she recalls with a laugh. “When we arrived at his bus with his juice, we were told that he had changed his mind: we changed the recipe!”
Levy’s premium services even go so far as to buy artists what regular people put in their suitcases when traveling.
“With the stars we get we can buy bobbeds, socks and toothbrushes,” says Ms. Fiset. “It can sometimes be awkward buying these things for a very well-known artist,” she laughs, without ever naming the names behind these crazy requests.
In the kitchen with the chef
Grocery shopping for an event at the Videotron Center averages about $14,000 and food preparation takes about three days. Behind the creation of all dishes is chef Richard Edwards and his team, which he likes to describe as a family. both those of the concessions and those of the buffets for the dressing rooms and those that go to the artists and their team, which can consist of about a hundred people, as is the case with Shania Twain, who performs on Tuesday.
Alexander Caputo
“You like this pressure or you don’t like it,” says the man who has been in office for two and a half years. “If we compare it to a restaurant kitchen, it takes a lot more organization: I’m already planning the November shows,” explains Mr. Edwards, his team looking like an anthill in the kitchen behind him.
The Amphitheater’s chef welcomes the growing popularity of veganism and gluten-free diets and doesn’t see these diets as adding extra work to his kitchen.
“Vegans and those on more restrictive diets deserve to eat just as well as everyone else,” he says. “It’s just about evolving our cooking style over time; We give vegan and gluten-free dishes the same attention as others,” he explains, citing as an example a vegan sirloin dish he created from smoked watermelon.
Any food not sold during an event is donated to La tablée des chefs, which redistributes surplus food from caterers and event kitchens to those in need.