We may earn money or products from the companies mentioned in this post.
We booked dinner on Saturday of the Formula One race weekend in Montreal. Yup, four years in a row. Au Pied de Cochon.
In an article I found from 2008, the chef Martin Picard apparently imports 70 kg of foie gras per week! That was six years ago, so it may have increased since then…the chef himself estimates that he is the largest importer of foie gras in the world!
We first discovered Martin Picard through his TV show Wild Chef. He and his sous chef, Hugue Defour, drive around Quebec in a pickup with a stainless steel stove in the back. They hunt or visit farms and cook up a feast out in the great Canadian outdoors. Then we discovered he had a restaurant in Montreal, which we visit at least once a year. We had to make reservations right away!
In addition to the regular menu, Au Pied de Cochon had four appetizer specials and four main specials. This was one of the starters: a soft, creamy cheese with crispy toasts and nuts.
A salad of Blue Cheese, Apple and Endives.
Another of the appetizer specials, cold Lobster Bisque.
Cromesquis: two die-size pieces of foie gras, deep fried. You stick one die in your mouth and bite down, with your mouth closed. The foie gras melts delectably.
The small Shellfish Platter, including stuffed mussels, half a lobster, periwinkles, scallops, oysters, clams, calamari two ways, and whelks.
Foie Gras on everything, including poutine! Poutine is a Quebecois dish of french fries, cheese curds and gravy. In this case, even the gravy had a foie gras base!
One of the main specials: Pork Shoulder with Fingerling Potatoes, Asparagus, and Fiddleheads. It could easily feed two or three adults!
The Lobster Roll with foie gras, of course.
The Chef himself! Martin Picard. He then put on an apron emblazoned with the phrase “Praise the Lard” and worked the line.
Lemon Meringue Pie
Creme Brulee
Chocolat Pot de Creme
The still-warm Pineapple Upside Down Cake
To make some of these recipes yourself, take a look at either of his two cookbooks – the photos and illustrations themselves are worth it!
536 Avenue Duluth Est, Montréal, QC H2L 1A9
(514) 281-1114
[…] a slew of tasty-sounding cocktails, most importantly the one called Martin Picard (the chef from Au Pied de Cochon in […]
[…] have only just started eating oysters last summer, when I was blown away by my first ones at Au Pied de Cochon in Montreal. Since that first try, I’ve been sampling them all around Toronto, including one […]
[…] What better way to top the Formula One weekend than with an amazing dinner? Au Pied de Cochon (“PDC”) is so well known and sought after that it doesn’t even have an exterior sign. If you’re walking on Duluth, you might pass right by the restaurant, unless you glance inside and see the gorgeous monstrosity that is the seafood platter, below. In short, chef Martin Picard is a genius and you have to visit PDC once in your life. Drool your way through our last two visits here and here. […]