Certified Chef from l’Institut de Tourisme et d’Hôtellerie du Québec in both Establishment & Evolutive Cuisine.

Member in good standing of the « Société des Chefs, Cuisiniers et Pâtissiers du Québec ».

NQN and Mr NQN dined as guests of Nuances and travelled to Canada as guests of Tourism Canada. Casino de Montreal. 1, Avenue du Casino, Montreal, Quebec, H3C 4W7, Canada. Tel: +1 (514) 392 2708.

1. The Buffet La Bonne Carte is on the fifth floor of the Casino de Montreal. (To get there, take the city bus 167X from the Jean-Drapeau subway stop. When you get there, take the elevator, the floor plan will make your head spin more than a ride at nearby amusement park La Ronde).
2. One simply cannot talk about the city without discussing its most colorful restaurant. Even if you can't tell a one armed bandit from a roulette wheel, there is one sure bet at The Montreal Casino: the award winning cuisine at NUANCES' Baccara Room, one of just two 5-star restaurants in all of vast Canada.
3. Pavillon 67, buffet du casino de Montreal: Quality Sunday Brunch ( buffet) - See 185 traveler reviews, 51 candid photos, and great deals for Montreal, Canada, at Tripadvisor.

Having worked as a Chef and Sous-Chef abroad, in France, Germany and in New Zealand, I also gained experience as a chef in renowned first class Restaurants and Hotels in Montreal including the Nuances restaurant at the Casino de Montréal, ranked a five-star establishment.

Prior to starting my own catering company, I worked in both Toronto and Montreal on the sets of movie productions such as « The Blues Brothers », « Isn’t she great? » and « Where the money is ».

After 25 years in the business including 18 years specializing in motion picture catering, I still enjoy feeding the casts and crews and making sure everyone is happy.

Established in 1998, Crew Call Catering Inc. has been providing superior quality crew catering for the film industry exclusively. We are passionate about providing quality food with flair and reliability from the first day of filming to the very last day of production. Our many years in the business give us the necessary experience to meet all your expectations.

We have a very positive can do attitude. From our self-contained mobile kitchens and support vehicles, we can look after your crew anywhere, even in remote locations. We provide quality food, prepared from scratch and the menu can be tailored to your requirements

A well-fed crew is happier and more productive.

We use top quality fresh ingredients from our very dependable local suppliers.

The Quebec Film and Television Council (QFTC) is a non-profit organization whose mission is to contribute to the development of Quebec’s competitiveness as a world-class film and television production centre.

Member in good standing

of the S.C.C.P.Q.

A casino is not really the kind of place I expect to find a really lovely high end restaurant. Particularly when the path to said restaurant is littered by poker machines and similar decor. And to be honest, casinos don't hold much lure for me apart from reliving some sort of Oceans Eleven fantasy of glamour.

So we were a little surprised when we saw the dining room at Nuances at the Montreal Casino particularly after seeing the blinking assault of pokie machines on the way to the restaurant. It had huge windows, thick drapes, leather banquettes and cream all around with green accents. It was very elegant and nothing like what I thought it would look like. Interestingly, as all four casinos in Quebec are state owned this means that they show daylight and night-time outside unlike others that avoiddoing this so people pass the time gambling. You also cannot drink and gamble at the same time and there are also no taxes on wins.

I liked the sound of the 'Menu for the senses' which is five courses that are composed based on the chef's intuition. We alternate this with the five course tasting menu. We're very impressed by the depth of knowledge of the staff and how they can answer any question that we ask them and then some. They also match the courses with some excellent wines.

We start with the bread bowl which is generously portioned with three types of bread: flaxseed, Egyptian wheat and French baguette which are all lovely and fresh. But with five courses we only sample a little of each. We need stomach space!

Scallop Amuse Bouche

We're used to seeing those fat Canadian scallops and so we were a little surprised when this scallop came out as it was about half the size in thickness. But like Australia, Canada is a very large country and the fatter scallops are from the Pacific and these are more local. It is served with tomatoes, olive oil and basil. Interestingly, whilst olive oil is omnipresent in Australia, it isn't so much here as they do not produce it locally.

