“I moved here in 1966 to set up the restaurants in the French Pavilion [at Expo 67]. In fact, my plan was to start in Quebec, and then travel around the world to see the different types of food being made in places like South America and Asia. But I never left. It was a turning point in my career, because I had never seen anything like that before: 55 million people in 6 months.

At that time in Montreal, there were four so-called “continental” or European-style restaurants. Four, not five, four! They were located in grand hotels, when these hotels had fancy dining rooms. When families wanted to celebrate something, they would go to a grand hotel like the Queen Elizabeth, the Château Champlain, or the Sheraton-Mt. Royal. Diners looking for haute cuisine would find it at these hotels.”

– Jean-Paul Grappe

Jean-Paul Grappe

Jean-Paul Grappe began cooking at 14 in France. At 24, he came to Canada to run the food service at the French pavilion during Expo 67 in Montreal, where he fell in love with Quebec and stayed. For 18 years, Chef Grappe helmed iconic Montreal restaurants, including La Marée, Le Kir and La Brioche Lyonnaise, helping shape some of the country’s most eminent expressions of French cuisine. In 1984, he joined the Institut de tourisme et d’hôtellerie du Québec as an instructor, training a new generation of chefs for over 20 years.

A pioneer in championing Quebec ingredients, he introduced his students to local producers and organized farm visits, encouraging them to think about the origins of food long before it was popular. Grappe has also appeared on radio and television, contributed to publications, and published 10 cookbooks, including La cuisine traditionnelle du Québec. 

In 2011, he was named a Knight of the Ordre national du Québec. Now retired, Grappe continues to teach in the Far North, write weekly columns and spend his summers in the Magdalen Islands, where he advises restauranteurs.

On the Menu – Montreal: A Restaurant Story

The exhibition On the Menu – Montreal: A Restaurant Story celebrates Montreal’s extraordinarily diverse and inventive food scene from the 1960s to today. Featuring a wealth of audiovisual testimonials, photographs, archives and objects displayed in an evocative setting, the exhibition highlights the evolution of Montreal restaurants, be they delis or fine dining establishments, and their crucial role in shaping the identity of both the city and province.