Daniel Boulud announces new Montreal resto, joins long line of Michelin-starred chefs to snub Toronto
First Jean-Georges Vongerichten, then Daniel Boulud, then Gordon Ramsay, and now Daniel Boulud again. That’s three Michelin-starred celebrity chefs that have passed over Toronto to open Canadian outposts in Vancouver and Montreal. Boulud (who made his name at Le Cirque and Daniel, among others) announced today that he would open a new restaurant, Maison Boulud, at the Ritz-Carlton in Montreal.
The announcement comes after his two Vancouver restaurants, DB Bistro Moderne and Lumière, were shuttered after short, two-year stints (Dale MacKay, of Top Chef Canada fame, was the chef de cuisine at Lumière). At the time, Chowhound rumours emerged suggesting that the celebrated chef was in talks with Toronto’s Four Seasons Hotel. While Boulud confirmed he was “looking closely” at Toronto, there is no concrete news on that front. Maison Boulud is set to open in early 2012 and will coincide with a $150 million renovation to the Ritz-Carlton Montreal. At least we still have the bragging rights for nabbing David Chang first.
• Daniel Boulud Opening a Maison Boulud in Montreal [Eater]
• Star chef Daniel Boulud to open Montreal restaurant [Globe and Mail]
![](http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=https://torontolife.com/food/daniel-boulud-announces-new-montreal-resto-joins-long-line-of-michelin-starred-chefs-to-snub-toronto/&title=Daniel Boulud announces new Montreal resto, joins long line of Michelin-starred chefs to snub Toronto&picture=https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/daniel-boulud.jpg&description=[caption id="attachment_65394" align="alignleft" width="208" caption="Daniel Boulud at his eponymous restaurant in New York (Image: winestem)"][/caption]
First Jean-Georges Vongerichten, then Daniel Boulud, then Gordon Ramsay, and now Daniel Boulud again. That’s three Michelin-starred celebrity chefs that have passed over Toronto to open Canadian outposts in Vancouver and Montreal. Boulud (who made his name at Le Cirque and Daniel, among others) announced today that he would open a new restaurant, Maison Boulud, at the Ritz-Carlton in Montreal.
The announcement comes after his two Vancouver restaurants, DB Bistro Moderne and Lumière, were shuttered after short, two-year stints (Dale MacKay, of Top Chef Canada fame, was the chef de cuisine at Lumière). At the time, Chowhound rumours emerged suggesting that the celebrated chef was in talks with Toronto’s Four Seasons Hotel. While Boulud confirmed he was “looking closely” at Toronto, there is no concrete news on that front. Maison Boulud is set to open in early 2012 and will coincide with a $150 million renovation to the Ritz-Carlton Montreal. At least we still have the bragging rights for nabbing David Chang first.
• Daniel Boulud Opening a Maison Boulud in Montreal [Eater]
• Star chef Daniel Boulud to open Montreal restaurant [Globe and Mail]){kind=link}
OH WELL TORONTO DINERS MAKE IT VERY DIFFICULT FOR HIGH END RESTAURANTS TO SURVIVE ….. WHY …. THEY WONT PAY SIMPLE AS THAT , SO HES RIGHT FOR PASSING ON T.O.
WE LIKE CASUAL PIZZA, PASTA , CHINESE , DIMSUM , GREEK PLACES, NAME 3 HIGH END PLACES IN TORONTO THAT HAVE SURVIVED MORE THAN 10 YEARS?????/
Centro, North 44, Scaramouche, Chiado, Auberge du Pommier, Opus, Splendido
not quite sure if any of those restaurants are on the same level as Daniel
Michael, turn your caps lock off.
These people are businessmen and I’m sure they have reasons for what they’re doing. To consider this a snub I think means Toronto thinks a little too highly of itself.
To chef…while the restaurants listed by “food person” may not be in the same level as Daniel, you have to compare them to what he plans to open in Montreal. We’re not sure how high end Maison Boulud is going to be. No matter, David Chang is probably the more important/relevant chef these days anyways, and we got him first.
And if they think canoe is good they have no taste buds either…
There are lots of very good places to eat in Toronto, but I’ve never had quite the sort of dining experience as I have had at restaurants in Montreal or New York except at Avalon (when it closed, I made sure to go there for a meal during the last week it was open – the comments at the time about the decision to close it to open the more casual Cava speak to Toronto’s attitude toward fine dining…). Those cities have restaurants one makes a genuine effort to get to to have a great dining experience. I can’t think of any Toronto restaurant with that same cachet.
I don’t just mean great food, I mean a certain “feeling” that the restauranteur wanted people to experience that food and with genuinely pleasant staff who were neither obsequious nor pretentious (a big failing for North 44 the few times I’ve been there, and I’ve never found the food there that good either considering the prices). Chiado, Bistro Thuet (when it existed), Bistro 990, and Beer Bistro (hmm, must be something about restaurants with “Bistro” in the name!) are the only Toronto restaurants that sprung to mind as the types of places with that feeling and very good food where I’d be happy to take a visiting “foodie” even though they’re not/weren’t that formal (though much as I like them, their food is not on the level of a place like the late Avalon or Montreal’s late Toque).
Canoe.