On the Menu

Home to nearly 5,000 active restaurants—about a third of all those in Quebec—Montreal has truly earned its reputation as a North American food capital. It’s a city to explore one bite at a time!

The word “restaurant” comes from the French verb restaurer, meaning “to restore” or “to heal.” We still use this verb today—including at the Museum!—to describe the process of restoring artefacts to their former state. The term comes from restaurants  bouillons, establishments serving broths with restorative properties that first emerged in Paris in the late 18th century.

Among the city’s seemingly eternal snack bars, the title of longest-lived goes to the Montreal Pool Room, which has reached the venerable age of 113 (founded in 1912)! It’s followed by Dunn’s (1927), Schwartz’s (1928), Dilallo Burger (1929), Wilensky’s (1932), Gibeau Orange Julep (1938), La Binerie Mont-Royal (1938), Beauty’s Luncheonette (1942), Snowdon Deli (1946), Greenspot (1947) and St-Hubert BBQ (1951).

Until 1981, women were banned from taverns in Quebec. Only men were able to watch the sports events televised there. La Cage – Brasserie sportive (formerly La Cage aux Sports) changed the game by welcoming women and families to dine while watching the match.

Two quintessentially Quebec elements are behind the rise of home delivery: hockey and snowstorms. When these two “cataclysms” struck on a Saturday night, restaurant dining rooms were left empty. Delivery became a clever way to keep business going—and to feed sports fans while they stayed warm at home. Before the 60s, food delivery was rare. St-Hubert was one of the first restaurants to popularize this service in Quebec.

When the exhibition On the Menu – Montreal: A Restaurant Story was in the planning stages, the Museum developed strategies to reduce its environmental impact that were implemented during production. For example, the Museum’s existing stock of materials provided most of the elements used in the exhibition design: picture rails, benches, exhibition supports, and most of the display cases, with just one case purpose-built for the project. Decorative furnishings like counters and tabletops were created for the exhibition, but these new structures will be added to the Museum’s inventory for use in future exhibitions. Decorative items were purchased second hand. All of the multimedia equipment used in the exhibition (screens, projectors, headphones, sound monitors and computers) came from the Museum’s inventory.

The exhibition texts were printed on new self-adhesive vinyl, as were the striped wallpaper and some of the labels. In accordance with the Museum’s Sustainable Development Policy, community involvement was vital to this project as it focussed on inclusion, collaboration and local knowledge. The Museum invited both the public and its staff to help by collecting objects, such as cooking pots, and sharing their memories of Montreal restaurants. Furthermore, members of the restaurant sector played a prominent role in developing the exhibition content by contributing personal stories, insights, and viewpoints, which has greatly enriched the museum experience. This participatory approach has helped strengthen the ties between the Museum and the Montreal restaurant community, while encouraging the reuse and promotion of local resources and knowledge.

In white: Walls and furnishings taken from the Museum’s inventory.
In yellow: Furnishing made from new materials that will be added to the Museum’s inventory

The Museum would like to thank its team and all the individuals, institutions and organizations who have contributed towards the presentation of this exhibition.

An exhibition produced by the McCord Stewart Museum. Based on an idea by Lesley Chesterman

Project Management
Catherine K. Laflamme, Senior Project Manager, Exhibitions

Curatorship
Guislaine Lemay, Curator, Material Culture

Scenario
Olivier Kemeid
With the assistance of Gwenaëlle Reyt, Guislaine Lemay, Catherine K. Laflamme and Annie-Pier Brunelle

Exhibition Texts
Olivier Kemeid

Scientific Consulting
Gwenaëlle Reyt, PhD, Executive Director, Lauriers de la gastronomie québécoise, Counsellor on Food Cultural Approaches, Conseil des appellations réservées et des termes valorisants, Lecturer and Researcher, ITHQ

Audiovisual Elements
Stéphanie Poisson, Head, Digital Outreach, Collections and Exhibitions

