In a city that takes eating more seriously than religion, two high-profile chefs are doing what could be regarded as heresy: They're launching a restaurant based on a TV show.
Inspired by Iron Chef, the Japanese cooking show with a cult following, chefs Laurent Godbout and David Biron plan to open the restaurant Duel later this summer. Diners will pick dishes from rival menus prepared by the two chefs and, at the end of the evening, vote on their preferences.
Mr. Godbout, named chef of the year in 2006 by La Société des chefs, cuisiniers et pâtissiers du Québec, will prepare modern French and Mediterranean dishes in the style of his two popular Montreal restaurants, Chez L'Épicier and Version. Mr. Biron, who ran the kitchen at sushi restaurants Soto in Montreal and Yuzu in Quebec City, will do Asian preparations.
The concept may sound flaky, but Mr. Godbout has a strong history of adding whimsy to serious eating. "This isn't Toronto where people go to restaurants to talk business," he says. "Montrealers go out to have a good time."
Mr. Godbout has become known for dishes such as a chocolate club sandwich with pineapple fries and melon slaw or a bloody caesar salad - a plate of fat clams accompanied by tomato confit, chopped celery, Tabasco sauce, sour cream and a spray of vodka.
But he acknowledges Montreal diners are wary of eateries high on concept and low on food quality.
"The food must be excellent or people won't come," he says.
Both men are fans of the TV show Iron Chef, which first aired in Japanese and has been dubbed in English.
On the show, competing chefs cook a multicourse meal using a theme ingredient. A panel of judges selects the winner based on which contestant creates the most appealing dishes.
The American version, Iron Chef America, is currently one of top-rated shows on the Food Network.
The two Montreal chefs say their restaurant will have a relaxed atmosphere rather than the frenzied competition from the show.
"There are no prizes," Mr. Biron says. "It's just for fun."
Still, both chefs know they will have to convince diners to give them a chance. Montreal is currently in a bistro craze, with diners clamouring for well-done classics such as confit de canard and crème brûlée over more expensive innovations.
Dishes at Duel will be more whimsical.
"We want people to be talking about what they saw and ate the next day," Mr. Godbout says.
The competing menus offer each chef's version of 10 ingredients, with haute cuisine staples such as foie gras and organic salmon, as well as fanciful offerings such as appetizers of edible flowers or desserts made from cherry tomatoes.
Mr. Biron, for example, will do a seared foie gras appetizer served on a bed of dates, with a sauce of coriander and soy milk infused with sake.
Mr. Godbout's foie gras will be prepared torchon-style and covered in raspberry jelly, served like a bonbon on a stick of rock candy.
Diners can pick an appetizer from one menu and an entrée or dessert from the other and vote on their preferred chef at the end of the evening.
Once a month, Mr. Godbout and Mr. Biron will move their kitchen to the middle of the restaurant to perform for patrons.
The 40-seat restaurant, located in the Gay Village, will be divided in two, each chef claiming half the room.
Diners on Mr. Biron's side will be seated at a single communal table while those preferring traditional two- or four-seaters can dine on Mr. Godbout's side.
In the bathrooms, hands will be washed in a stream of water gushing from the ceiling while videos of the duelling chefs can be viewed on a flat-screen TV hung above the toilet.
"We are going to have so much fun," Mr. Godbout says.