Spending an evening at Restaurant Tanière3 means learning about edible Quebec in the most thorough way possible. Every bite is the result of hours of research in the kitchen. This is the most advanced dining experience in Quebec. The awards received by the Quebec establishment in 2023 bear witness to this.
Updated at 11:00 a.m.
Last May, François-Emmanuel Nicol was named Chef of the Year at the Lauriers de la gastronomie québécoise. His partner Roxan Bourdelais, dining room manager, was a finalist for Best Service and Tanière3 was nominated for Restaurant of the Year, which Monarque ultimately won. Jeremy Billy was named pastry chef of the year by the Society of Pastry Chefs and Chefs of Quebec this fall.
To add to the prestige, the restaurant, which recently regained its Five Diamond rating from the CAA/AAA, was approached by Relais & Châteaux. He entered the fancy family through the front door. The announcement was made in the autumn in the presence of MM. Nicol and Bourdelais during the association's congress in Copenhagen. Great collaborations are on the agenda for the coming years.
PHOTO EDOUARD PLANTE-FRÉCHETTE, LA PRESS
Chef François-Emmanuel Nicol at the Restaurant Tanière3
Many experts believe that Tanière3 is the restaurant in Quebec with the best access to the most prestigious international lists. François-Emmanuel makes no secret: he is aiming for the “World's 50 Best”.
The annual ranking reward tables of the caliber of those installed in 2019 in the historic vaults of the Leber and Charest houses between the river and Place Royale. The team does not serve meals here. She orchestrates tasteful entertainment at the highest level. Think of the first few seasons of Chef's Table or the movie The Menu (without the horror!).
PHOTO EVE DUMAS, THE PRESS
The 9 tomato tones
During a shift, there is one employee for every two customers. For four hours, guests are welcomed and pampered like kings. They sample around fifteen courses as they move from one vaulted room to another. We are even offered poems written through it. We have rarely seen such an elaborate production. Take “9 Shades of Tomatoes” for example. The dish is so complex that there is an explanation for it!
And then there's everything that happens behind the scenes, behind the scenes, which we also have a little access to in a new web series, the first three approximately seven-minute episodes are available on Tanière3's Facebook page. Much is said about the relationships built with the restaurant's suppliers.
A laboratory
PHOTO EDOUARD PLANTE-FRÉCHETTE, LA PRESS
Chef François-Emmanuel Nicol with Sébastien Rémillard, Head of Research and Development
In 2022, sous chef Sébastien Rémillard, “one of our pillars,” says François-Emmanuel Nicol, was promoted to head of research and development. “He comes into the kitchen at 6 a.m. and gets to work. When I arrive at 11 a.m., he has already done a lot of tests and I try it,” says the chef and co-owner.
PHOTO EDOUARD PLANTE-FRÉCHETTE, LA PRESS
Lair3 eliminates edible Quebec. In the photo there is a pickled wild rose leaf from Cacouna.
Since many of the ingredients used in this sophisticated cuisine have been forgotten for decades, there is much work to be done in Quebec to rediscover their uses and realize their full potential. These are often wild products such as jewelweed, cattail, American cavalier, wild wasabi, zigzag-stemmed goldenrod, various sea grasses, paw paw (a fruit that may be related to mango), and many others.
Biologist Fabien Girard, expert plant picker and author of the books Secrets of Plants, is one of the people who most inspires the Tanière3 kitchen team.
PHOTO SIMON FERLAND, PROVIDED BY TANIÈRE3
Wagyu beef and its sophisticated side dishes
PHOTO SIMON FERLAND, PROVIDED BY TANIÈRE3
In fall mode, cranberry, red cabbage and salmon form a seasonal trio.
PHOTO SIMON FERLAND, PROVIDED BY TANIÈRE3
Young fiddlehead sprouts served with a lobster coral-based hollandaise sauce.
PHOTO SIMON FERLAND, PROVIDED BY TANIÈRE3
Beautifully presented lake sturgeon caviar
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“We always find flavors that surprise us,” says Mr. Nicol happily. For example, in our forests there are many things that have exotic scents, such as the fragrant chamomile with its pineapple flavor. [son nom anglais, pineappleweed, vend la mèche !] and Oxalis, which you can use to replace lemonade and then turn into sorbet. »
The cocktails created by the experienced bar chef Simon Faucher are just as elaborate as the dishes.
PHOTO SIMON FERLAND, PROVIDED BY TANIÈRE3
A dish inspired by the “three sisters” concept prevalent in First Nations culture, centered around the trio of beans, corn and squash.
As mixologists often say: it's liquid cuisine! There's even an accord without a single drop of alcohol, harnessing the acidity of Pinot Noir verjuice, the saltiness of seaweed and sea parsley, and the pastry notes of sweet clover and hay.
The beginnings
PHOTO EDOUARD PLANTE-FRÉCHETTE, LA PRESS
The L'Orygine restaurant is located in the Old Port.
Remember that before Tanière3 there was La Tanière near Saint-Augustin-de-Desmaures, which opened in 1977. The renowned restaurant was founded in 1977 by Laurier Therrien and Chantale Miclette and was taken over in 2002 by the owners' niece, Karen Therrien, and chef Frédéric Laplante. The tandem remains co-owner of the group, which also owns the restaurants Légende and L'Orygine, also in the Old Port.
The arrival of François-Emmanuel Nicol at the helm of the kitchen at Tanière3, after a stint at Légende, made the experience even more challenging. The young chef's dream: to live to see the day when Quebec cuisine only rhymes with Putin.
We would like to say that, despite a certain ignorance of its own culinary heritage, Quebec already enjoys a good gastronomic reputation abroad.
PHOTO EDOUARD PLANTE-FRÉCHETTE, LA PRESS
François Emmanuel Nicol
The winner of the Relais & Châteaux scholarship at the end of his studies at the Institut de Tourisme et d'hôtellerie du Québec (ITHQ) was able to complete internships in Arzak in Spain and in Mirazur near Nice in France. “I remember the super fresh and local ingredients. The squid still had anchovies in it! »
PHOTO SIMON FERLAND, PROVIDED BY TANIÈRE3
Grillou flambé, a Quebec grilled cheese
François-Emmanuel Nicol was born in Gaspésie to Breton parents whose first job in Quebec was at the shrimp factory in Matane. He remembers summers in Brittany with his grandmother. At some point, the man who began working in restaurants at age 15 would have been tempted by a career as a sailor. Instead, he chose to travel the province on his plate and share its splendor far beyond our borders.
Tanière3 is open December 31st and January 1st. The restaurant will return to its usual menu on Thursday, January 4th. The experience costs $235 per person ($275 at chef's counter), before cash, taxes and service.