North Culinary laboratory | The North as you have rarely tasted it

The food is very good at Strøm spas. We eat even better at the company’s new restaurant/laboratory in Chambly. Here, chef Raphaël Podlasiewicz and his talented team can afford to offer more elaborate, particularly creative small dishes.


A kitchen that manages to make a plate of turnips absolutely delicious and fresh deserves all my admiration. This tour de force comes in the form of thin slices of turnip and rutabaga stuffed with their own flesh, small rolls placed on tarragon yogurt and a lightly smoked aioli. Jerusalem artichoke chips and flower petals complete this little masterpiece.

If the Strøm restaurants are simply called Nord, we added “Culinary laboratory” to it, because it exists, among other things, to allow the development of new recipes. But above all, it is a gourmet restaurant open to customers from Chambly and its surroundings, in mourning for the former tenant of the premises, the Fourquet Fourchette, which did not reopen after the pandemic.

  • This plate of turnips and rutabagas shows great creativity.

    PHOTO MARCO CAMPANOZZI, THE PRESS

    This plate of turnips and rutabagas shows great creativity.

  • Mushrooms in the spotlight!

    PHOTO MARCO CAMPANOZZI, THE PRESS

    Mushrooms in the spotlight!

  • Beneath these beautiful radishes hides a delectable char brandade.

    PHOTO MARCO CAMPANOZZI, THE PRESS

    Beneath these beautiful radishes hides a delectable char brandade.

  • The desserts play on the sweet-salty register.

    PHOTO MARCO CAMPANOZZI, THE PRESS

    The desserts play on the sweet-salty register.

  • The espresso martini is revisited.

    PHOTO MARCO CAMPANOZZI, THE PRESS

    The espresso martini is revisited.

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This Strøm “campus” – which also includes offices and training spaces – was set up in the beautiful building on the edge of the Chambly basin in August. In the summer, its restaurant will have a large terrace, but for now, we enjoy the intimacy of a pretty room that can accommodate around thirty guests.

With a name like “Nord”, we can guess that there is no mahi-mahi, avocado or passion fruit on the menu. Without being “100% local”, Raphaël Podlasiewicz’s cuisine is still almost completely local, with ingredients such as Opercule char (Montreal fish farm), processed into brandade during our visit, Quebec cheeses, meats from Ferme d’Orée, mushrooms, haskap, local herbs and spices, etc. Quebec spirits and wines are also on the menu.

  • The room is both refined and warm.

    PHOTO MARCO CAMPANOZZI, THE PRESS

    The room is both refined and warm.

  • Raphaël Podlasiewicz is the executive chef of Strøm and its Nord restaurants.

    PHOTO MARCO CAMPANOZZI, THE PRESS

    Raphaël Podlasiewicz is the executive chef of Strøm and its Nord restaurants.

  • This beautiful building houses not only the restaurant, but also the entire Strøm “campus”.

    PHOTO MARCO CAMPANOZZI, THE PRESS

    This beautiful building houses not only the restaurant, but also the entire Strøm “campus”.

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In this project, the executive chef is supported by two chefs: Simon Lalancette and Alexandre Laplante. Mathieu Lamarche is the head waiter. The boss of the service side of the entire North “chain”, Alphée Gagnon, also lends a helping hand, among other things in the creation of cocktails.

We can say that Chambly is lucky to have a restaurant of this caliber in its pretty village. Montrealers: don’t hesitate to make the (short) trip! Also, in 2024, the North restaurants of the five Strøm establishments will open their doors to customers from outside. It will therefore be possible to eat there without necessarily associating an entry to the spa.

1887, avenue Bourgogne, Chambly


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