Time Out Market Montréal announces inaugural line-up including some of the city’s most acclaimed chefs and restaurateurs

Montreal will soon be home to Time Out Market, the food and cultural market bringing the best of the city under one roof: its best chefs, drinks and cultural experiences, based on editorial curation.

Today, Time Out Market Montréal has revealed the first top chefs and restaurateurs to join, including some of the city’s most acclaimed names. The inaugural lineup features award-winning chefs and celebrated culinary talent, serving an incredibly diverse range of cuisines which Time Out Market will make affordable and accessible.

Across 40,000 sq ft, Time Out Market Montréal will offer a curated mix of 16 eateries, a demonstration kitchen, a cooking academy, three bars, art and cultural spaces, and a retail area – all representing the very best of the city. Visitors will get to explore fine dining from a variety of eateries and then come together with family and friends to enjoy their meals – on china with flatware – at communal tables in the center of the market. But this is not just about outstanding food and drinks, there will also be cooking classes with top chefs, cultural experiences and live performances with local talent.

Set to open later in 2019, Time Out Market Montréal will be the centrepiece of Centre Eaton de Montréal on Sainte-Catherine Street, a landmark downtown destination owned and managed by global real estate leader Ivanhoé Cambridge, currently investing more than C$1B in revitalising Montréal’s commercial core.

The following first lineup for Time Out Market Montréal has been revealed - spanning everything from exquisite avant-garde cuisine, aromatic Vietnamese fare, delectable pizza to delicious pastry and more:

World-renowned, local culinary giant Chef Normand Laprise will bring his ingenious touch to Time Out Market Montréal with Burger T!
No celebration of local cuisine will ever be complete in Montreal without the innovative work of Chef Normand Laprise. Having championed the farm-to-table movement in Quebec with the 1993 opening of his fine dining establishment Toqué!, to his James Beard Award-winning cookbook Toqué!: Creators of a New Québec Gastronomy – Chef Laprise’s contribution to Montreal’s dining scene is legendary. Toqué! has also been a prolific training ground for fellow Time Out Market Montréal chefs such as Charles-Antoine Crête and Jeffrey Finkelstein. In 2010, Chef Laprise – with longtime Toqué! co-owner Christine Lamarche – expanded the Signé Toqué! family with the opening of Brasserie T! in Montreal’s Quartier des Spectacles, where his savoury burgers are widely considered amongst the best in the city, and further with Beau Mont in 2019. In 2009, Chef Laprise was knighted into the National Order of Quebec, and in 2014 he was appointed to the Order of Canada for his single-handed and unmatched effect on the development of Quebec cuisine. Following the philosophy of the Signé Toqué! family of working exclusively with ingredients from local producers, Burger T! will offer Time Out Market visitors gourmet sustainable burgers and homemade fries with the renowned chef’s twist.

Chefs Charles-Antoine Crête and Cheryl Johnson will bring the avant-garde dining of their flagship restaurant Montréal Plaza to Time Out Market
Chefs Charles-Antoine Crête and Cheryl Johnson have long been known for their boundless passion and creativity, and how they combine culinary eccentricity with technical skills. Their highly accomplished theatrical presentations and unique flavours – which they will now bring to Time Out Market Montréal – have wowed Canadian and international diners alike time and time again. Since opening in 2015, their restaurant Montréal Plaza has been a consistent name on “Canada’s 100 Best Restaurants”, taking the 8^th rank in 2019. Crête began his career working under legendary Quebec chef Normand Laprise who would become his long-time mentor at Toqué!, where he also met his future culinary partner, Cheryl Johnson. Together, Crête and Johnson went on to create Montréal Plaza, followed by their latest venture, Foodchain. Montréal Plaza is thrilled to introduce their accessible avant-garde cuisine to Time Out Market Montréal.

Chef Claude Pelletier brings unparalleled meat and fish dishes to Time Out Market with Le Club Chasse et Pêche
Le Club Chasse et Pêche opened in 2004 and has since been wowing guests with its unique, intimate atmosphere and with its exquisite meat and fish dishes prepared with incredible levels of skill. The joint venture between designer and fellow Time Out Market Montréal restaurateur Bruno Braën (of Moleskine, Pullman, Big in Japan), co-owner Hubert Marsolais (of Le Serpent, Il Miglio, Le Filet) and chefs Claude Pelletier and Mélanie Blouin has seen consistent local and international success over the last fifteen years, regularly ranking in the city’s best of lists. As its name suggests, Le Club Chasse et Pêche’s menu highlights both local game and catch from the province, in unique and surprising ways that change weekly. The menu – created by Claude Pelletier and Mélanie Blouin – is meant to bring guests through a discovery of Quebec fine-dining cuisine and it is this kind of experience the team will now also bring to Time Out Market with menu items like Braised piglet risotto, foie gras shavings or New school surf & turf: lobster & sweetbread.

Romados will turn up the heat at Time Out Market Montréal with their famous Portuguese rotisserie chicken
Since 1994, Romados has been serving what many consider to be Montreal’s best Portuguese rotisserie chicken – one of the city's most beloved dishes. Now father-son duo Fernando and Manny Machado, both the owners and chefs of Romados, will bring to Time Out Market the rich history of Portuguese rotisserie dishes and baked goods both savory and sweet, including their scrumptious pasteis de nata. Also on the menu will be one of Romados’ most popular recipes: chicken slathered in their signature bright orange piri piri sauce, served with a selection of delectable sides such as dressed greens, mouth-watering seasoned fries or a poutine. It is dishes like these that have garnered this restaurant's lifelong fans amongst Montrealers and tourists alike, many of whom have Romados on their must-eat bucket lists in the city.

