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Clients often wonder how I come up with new dishes every season.

Theoretically, creativity is simply a mental exercise: Take existing ideas and innovate. Practically, it is one of the biggest challenges for a chef.

But there are many ways to stimulate creativity. Research is one of them - chef Ferran Adria's use of molecular gastronomy is a good example of the effort my colleagues will invest to reinvent what can be done in the kitchen. Dialogue with local producers is also key to coming up with fresh combinations.

I particularly enjoy sparking my creativity by travelling around the world and exchanging ideas with other chefs.

The goal isn't to copy their dishes, but rather to see how ideas and techniques from elsewhere can be adapted to Toqué!'s philosophy and Quebec's unique ingredients.

It also allows me to bring my staff to another kitchen and expose them to other teams and their savoir faire.

While it isn't easy to leave the restaurant for a few days - clients often expect to see me in the kitchen day and night - I try to remind myself that I need time outside Toqué! to come up with new, distinct dishes on a regular basis.

So at the beginning of November, I will travel to Europe with my chef de cuisine, Charles-Antoine, to be the guest chef at Ikarus, the restaurant of the Hangar-7 museum owned by Red Bull in Salzburg, Austria.

Ikarus has a unique concept: "Some restaurants have a menu that changes every month, but there is only one where the chef changes every month."

Every month, a different renowned chef is invited to present his or her cuisine at the restaurant for three days. Then, Ikarus executive chef Roland Trettl and his brigade replicate the menu for the rest of the month.

To prepare, Mr. Trettl spends a week at the guest chef's restaurant. When Mr. Trettl came to Toqué! in July, I took him to many of my producers' farms and gardens, where he was smitten with our province's fresh herbs, vegetables and wild fruits. (He also enjoyed the nightlife!)

At the end of the year, all of Ikarus's guest chefs from the past 12 months are invited to create a tasting menu collectively, each contributing a signature dish. An accompanying book and DVD is produced.

Susur Lee and Rob Feenie have represented Canada in the past. As the first chef invited from Quebec, I wanted my menu to reflect the originality of the province. And while Mr. Trettl was in Montreal, I went out more then I usually do (to entertain my guest, of course!) and ended up putting into practice another method to remain creative: Have fun with great friends, have a couple of drinks and change the world.

Okay, so we didn't change the world.

But we had a good time and many drinks - which in turn led to the creation of the following recipe, a clin d'oeil to Hangar-7's owner, and a reminder that Quebeckers like to eat and drink well.

PRINCESS SCALLOPS WITH RED BULL AND VODKA

What you need
16 small scallops (keep shells)
60 millilitres minced shallots
Salt and pepper to taste
45 millilitres vodka
60 millilitres Red Bull
Extra virgin olive oil
8 small strawberries, quartered 3 small basil leaves per shell
Osetra caviar

LIME FOAM

What you do

Slice scallops into three horizontal slices and place in a bowl. Add shallots and season liberally with salt and pepper. Marinate with vodka and half of the Red Bull. Gently toss. Place three slices of scallop toward the front of each shell. Add about a teaspoon of Red Bull to the shell, followed by some olive oil. Add 2 quarters of strawberry and the basil leaves. Spoon a small amount of caviar, top with lime foam and enjoy. Serves 4.

Lime Foam

What you need
2.5 sheets gelatin
150 millilitres lime juice
250 millilitres water
Salt to taste

What you do

Soak gelatin in cold water and set aside. Mix lime juice with water and season with salt (this needs to be quite acidic and well seasoned). Squeeze excess water from gelatin and discard water. Heat one quarter of the lime juice and water mix to just before boiling and transfer to a bowl. Add sheets of gelatin and whisk in the rest of the juice mixture. Transfer to a foamer bottle. Add two cartridges of gas and leave in the fridge for at least six hours.

Normand Laprise is co-owner and head chef of Toqué! in Montreal.

*****

Beppi's wine matches

Vodka, a spirit too popular in bars and not popular enough at the table, is perfect for this playfully inspired dish. An icy-cold shot of the good stuff, such as Grey Goose, Effen, Pravda or Roberto Cavalli, would echo the spirit in the dish. It also would be a subtle backdrop for the caviar and citrus flavours. As a second choice, consider a high-quality, cold sake such as Green River Snow-Aged Rice Wine ($33.95/720 millilitres).

Beppi Crosariol