Rumors of reopening of the legendary 9e floor of the Eaton Center have been running for years and were confirmed a year ago. But which chef would dare to take charge of the Île de France restaurant? We can today reveal that Derek Dammann will be the catering director for the entire project, which includes a major events component from April, and that Liam Hopkins will be the executive chef of the hundred-seat table, which will open to the public in mid-May.
“I’ve been attending meetings about this project for eight years,” Derek Dammann revealed to us this week, during our second visit to the grandiose, beautifully restored space. The chef, who closed his restaurant Maison publique in September 2023 and then sold his shares in McKiernan, is now devoting himself full time to implementing menus that will unite the past and present of this historic place dear to Montrealers.
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PHOTO ALAIN ROBERGE, THE PRESS
The original frescoes have been restored.
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PHOTO ALAIN ROBERGE, THE PRESS
The 9the will receive its first private events in April and the general public from mid-May.
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PHOTO ALAIN ROBERGE, THE PRESS
Detail of 9eat the Eaton Center
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Liam Hopkins has been part of the team for over a year. In the recent past, he worked at McKiernan then at bistro La Franquette, after closing his own restaurant in the Notre-Dame-de-Grâce district, Hopkins. Previously, he had cooked under Antonio Park.
The two chefs had a lot of fun studying the old menus of the Île de France restaurant (including one found within the walls of the establishment!), open from 1931 to 1999, then going through old recipe books. The watchword of the moment: offer accessible cuisine and prices so that as many Montrealers as possible can frequent this architectural gem. We heard about a decadent “chicken pot pie” and dishes full of nostalgia, but always brought up to date.
“This is the love letter we offer to the city of Montreal,” says Jeff Baikowitz, the businessman who fought in the shadows for years to resurrect the 9e.
Remember that the legendary floor and part of its furniture were classified as a historic monument by the Ministry of Culture in August 2000. With its 10 meter high ceiling and its clean lines, Le 9e was one of the first creations of Art Deco style in Quebec.
It was designed by French architect Jacques Carlu at the request of Lady Eaton, widow of Sir John Craig Eaton, and her son Timothy Eaton. The architect, who is also the author of the Trocadéro and the Palais de Chaillot, in Paris, was particularly inspired by the transatlantic liners of the time.