Dur à Cuire

B+

Directed by Guillaume Sylvestre

Montreal is no slouch when it comes to dining and I've always enjoyed the vast array of affordable and diverse eats available to a student on a tight budget such as myself. In terms of higher end dining, however, it's a bit of a mixed bag and lags far behind other world cities. I was recently reading an article by GQ food critic Alan Richman on Montreal gastronomy where he stated that in the 60's and 70's Montreal was the best city for fine dining in North America. He then, however, went on to bemoan its demise and points out a few stalwarts like Shwartz's and Moishes as examples of Montreal's languishing cuisine.
Richman's article was written in 1996, however, and since then there has been a considerable resurgence in Montreal gastronomy, led notably by local establishments Toqué, headed by chef Normand Laprise, and Au Pied du Cochon, Martin Picard's restaurant on Duluth Street which was recently vaulted into the international spotlight after Anthony Bourdain visited it as a part of his travel/food show "No Reservations." Local filmaker Guillaume Sylvestre spent a year following both Picard and Laprise in an effort to better understand their vision of Montreal's gastronomic landscape and how they fit into it and the end result, "Dur à Cuire," is an interesting and entertaining look at two of Montreal most venerable culinary establishments.

Sylvestre took a rather straightforward approach to his documentary, following Picard and Laprise, both separately and together, as they go through a year of work in their respective establishments. In both cases Picard and Laprise appear to spend as much time overseas either making guest appearances in foreign kitchens (Laprise), learning how to properly slaughter and gut a pig in Spain (Picard), or generally living what appears to be the good life (Laprise and Picard, numerous times) as they do in their own kitchens. Although Laprise and Picard's globetrotting in search of great food and new culinary experiences at first made me wonder aloud about the well being of their respective wives and children back home in Montreal, I must say I came away immensely jealous of both of these guys' jobs. Picard and Laprise both make a point of reminding Sylvestre that they are in the restaurant business primarily to make good food, pay the bills, and enjoy their friends and family and they both appear to genuinely enjoy running their establishments as well as the fruits of the labors that come with it, in most cases consisting of a good meal with their staff after a long day of work.

Although "Dur à Cuire" is never too concerned with providing any type of biting social commentary, much is still said about the state of restaurants in Montreal and the rest of North America as well as the difficulty of sustaining a quality business in a marketplace that demands innovation and profit. Laprise laments at one point that his goal is to run an establishment that lasts longer then himself but that attaining this goal is made difficult by the culinary industry itself which has little time for slow growth and favors rapid expansion over long, sustained growth of the type he favors. A number of shots are also taken at the Quebec government for their misplaced trust in culinary establishments that they believe represent Quebec's culture when, in fact, they do not, or at least not nearly as well as restaurants like Toqué and Au Pied du Cochon which make concerted efforts to buy locally and encourage the quality of local foods by putting it in their dishes.

"Dur à Cuire" is perhaps not the most structured of documentaries and the film's "central point," if there even is one, is tough to pinpoint. Nevertheless, Sylvestre's feature on Laprise and Picard is an interesting glimpse into the minds and methods of two of Montreal's most beloved culinary artists as well as a sometimes thought provoking discussion starter on the rapid disappearance of dining establishments of the type Laprise and Picard geneuinely want to provide Montrealers.