Fine gastronomy hurts the soul. In Montreal, Le Mousso tries to do things differently. La Presse has entered the world of one of the best restaurants in the province. Curtain !
Posted at 11:00 am
The pre-show
PHOTO DOMINICK GRAVEL, THE PRESS
Wednesday is preparation day at Mousso
More and more voices are being raised to denounce a model that is no longer acceptable in the world of fine dining in 2023: underpaid work, inhumane working hours, toxic climate, abusive behavior. A dark stain on the white tablecloths of haute cuisine. Will Antonin Mousseau-Rivard succeed in proving that you can combine an exceptional gastronomic experience, a healthy work environment and… profitability?
Wednesday, February 8, 2 p.m. The sun is shining outside, almost like spring. Le Mousso plays loud old-school hip-hop music. The 12 employees are busy, the kitchens are teeming with people and there is a good mood at the meeting point. The atmosphere is good-natured; the staff tease, deceive, laugh. But their work is serious.
Today is preparation day. No party in sight, no customers to serve. Everyone pitches in to prepare the three services of the week: chef, cooks, butler, sommelier, dishwasher. Everything is done as a team here. Tips are shared, salaries increased.
PHOTO DOMINICK GRAVEL, THE PRESS
Like every Wednesday afternoon, Antonin Mousseau-Rivard and his team share a staff lunch.
This is the new formula implemented by Antonin Mousseau-Rivard when he resumed his establishment after the closure imposed by the pandemic. And this while maintaining the high standards that have made the reputation of the restaurant, which opened in 2015: noble products, 90% local, processed creatively and precisely, with techniques such as fermentation, aging and other alchemical processes that make the creations amazing and mysterious the place its unique and spectacular side.
The chef and owner has seen many things in his life – burnout, abuse, toxic environments – including in his own restaurant. “What shocked me the most was the extent to which our employees were burned. I decided that I wanted to cook stress free that this would never happen again at my restaurant. »
The recent release from René Redzepi announcing the closure (at least in the current form) of his famous restaurant Noma in Copenhagen at the end of 2024 is making waves. “To continue being noma, we must change,” is the title of his statement, which was published on the school’s website. His model, the New York Times chairman said, is unsustainable because it relies in part on cheap labor.
PHOTO DOMINICK GRAVEL, THE PRESS
Gabriel Molleur is Executive Chef at Le Mousso, where he has been working for more than five years.
Like many chefs who want to learn from the most innovative people in the world, Gabriel Molleur worked as an intern in the noma kitchens for a few weeks in 2016. While the work is tough – 18-hour shifts – Mousso’s chef says what he learned there has “opened his eyes”. “Oils infused with flowers, making your kombucha and using it as the base of a recipe like you would vinegar in French cooking… All of that is fermentation, milk fermentation… Today at least that’s the base, the new base for us. »
PHOTO DOMINICK GRAVEL, THE PRESS
Everyone shares the tasks: here Cécile Vimbert, assistant sommelier, holds the raspberry macerations of Ferme Bourdelais.
PHOTO DOMINICK GRAVEL, THE PRESS
Razor clams ready to be thinly sliced.
PHOTO DOMINICK GRAVEL, THE PRESS
Aladdin Bonin, chef, crosses off the completed chores on the daily list.
PHOTO DOMINICK GRAVEL, THE PRESS
The zander was filleted.
PHOTO DOMINICK GRAVEL, THE PRESS
Corentin Laporte watches his colleague sharpen his knife.
PHOTO DOMINICK GRAVEL, THE PRESS
Antonin Mousseau-Rivard and Thomas Déziel-Gagnon, head waiters at Le Mousso for five years
PHOTO DOMINICK GRAVEL, THE PRESS
Conversation between Sous Chef François Caron and Executive Chef Gabriel Bonneur.
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Like a beehive
He introduces us to the crew that is busy in the kitchen. “Here we have a community life. Everyone does everything,” he explains. And everyone seems to benefit: the dining room team lets you “see what the kitchen’s going through” by working with it on Wednesdays, notes head waiter Thomas Déziel-Gagnon. And the cooks go to the dining hall during the service. “The customer proximity was also inspired by noma. It’s one goal as a chef: get out of our stainless prison,” says the chef.
