Q & A with Le Club Chasse Et Peche

HM: Hubert Marsolais

CP: Chef Claude Pelletier

PB: Sommelier Philippe Boisvert

Q. Please tell us about Le Club Chasse et Peche (Hunting and Fishing Club)?

A. Le Club Chasse et Pêche is a restaurant that opened on December 31st, 2004 in the premise of an Old Montreal institution named Le Fadeau that operated from 1965 to 1994. The building was then left empty for 10 years until 2004. We integrated Le Fadeau's logo in our coat of arms to pay respect to the past. The interest for me was its particular style of hospitality architecture which belongs to another era with its secluded areas, privacy, and low ceilings. A space that does not open itself to first sight, one that was going against the very 90's broad and open space tendency. The idea was to keep the history alive without compromising contemporaneity.

The result is definitely something polar, sort of a private club mood with real contemporary art, custom glass and ceramic light fixtures, ceiling tapestry with stone walls, embossed leather bar and stucco details. (HM)

Q. How did the three of you (Hubert, Claude, and Philippe) join forces?

A. Claude and I came from Montreal's restaurant scene and were teamed up together by a third partner (from whom we finally separated) to open Cube restaurant in 2001, which we sold in 2004. Most of Cube's crew followed us to Le Club Chasse et Pêche's new venture, and among them Philippe Boisvert, who first worked with us as a sommelier at Cube in 2002 and then took charge of the whole wine operations around 2003 and still is my buyer to this day. As a matter of fact, I am planning to integrate Philippe as a partner in our next project, soon to be open in Old Montreal again. It is building at the moment and I am anxious to present it publicly in the near future. (HM)

Q. What are your signature dishes?

A. Two items that have never left Le Club Chasse et Pêche menus:

Suckling Pig Risotto

With foie gras shavings along with a seared scallops, fennel purée and lemon confit emulsion. The risotto dish was created at Cube in 2003 and we used to pair it at the time with a Nebbiolo Barbera (80 %/20 %) blend 1998 from Rocce Dei Manzoni, which we used to carry by the glass.

Chasse et Pêche

It’s brings new school variations on the surf and turf theme. (HM)

Q. Is there a particular style of food or focus that drives the restaurant?

A. Claude has a distinctive, natural and very accurate style of cuisine. A cuisine with great textures, tremendous intensity and balance. We wanted to work with great ingredients without overdoing multiplicity of flavors and presentations. (HM)

Q. Does that focus also continue over to the wine list?  

A. When we first opened, the wine list was rather short and I would say the "vin nature" trend (mainly organic and no sulfite wines) counted for a good part of the selection. With time, the wine list got perhaps a bit more "mainstream"- covering pretty much all the great wine appellations of the world. Our true love is Burgundy (pinot noir), Piemonte and the Chablis region. Of course, these three regions are very well represented on our wine list. (PB)

Q. What’s your favorite dish and wine pairing at the moment?

A.

Seared Scallops &  Riesling

Seared scallops, fennel purée, lemon confit and Dönnhoff, Nahe, Riesling Spätlese “Kreuznacher Krötenpfuhl” 2007. (PB)

Having this dish on the menu since the opening gave us the time to pretty much understand what works best with it: a white, aromatic wine with ideally a bit of residual sugar. The Dönnhoff has all that, plus a great complexity. Truly great paring!

Piglet Risotto & Costières de Nîmes

Braised piglet risotto, foie gras shavings and Michel Gassier, Costières de Nîmes « Lou Coucardié » 2004.

Same thing could apply with the piglet risotto since it has been on the menu for over four years. A lot of people could naturally go for a light, supple red. I really prefer a rich, slightly nutty white wine. Michel Gassier's best barrels of Grenache Blanc and Roussane is really terrific with it. Sometimes, we even pair it with a Chardonnay or Sauvignon from the Jura.

Broiled Tuna & Burgundy

Lightly broiled tuna, Serrano ham, fiddlehead fern and Rebourgeon-Mure, Beaune « les Vignes Franches » 2005.

Tuna: here's the time for a nice Pinot Noir! This Beaune has had just enough bottle time to soften up a bit. The Serrano ham gives the tuna just a bit of "meatiness" that suits the lightly spicy notes of this cru. (PB)

Q. Your restaurant has been described as luxurious and high end, but there seems to be a hip quotient as well. How do you achieve this balance?

A. Humanly skilled crew, multi-faceted crowd, and Mister Boisvert's eclectic musical selection. Lots of quality dub, balanced like a Nuits from Chevillon, which is loved by all, from 20 year old punters to the elderly. (HM)

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