Exhibition Design
Guillaume Kukucka

Graphic Design
David Martin

Advisory Committee
Roxanne Arsenault, co-author of Kitsch QC (Montreal: Fides, 2021), Director of Artistic Programming, Battat Art Centre
Julia Csergo, PhD, researcher in the history of food and food heritage, adjunct professor in the Department of Urban Studies and Tourism, ESG UQAM
Caroline Dubuc, co-author of Kitsch QC (Montreal: Fides, 2021), Design Commissioner, City of Montreal Bureau du design
Alain Girard, PhD, sociologist, associate professor and researcher, ITHQ – GastronomiQC Lab
Laurence Hamel-Charest, PhD, anthropologist, researcher in Indigenous food cultures, notably restaurants
Alan Nash, PhD, Professor Emeritus, Department of Geography, Planning and Environment, Concordia University, research topics: cultural geography; Montreal restaurants
Patrick St-Vincent, Senior Director, Development Strategy and Business Relations, La Table Ronde

McCord Stewart Museum Team

Pascale Grignon, Senior Director, Programs and Engagement

François Vallée, Head, Exhibitions
Annie-Pier Brunelle, Intern and Assistant, Exhibitions

Mélissa Jacques, Supervisor, Technical Services, Exhibitions
Olivier LeBlanc-Roy, Technician, Exhibitions
Eugénie Bonneville, Technician, Exhibitions
Siloë Leduc, Technician, Exhibitions
Joëlle Blanchette, Technician, Exhibitions
Marie David, Intern, Exhibitions

Caterina Florio, Head, Conservation
Sara Serban, Conservator
Maria Castaneda Delgado, Conservator
Sonia Kata, Conservator
Caroline Bourgeois, Conservation Assistant

Karine Rousseau, Head, Collections Management
Geneviève Déziel, Cataloguing Coordinator, Collections Management
Camille Deshaies-Forget, Assistant, Collections Management

Heather McNabb, Reference Archivist, Archives and Documentation Centre
Josianne Venne, Senior Technician, Collections Management
Lorie-Anne Chamberland, Technician, Collections Management

Laura Dumitriu, Senior Photographer
Anne-Frédérique Beaulieu, Officer, Digital Outreach, Collections and Exhibitions

Maria-Luisa Romano, Head, Education, Community Engagement and Cultural Programs
Elysa Lachapelle, Project Manager, Education, Community Engagement and Cultural Programs
Leïla Afriat, Officer, Community Relations
Facilitator Team

Catherine Morellon, Head, Communications
Charlie Touikan, Officer, Publicity, Promotions and Partnerships
Sabrina Lorier, Manager, Digital Engagement
Anne-Marie Demers, Graphic Designer
Marc-André Champagne, Officer, Public Relations
Philippe Bergeron, Officer, Digital Engagement

External Team

Video Editing and Creation
Louis-Martin Duval
Tomi Grgicevic
The Main

Recording and Soundtrack
Vincent Cardinal

Voices
Simon Bouchard
Howard Chackowicz

Research
Annick Brabant
Amélie Masson-Labonté

Editing and Translation

Edith Skewes-Cox, English
Pascale Guertin, French

Lighting Design
LightFactor Inc.

Graphic Production
Pro Séri

Construction of Exhibition Modules
ACMÉ décor inc.
Vincent Houle

Installation
Espace Montage

Audiovisual Installation
Éric Fauque
Eric Le Brech

Photography
Scott Usheroff @cravingcurator

Painting
René Gauthier
Lili Provost
Gabriel
Joseph Bouchard

We would like to thank the following individuals for their generosity and invaluable assistance
Swaneige Bertrand
Lesley Chesterman
Jean-Paul Grappe
Jean-Thomas Jobin

Donations and Loans
Our sincere thanks to all the generous individuals who loaned objects and shared stories.

