This text is part of the special book Plaisirs
Dany Bolduc’s career is not ordinary. After evolving in the kitchens of Trois Gros in France, then in those of the now closed Kube and Cocagne, as well as the Reservoir, he made an impression at the helm of the H4C, where his creative and technical signature was deployed at his full measure. If the pandemic and major public works got the better of his emblematic table, the chef did not give up his apron.
On the contrary, more hyperactive than ever, he successfully launched the grocery-bakery-deli concept La Pantry and the Spanish-inspired restaurant La Sobremesa, in addition to participating, with the Best Restaurant Group (BRG), in the opening of several gourmet addresses, notably in Toronto, Mont-Tremblant, Montreal and on the South Shore.
It makes you wonder if this man, who gets up before dawn to knead his bread dough and who runs the kitchen at La Sobremesa restaurant in the evening, sleeps from time to time! But it was with a smile, a straight talk and a beer in hand that the chef shared with us his vision of cooking at the end of shift.
Does your past as a traveler determine the way you carry out your projects?
When I got into this job, it was to travel. I liked this nomadic lifestyle and I had the chance to meet chefs who took me under their wing. Visiting 25 countries in 10 years brings a great openness to the world and allows you to become familiar with a wide variety of traditions and culinary techniques. I inherited a love for a restoration of discoveries and experiences. And perhaps a vision that is not fixed on long-term projects.
Precisely, what is your vision of the restoration?
That of doing things in my own way and according to my evolution. For example, when I left the Reservoir after four years to open H4C, my first condition was to have carte blanche. I wanted to be an owner to have my kitchen and my own toys. Five years later, I had no more pleasure, so I reduced the number of seats in the dining room from 65 to 34 in favor of the kitchen, so as to create more mature, more thoughtful dishes. While at La Sobremesa, which I consider a more informal restaurant, I take out my entire menu with a Rational oven and four barbecues.
La Sobremesa is a Hispanic tradition that relates to when you relax after a good meal, not to the meal itself. How would you present it?
I opened this restaurant with the idea of sharing and pleasure in mind. I invite people to spend time on the spot, without constraint, around small dishes which, without being Spanish, reflect my vision of this cuisine. Fishing cuisine, fresh products, colorful and spicy. So I import certain things, like Iberian hams and cold cuts. For the rest, I try to highlight good products and respect them by wasting nothing. For example, I prepare a broth from ham scraps. They are the stars on the plate, it is not necessary to add much to them.
What prompted you to launch the concept of La Pantry?
During the pandemic, I had no more staff. So I started a gourmet grocery store on weekends, then I decided to open a first pantry that offered what the H4C offered: ready meals, preserves, bread and pastries. I have loved baking bread for a long time; I even did a one-year internship at the Le Fromentier bakery to learn all the tricks. So I have no trouble getting up at three in the morning to make bread (our recommendations: Dany Bolduc’s sourdough bread and focaccia!) and pastries in addition to my usual dishes.
You don’t have the gift of ubiquity. How do you manage to manage both La Pantry, La Sobremesa and the fifteen or so establishments opened with the BRG group with which you are associated?
I have a reputation as a chef a little control freak (sic) and I confess that I sometimes find it difficult to let go. My pleasure is to cook on the spot, present behind the stoves. My involvement with the BRG group allows me to give opportunities to others, as they did for me. I am therefore personally and financially involved with them so that their project works. I had already done this before: at H4C, for example, I had adapted the kitchen for one of my pastry chefs who wanted to try savory dishes.
How would you sum up your passion for cooking?
Having fun is important to me. If one day I don’t have fun anymore, I will stop cooking. This pleasure involves doing things my way, creating and building. I will not change my philosophy.