Omnivore's Dilemma

 fig. a:  Look! Up in the sky!

Omnivore is coming to Montreal, and the dilemma they're presenting us with is a schedule so jam-packed with tantalizing events, how can we possibly consume it all?

To celebrate the year 2012, these Paris-based culinary provocateurs and advocates of "100% young cuisine" have embarked upon a world tour encompassing 12 cities.  Brussels, Copenhagen, Geneva, Istanbul, Moscow, New York, Paris, Rio, San Francisco, Shanghai, Sydney, and, yes, Montreal.  The road show pulls into town on August 16, and the next four days will amount to an intercontinental culinary powwow of the highest magnitude featuring 18 cooking & wine demos, 5 Maudits Soupers, and 1 major bash.  The dinners will take place all over town, but the base of operations and the site of both the demos and Omnivorious, the chef- and DJ-driven extravaganza that will likely be the highlight of the series, will be the Société des Arts Technologiques/FoodLab.

Most of our favourite Montreal food and wine people will be participating, but the series is meant to put these New World practitioners of "100% young cuisine" in conversation with some of their Old World counterparts.  As a result, it will also include a number of notable European talents, such as Gregory Marchand of Frenchie (Paris), Peter Nilsson of La Gazzetta (Paris), and Jérôme Bigot of Les Grès (Lindry, Burgundy).

Michelle will be doing overtime that week, giving a demo on August 19, cooking a Maudit Souper with Seth Gabrielse and Jérôme Bigot, and playing a central liaison role throughout the entirety of Omnivore Montreal.

The thing is, the line-up is so good and the prices are so reasonable, that you might just want to take in the whole maudite thing.  You can catch demos by Patrice Demers (Les 400 Coups), Alex Cruz and Derek Dammann (Société Orignal), Stéphanie Labelle (Rhubarbe), Samuel Pinard (La Salle à Manger), Cyril Kérébel (La QV), Michelle (!), and many other stars of the Montreal culinary scene, in addition to all the distinguished European guests, and prices are just $40 per day, or $100 for the full-three day demo schedule.  Prices for the Maudits Soupers have yet to be announced, but I've been told that you can expect remarkable value, and, in the meantime, you can find the whole schedule and the numbers to call for reservations here.  And, finally, a ticket for Omnivorious will only set you back $40, and it includes a drink, special canapés prepared by a Dream Team of contemporary chefs (Patrice Demers and Marc-André Jetté, the Grumman 78 crew, Petter Nilsson, Samuel Pinard, Simon Mathys, Gita Seaton, Jérôme Bigot, Martin Juneau, and John Horne!), and a whole mess of other entertainment that's guaranteed to derange the senses.

For full details, check out Omnivore's complete rundown of its Montreal festivities here.

aj