“I come from here, I’m good here, I’m happy to be here. And I always felt that an offer like ours was missing in Terrebonne. »
Posted at 11:00 a.m.
Born close to Highway 640, young chef Sébastien Dion is a guy from the North Shore. When COVID hit, he was sous-chef at Chien fumant, a popular restaurant in Plateau-Mont-Royal. Prior to that, he held the same role at the Pied de Cochon sugar shack. At only 30 years old, he had studied, he felt ready to take the plunge with his wife Véronique Benoît, whom he met at Le Chien fumant – she was head bartender there, a responsibility she also held at Bar St- Dennis.
In May 2020 they opened the BRUT. Gourmet factory in the premises of a former Subway – a bargain compared to the Montreal premises three times more expensive visited by the young couple. “Initially, we went there with the formula of a grocery store that operated like a restaurant, explains the 28-year-old young woman. Everything we sold was made here, our bread, sausages, fresh pasta, and our own burrata. But we were really looking forward to the dining rooms being able to reopen so we could really get started. The restaurant therefore welcomed its first customers a little over a year ago, with a fresh menu inspired by seasonal flavors – the couple get their supplies within a 1,000 km radius of Terrebonne, the fresh herbs, spinach, lettuce and other edible flowers grow in pretty containers that frame the terrace built on rue Saint-Pierre.
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PHOTO FRANÇOIS ROY, THE PRESS
Burrata and cucumbers – Fresh burrata is the star of this refreshing dish, served with lightly mustard cucumber broth, grilled Lebanese cucumber compressed with white Vermouth, all accompanied by a small salad of fresh garden herbs and bread house roast – a must. It is a creation of Nicolas Leclerc, one and only employee of Sébastien Dio and Véronique Benoit.
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PHOTO FRANÇOIS ROY, THE PRESS
Smoked salmon, ratatouille and gazpacho – Lox-style salmon gravlax, placed on a compressed ratatouille, all surrounded by a double cream gazpacho seasoned with garlic flowers, with a few buttery croutons. “It’s one of Véro’s favorite dishes,” says Sébastien Dion. I try to make my gazpacho with all the vegetables of the moment. »
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PHOTO FRANÇOIS ROY, THE PRESS
Halibut, carrot gnocchi & sage beurre blanc – Seared Gaspésie halibut with sage beurre blanc, on a bed of carrot gnocchi. All accompanied by a salad of grilled carrots tangy with garlic flower vinegar and tarragon vinegar. “I like to occasionally work on a dish with several variations of a single vegetable,” explains Sébastien Dion. Here, instead of potatoes, I took mashed carrots for the gnocchi. »
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PHOTO FRANÇOIS ROY, THE PRESS
Quebec strawberries, sweet clover, buckwheat and stracciatella – The homemade burrata stracciatella is seasoned here with a sweet clover custard, all seasoned with a little pepper and olive oil. Add seasonal strawberries to double syrup with a buckwheat and lemon balm crumble. The result is fabulous. “It’s an amalgam of flavors that I find super pleasant,” says Sébastien Dion. And since I don’t like sweet desserts, everything we do here is light and accessible. »
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It is absolutely necessary to talk in detail about their famous burrata, so good that it is also found at Pied de Cochon and at the Cabane next door. “When we started talking about the project, only one thing was 100% certain, and that was that we were going to make our own burrata,” Sébastien Dion told us. But a fresh burrata of the day, made in Quebec, that did not exist. So we approached the Fromagerie de la Table Ronde, in Sainte-Sophie, they really gave us a big hand because it’s a crazy project. Indeed, it took a few tries before arriving at the ideal pH formula that gives this incredible elasticity to the cheese inspired by the best Italian burratas.
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PHOTO FRANÇOIS ROY, THE PRESS
The BRUT terrace is framed by containers where fresh herbs, spinach, lettuce and other edible flowers grow.
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PHOTO FRANÇOIS ROY, THE PRESS
BRUT shelves could soon be stocked with homemade preserves. “In winter, it’s not bad potatoes, carrots, turnips, laughs Sébastien Dion. Currently, we’re too busy to take the time to preserve seasonal foods, but that’s the goal. »
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PHOTO FRANÇOIS ROY, THE PRESS
You can eat directly in the kitchen at BRUT. Gourmet factory.
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But that’s just one of the many reasons to go to the BRUT, which welcomes its customers directly into the kitchen – a table is set up between the fridges and the cooks’ worktops! “It’s very small here, we welcome you to our home, that’s really been it from the start, says Véronique Benoit. We are warm people and we opened a small restaurant because we like to receive! »
845 Saint-Pierre Street, Terrebonne