Luana, the sommelier, has just vacuum-packed pieces of rhubarb with a certain salt content. The kitchen team takes care of the slow fermentation and blackening of the product at low temperature, following the same principle used to obtain black garlic. “It tastes oddly like mustard and is used in the lamb dish based on that ingredient,” she explains.
While Cécile Vimbert, assistant sommelier, tends to the Bourdelais farm’s frozen raspberries, which are macerated to extract the sweet juice, chef Aladin Bonin patiently arranges small slices of blanched razor clams for the services to come, while François Caron , Sous -Chef, slices the homemade wild boar lardo seasoned with kosho (a fermented paste made from yuzu bark), which is served with the freshly fillet-cut pike-perch.
The butcher just arrived with some pretty quail and a nice piece of beef. “We could have ordered ground beef, but it’s a bit too greasy. So we will hack it ourselves. It is used to make beef garum which requires a very long fermentation of six months and the fat would make it rancid. The taste is really interesting, a bit like a Vietnamese fish sauce but with beef,” explains the sous chef.
PHOTO DOMINICK GRAVEL, THE PRESS
Thibaut Ballasi, new pastry chef at Le Mousso
Thibaut Ballasi, pastry chef, is the new addition to the squad. He has just arrived at the restaurant a few months ago after a disappointing experience at another address in the metropolis shortly after arriving in Quebec. Here he’s found a place “where we take our time to do things well” and where he can nurture his creativity, he explains, as he prepares a ganache of crushed Jerusalem artichoke that’s been cooked at a low temperature for a month .
And all this, in a healthy environment, still amazes those who have never had such experiences in France, where they worked about 18 hours a day, 5 days a week. “The first time I saw the service here was a real catering lesson. Le Mousso understood the concept of a restaurant in 2023. We’re not in the 1970s anymore! I’m in a little paradise. »
PHOTO DOMINICK GRAVEL, THE PRESS
First course: a clam chowder, mousso version. In the background, a “soup” made from potato risotto cooked in mussel juice, a potato and truffle foam, plus mussel meat in a potato tartlet, plus crème fraîche with chives and chive blossoms from last summer.
The show
Friday, 5:30 p.m. The evening promises to be “quiet” – only 25 customers are expected. It’s the weekend before Valentine’s Day, so many couples are occupying tables of four.
The team is impressive to watch. Everyone knows what to do and the atmosphere is surprisingly zen. Even when serving, the chefs never lose their cool, overseen by Antonin and Gabriel, who are absolutely calm and perfectly in control of the situation.
The menu changes several times a year depending on the season, and the dishes themselves sometimes evolve with minor changes and substitutions. Antonin and Gabriel share menu design ideas, then set about making them happen, digging up fresh produce, calling suppliers and drawing inspiration from what’s fermenting and maturing under their roof.
PHOTO DOMINICK GRAVEL, THE PRESS
Gabriel Molleur, chef de cuisine, very relaxed with the service
Over the years we’ve built up a flavor library of sorts; When it comes to putting our ideas into action, we see what we can use. In short, you choose the flavor, the texture, the technique, and then you can play around with it.
Gabriel Molleur, chef
Something else has changed since Mousso reopened: now all tables are expected from 6 p.m. and served at the same time. After the aperitif service – foie gras cotton candy – and the cocktail included in the experience, at 7pm the curtain rises and the show begins!
PHOTO DOMINICK GRAVEL, THE PRESS
The service has started! The whole brigade concentrates on the first course of the evening.
PHOTO DOMINICK GRAVEL, THE PRESS
Antonin Mousseau-Rivard explains to the guests the dish they are about to try.
PHOTO DOMINICK GRAVEL, THE PRESS
Luana Aubert explains the first pairing of the night, Bubbles.
PHOTO DOMINICK GRAVEL, THE PRESS
Sous Chef François Caron knows how to handle pots!
PHOTO DOMINICK GRAVEL, THE PRESS
The first service through the lens of a phone.
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As Antonin Mousseau-Rivard climbs the stairs to the hall, providing him with a platform on which to address his audience, the brigade, in procession, place the dishes in front of the customers in a synchronized ballet. Each creation is described in detail by the chef so that everyone understands the work, the attention to detail and the quality of the products used.