Nathalie Bandulet
Laurent Blais
Marc Bolay
Christopher Burns
Lyne Chagnon
Marie Chevrier
Anne-Laure Cissé
Marc Cohen
David Connor
Binidza Cruz
Anne-Emmanuelle Cyrenne
Ursula Carmichael
Anne Fortin
Laurent Farre
Sandra Ferreira
Alain Gauthier
Marjorie D. Cooper Gawley
Jessica Geddes
Anna Goodson
Anthoni Jodoin
Wahid Khan
Cindy Labranche
Mariette Lafontaine
Philippe Laloux
Diane Landurie
Sibylle Landurie
Helen Langguth
Normand Laprise
Rita Lavoie
Day’s Lee
Patricia Lévêque
Maria Liguori
Jamie Lovell
James MacGuire
Harry Marciano
François Marchal
Gaétan McLaughlin
Normand Laprise
Frédéric Morin
Antonin Mousseau-Rivard
Marlène Paradis
Bob Parent
Anne Park
Caroline Paulvé
Claude Pelletier
Cynthia Pelland
Martin Picard
Marie Pigelet
Jezabel Pilon
Johanne Pilon-Vallée
Marie-Claude Poucan
Shawn Rosengarten
Émile Saine
Francisco Silva
Ezra Soiferman
Matt Soar
Karen Tam
Patrick Thibault
Josée Vaillancourt
Sharon Wilensky
Zoya de Frias
Anthony Zammit
Benoit Dessureault

Vox pop interviewees
Mehr Bakhsh
Serge Bergevin
Daniel Bromberg
Arnaud Casera
Augustine Castonguay
Matthew DeCaro
Leanne D’Antoni
Fleurine Noel Djidere
Ava Farivar
Garrett Gordon
Peter Hickson
Adrienn Janics
Pascaline Knight
Marianne K Laflamme
Liane Laroche-Guilbeault
Christina Lee
Paul Le Boclaire
Laurianne Lucas
Isabelle Marleau
Esther Kadidia
Cali Nadon
Richard Nantel
Denis Pelchat
Gabriel Pelletier
Alice Tremblay
Gabryel Thibeault
Fanny Thauvette
Guy Thauvette
Cécile Vigneau-Simms
Ethan Vranic

Olivier Kemeid is a writer, director, actor and artistic director of the theatre company Trois Tristes Tigres. A leading figure in Quebec’s theatre scene, he served as artistic director of Espace Libre from 2006 to 2010 and of Théâtre de Quat’Sous from 2016 to 2023. He has written around 15 plays, many of which have been translated and performed internationally. Four of his works have been nominated for the Governor General’s Literary Awards: La vengeance et l’oubli (Leméac, 2024), Five Kings (Leméac, 2015), Moi, dans les ruines rouges du siècle (Leméac, 2013) and L’Énéide (Lansman, 2008 / Leméac, 2019). Translations of L’Énéide have been performed on major international stages, including in Potsdam (Hans Otto Teater), Rome (Teatro di Roma), Canada (Stratford Festival) and New York (Theater at St Clement’s). His play Moi, dans les ruines rouges du siècle won the 2012 award from the Association québécoise des critiques de théâtre for best production in Montreal. Throughout his career, Kemeid has collaborated with some of the most influential voices in contemporary theatre, including Wajdi Mouawad (Nous qui ne rêvions plus), Robert Lepage (Projet Riopelle) and Denis Marleau (Le vieux monde derrière nous).

Guislaine Lemay joined the Museum in 1992, working primarily with the Indigenous Cultures collection. She studied anthropology and archeology and holds a master’s degree in ethnohistory from Université de Montréal. In 2010, she took charge of the Museum’s Decorative Arts collection. In 2016, with funding from Quebec’s digital culture plan, she took part in a major digitization project to photograph pieces of glassware and ceramics from the Museum’s collection. In 2019, she was named Curator of Material Culture, a collection created following the merger of the McCord Museum and the Stewart Museum. This extensive collection consists of artefacts that illustrate domestic interiors, scientific advances, community life and consumption habits. The range of objects includes furniture, items related to food preparation, interior decoration and household management, numismatic materials, terrestrial globes and navigation instruments, hunting, fishing and sporting equipment, weapons and objets d’art.

Gwenaëlle Reyt is an expert on cultural approaches to food.

She holds a doctorate in urban studies and focuses on Montreal restaurants and Quebec’s culinary identity. She works as executive director of the Lauriers de la gastronomie québécoise while continuing to collaborate with several institutions, including the ITHQ and the Conseil des appellations réservées et des termes valorisants (CARTV).