Restaurant Moleskine will offer Neapolitan-style pizza at Time Out Market Montréal
Since opening in 2016 in downtown Montreal, Moleskine's downstairs pizza eatery and upstairs wood-fired menu have been consistently lauded by critics and loved by locals. A proud Montrealer since 1997, chef Fred St-Aubin studied Italian cuisine at the Institut de tourisme et d’hôtellerie du Québec and won the prestigious Toques Blanche Internationales contest in 1999. He then went on to perfect his craft in Europe, working at three-time Michelin-starred restaurant La Maison Troisgros amongst others. Now St-Aubin and Moleskine co-owners Catherine Bélanger and Bruno Braën will bring their adventurous and delectable pizzas to Time Out Market. Fans of authentic Italian dining will be able to taste the popular Marguerite, Américaine, and Salsiccia pizzas – all made with delicious fresh ingredients such as their specialty house sausage, stracciatella di bufala and fior di latte cheese, and boundless olive oil and tomato sauce.

Le Red Tiger will serve the aromatic cuisine of Vietnam at Time Out Market Montréal
Since opening in 2015, Le Red Tiger has been consistently surprising Montrealers with its traditional dishes, convivial atmosphere and simple yet flavourful menu inspired by the street cuisine of Southern Vietnam. Le Red Tiger is Vietnamese-Montrealer chef Phong Thach’s fourth venture in the city alongside business partners Dan Pham and the Lucky Belly Group, the successful team behind Kamehameha Snack-bar, Miss Wong, Le Golden Dragon and Le Blossom. Together, they will bring the fun, excitement and most importantly the richly aromatic flavours of Southeast Asia to Time Out Market Montréal with Le Red Tiger Cantine Vietnamese. The menu will feature a variety of specialty dishes such as: delectable banh mi sandwiches, flavourful Bo tai chanh beef carpaccio, refreshing papaya salad, traditional Vietnamese soups and bowls – to name but a few.

With Il Miglio, Chef Pelletier will bring a second concept to Time Out Market Montréal, focused on artisanal fresh pasta and beautifully simple Italian dishes
The brainchild of Chef Claude Pelletier – in collaboration with co-owners Giovanni Rasile, Michele Mercuri, and Hubert Marsolais – Il Miglio pays tribute to its famous neighbourhood namesake, the Mile End. Since its opening in 2017, the casual eatery has been a firm favourite among locals and much loved for its exquisite Italian cuisine, fresh antipasti and some of the city’s best pasta. The instant popularity of this Mile End staple led to the 2019 opening of Il Miglio Express in Old Montreal, providing busy workers with their midday pasta fix. This year will also see Il Miglio – led by Chef Mélanie Blouin – coming to Time Out Market to offer beautifully simple, flavorful and mouth-watering Italian dishes like Veal meatballs, basil & tomato sauce or Campanelle mushrooms, truffle oil, jus.

Hof Sucrée – a new dessert concept brought to Time Out Market Montréal by famous Montreal bakery Hof Kelsten – will satisfy every sweet tooth
Jeffrey Finkelstein, owner and chef of bakery Hof Kelsten, is expanding his range of sweet delicacies with Hof Sucrée at Time Out Market. A local with exceptional global experience, Chef Finkelstein studied at the International Culinary Center in New York City and honed his skills at the three-starred Michelin kitchens of Per Se, French Laundry, elBulli, the two-starred Noma, and under iconic chef Normand Laprise at Toqué! in Montreal. Each of these experiences greatly influenced his culinary style but it was under world-renowned pastry chef Oriol Balaguer at his namesake confectionary boutique where Finkelstein first discovered his love of pastries. Today, Chef Finkelstein – commonly hailed as Montreal’s best baker – is known far and wide for his French essentials like croissants and baguettes, Italian panettone ciabattas, and Jewish challah and babkas. It is all masterful chemistry of sugar, flour and water at the hands of Finkelstein. At Time Out Market Montréal, he will introduce Hof Sucrée to offer a mix of classic viennoiseries, signature desserts, and specially created baked goods.

Closer to the opening, Time Out Market will announce the next additions to this curated mix, an exciting beverage program as well as how local culture will be part of this unique experience.
Time Out Market is rooted in the heritage of Time Out – a magazine created at a kitchen table in London in 1968 to inspire and enable people to explore and enjoy the best of the city. Since then, Time Out editors have been writing about the best food, drinks and cultural experiences to help people go out better. Today, a global team of local expert journalists is curating the best things to do in 315 cities in 58 countries across websites, magazines, social media and live events. Now this curation is brought to life at Time Out Market.

In 2014, the editorial team behind Time Out Lisbon turned a historic market building in the city into Time Out Market Lisbon, the world’s first food and cultural market based wholly on editorial curation. This hugely successful culinary phenomenon is now expanding globally: Time Out Market Miami and Time Out Market New York opened in May 2019 and besides Montreal, new Time Out Markets are also set to open in Boston and Chicago this year, followed later by Dubai (2020), London-Waterloo (2021) and Prague (2022).

What connects all markets is a carefully curated mix of top chefs and restaurateurs, and of unique culinary and cultural experiences – all housed in spaces capturing the soul of the city. However, the execution of each Time Out Market is distinctly local to give a true taste of the city it is in.

With its focus on supporting local businesses and suppliers, a close connection with the city and community is at the heart of the Time Out Market philosophy; as with its existing location in Lisbon, Miami and New York, it is expected that a new market will bring further employment across a wide range of skills, broader benefits and attract a food- and culture-loving audience.