After that, Luana takes center stage and enthusiastically explains her choice of chords, which she often changes. “In this way, I can develop professionally and personally, and use my imagination and creativity. I like playing different chord styles; unlike the flavors, in umami, at other times, it’s more of a local pairing…” Plus, it’s almost a sin to sit down at the mousso without picking up the wine pairings that are an integral part of the experience.
PHOTO DOMINICK GRAVEL, THE PRESS
Antonin Mousseau-Rivard chats with Andrew Johnson and his girlfriend Elizabeth.
At the bar, Andrew Johnson, accompanied by his girlfriend Elizabeth, visited Le Mousso for the first time. For the founder of marketing agency Dreww, the experience is worth every penny. “This restaurant has no equal in Montreal. I ate at a Michelin starred restaurant in Rome last summer and Le Mousso was by far a superior dining experience. That said, I’m looking for that kind of experience, I understand the effort behind it, and I’m willing to spend the money to get it. I have friends who make as much money as me but come here and are shocked at the price because all they want is steak and potatoes! »
The employees are happy, and so are the customers. But Antonin admits that his model is not profitable at the moment. Despite the wind and tide, he continues to believe in it. “What is killing me right now is the cost of groceries. The prices are made completely ridiculous. Even nitrile gloves are insanely expensive! And with the recession announced, people are less indulgent in dining out. »
PHOTO DOMINICK GRAVEL, THE PRESS
Second serve; a “faux foie gras” with hazelnut and sea urchin hazelnut buttercream, topped with a brioche crouton, caviar and a “ringolo” made with toasted hazelnut pulp, a by-product of pressing Quebec hazelnut oil made on site. At the bottom of the bowl, a vinaigrette made with pure hazelnut oil and maple syrup. “It really does taste like foie gras! exclaims one of the customers at the bar.
PHOTO DOMINICK GRAVEL, THE PRESS
Cooks are focused, but far from stressed. Pictured: François Caron, sous-chef, chefs Guillaume Roussel-Comtois and Corentin Laporte and pastry chef Thibaut Ballasi.
PHOTO DOMINICK GRAVEL, THE PRESS
The second service is eaten with Quebec endive leaves to add a touch of freshness to the dish.
PHOTO DOMINICK GRAVEL, THE PRESS
Meanwhile, the sous chef prepares the charcoal grill on which small quail will be grilled later in the evening.
PHOTO DOMINICK GRAVEL, THE PRESS
The brigade prepares the third course with mussels and celeriac.
PHOTO DOMINICK GRAVEL, THE PRESS
What is hidden in this ball? Celeriac cooked in a salt crust for hours! After Antonin’s presentation, some chefs go into the dining room to sprinkle spoons straight from the root vegetables onto the customers’ plates.
PHOTO DOMINICK GRAVEL, THE PRESS
Third course, Japanese-inspired: scallop tartare with mushroom spices and smoked beef jerky, topped with lightly marinated beet leaves and raspberry chunks frozen in liquid nitrogen. Everything is accompanied by a sauce of homemade mushroom oil, homemade soy sauce and beef garum.
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Have customers pay the bill? Impossible in Montreal, says the man who just opened Le Molière par Mousso, a place with a diametrically opposed concept, with a classic French brasserie menu and a large dining room. Even now, many people aren’t willing to pay $250 for a ten-course tasting menu—the only viable option—plus $115 for the wine pairing. Yes, there are obviously a lot of tourists passing by Le Mousso – on some summer evenings, the 35-seat room is sometimes just filled with foreign visitors. But Montreal isn’t as great a gastronomic destination as other metropolitan cities. At least not yet. So it takes a local clientele to keep Le Mousso alive.
Despite everything, the chef refuses to give up his philosophy, his research and his explorations, or even exceptional products such as the wild caviar from New Brunswick, the highly valued and local truffle Bianchetto, or even hazelnuts from Quebec, an extremely expensive product, the oil of it is pressed in the restaurant itself.
“I want to bring this gastronomy to life. I have to work from the inside to reduce costs without showing it to the customer or my team. We see from our customers that the love of gastronomy is not dead. »