Here's what we have in store for you in this edition of Fast Delivery: a visit to the new Indo-Chinese restaurant Oorja and another to the Laboratoire Nord café-buvette as well as a meeting with chef Pierre-Olivier Pelletier, one of the five best young leaders in the world.
First, this visit to the new Indian-Chinese restaurant Oorja, located in the Saint-Henri district of Montreal. This offers a luxurious dining experience in these times of inflation. Owner Charan Vaddadi aims to present Hakka cuisine in a refined way, although this style is generally considered street food in India. Charan, who earned his master's degree in building engineering at Concordia, long dreamed of opening his own restaurant after working at Wienstein & Gavino's, but first pursued a career in his field of study in Ottawa. The pandemic led him to India, where he honed his culinary skills and decided to pursue his dream. Returning to Canada, he worked at Otto Yakitori before finding the restaurant's current location. Chef Camara Boodram, originally from Trinidad and Tobago, is in charge of the kitchen. The restaurant offers a variety of creative cocktails and a selection of wines. Charan also plans to add seafood to the fall menu, enticing customers to return to Oorja, which is open Tuesday through Sunday, including for weekday lunch.
Then, the Nord Culinary Laboratory, a new café-buvette on the South Shore of Montreal, offers dishes inspired by the restaurants of the Nordic Strøm spa, led by chef Raphaël Podlasiewicz. Customers can preview the brigade's creations before they appear in the restaurants of the Strøm Nordic spa. The menu focuses on Nordic, healthy, local and seasonally evolving dishes, with a variety of options from morning pastries to seasonal evening cocktails. The café is located in the former Fourquet Fourchette building in Chambly. The dishes are delicious, showcasing ingredients like heirloom tomatoes and agnolotti, while skillfully incorporating mushrooms. The portions are moderate in size, ideal for a happy hour or a break after a walk in Chambly.
Finally, Pierre-Olivier Pelletier, originally from Saint-Éloi, took part in an international culinary competition in Milan, presenting a signature dish based on lacquered cans made with local products. Although he did not win the grand prize, he finished among the top five competitors and received praise from the judges for the quality of his presentation. The chef, revealed to the general public in 2015 thanks to his participation in the show “Les Chefs”, sees this experience as a springboard for his career, anticipating an increase in attendance at his restaurant, the Kébec Club Privé in Quebec, and planning to share his expertise in restaurants around the world.