Tomato, gazpacho emulsion, mozarella, Alaskan crab, spicy oil with chorizo from Charlevoix

This was an interesting dish as the gazpacho was more jellied than liquid. We were supposed to dip the other ingredients into the small cup although this was not practical to do particularly with the Alaskan crab. It's also a little odd to dip buffalo mozzarella and tomato into a tiny espresso cup. However the flavours were strong and clear and the gazpacho was deliciously spicy.

_Lobster salad with fennel pannacotta (senses menu) served with Soave Classico 2007

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The first dish of the Senses menu comes out and I have a sneaking suspicion that I will love it. It's a lobster salad with a thin fennel pannacotta disc, tapioca balls, a creamy emulsion and finely diced sauteed lemon zest and dressed with delicate leaves. The lobster claw meat is beautifully cooked and is served chilled and goes very well with the subtle fennel pannacotta. There is perhaps a touch too much lemon zest as the rest of the flavours are quite mild.

Pan fried foie gras of duck, spiced roasted pineapple confit, pineapple sauce, pork caramel served with Château Villefranche Sauternes

Casino De Montreal Restaurant Nuances De

This ended up being one of my favourite dishes. the duck foie gras is nothing short of divine with it's soft texture made even more delectable by light pan frying. A duck foie gras is said to be better to sear at high temperatures than goose foie gras. As they set the plate down the first thing I think of is dessert as there is a subtle but very persistent aroma of vanilla along with the pineapple as well as a sweetish cab sauvignon sauce drawn on in long strokes. It is finished off with a vealstock jus which along with the foie gras saves it from being a dessert. And it goes absolutely wonderfully with the honeyed sauternes.

Sardine with chermoula (Senses Menu) served with Chambolle Musigny m. doudet-naudin

The sardine was stuffed with a heady, flavoursome chermoula. I'm not usually a sardine lover, I'll eat them but I'll rarely choose them but this is really good as the flavoursome chermoula helps to balance the extreme fishiness of the sardines. It comes with with sweet red peppers and eggplant caviar.

Tandoori flavoured quail a la plancha, organic yogurt and raita, fennel salad

I don't mind the tandoori flavoured quail but I don't feel that it goes that well with the fennel and grape salad and I eat them separately

Filet Mignon Sushi (Senses Menu)

We were both looking forward to this sushi. The raw filet mignon is wrapped around sushi rice and it sits on a bed of horseradish and red pepper mayonnaise and is topped by tempura crumbs. The only thing is that I wish there were slightly more tempura crumbs as the soft and crunchy sensation is delightful, other it is another favourite.

Quebec Lamb chops flavoured with Ethiopian spices, creamy quinoa with yellow beet juice, seasonal vegetables and lamb jus

This was a very generous served of local Quebec lamb cutlets rolled in Ethiopian spices. It is served with a nutty quinoa risotto which is creamy and cheesy. There are also seasonal vegetables like tiny golden and purple beetroot.

_Guinea hen with foie gras served with Do ut des from Fattoria Carpineta Fontalpino

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The pieces of guinea hen are a tad dry and paired with minted basil guacamole which I don't really go for. It is served with foie gras, bok choy and wild asparagus.

Casino De Montreal Restaurant Nuances En

Moist chocolate cake and milk chocolate mousse, fermented milk ice cream and Jivara chocolate crisp.

Dessert time! The chocolate cake has a layer of rich chocolate sponge on the bottom and a light chocolate mousse on top. It is draped in chocolate and has a crisp, thin rectangle of chocolate on top. The ice cream is intriguing, it's made from 'Lait de Petit Beurre' which means 'milk of small butter' which has no flavour but gives it a creaminess. It is like a yogurt icecream in flavour_. _

Strawberry mascarpone parfait

My favourite dessert however is the strawberry mascarpone parfait with butter crumble, Quebec strawberry sauce, pistachio crumbs and meringue straws. The cooked strawberries are sweet and go perfectly with the creamy parfait log and sweet meringue straws.

I ask Mr NQN what he thought of the meal and he replies simply 'Sensationelle!'

So tell me Dear Reader, do you visit casinos much?

NQN and Mr NQN dined as guests of Nuances and travelled to Canada as guests of Tourism Canada

Nuances

Casino De Montreal Restaurant Nuances De La

Casino de Montreal

1, Avenue du Casino, Montreal, Quebec, H3C 4W7, Canada

Casino De Montreal Restaurant Nuances Du

Tel: +1 (514) 392 2708