MONTREAL, August 23, 2021 - The City of Montreal is investing $ 1M in the creation of an Office montréalais de la gastronomie, in collaboration with Tourisme Montréal. This project is part of the $ 25 million economic recovery plan, a quarter of which is devoted to the restaurant sector. A new structure of this kind, the Office montréalais de la gastronomie will facilitate collaboration and joint actions, for the benefit of businesses in the sector.
In order to develop and promote Montreal's unique culinary qualities, all the players in the gastronomy ecosystem will be called upon to contribute: producers, processors, restaurateurs, chefs, educational establishments, conference organizers, cruises. , artisans, traders, associations and many others. The actions will make it possible in particular to showcase the quality and variety of local Quebec products, the large pool of talented chefs and the diversity of local businesses and artisans in the metropolis.
“Gastronomy is in our DNA and we are proud to invest in the development of our gastronomic capital, the Office montréalais de la gastronomie that we are announcing, aims to make Montreal THE gastronomic capital in North America. Montreal is one of the Canadian cities with the most aid programs for the retail and restaurant sectors. $ 5 million dedicated specifically to catering has already been invested by the City of Montreal with the Minister of the Economy and Innovation as part of the Downtown Recovery Plan. The sum of $ 1 million that we are adding today complements the funding announced last April to support this sector, which is essential to the vitality of the city and which has been one of the most affected by the pandemic and health measures ”, said the mayoress of Montreal, Valérie Plante.
“The quality and diversity of the culinary offer has become a source of pride and a major attraction for our tourist destination. Montreal has the potential to become the North American capital of gastronomy since it is full of talented chefs and has access to a variety of fresh local products varying with the seasons. The creation of an Office montréalais de la gastronomie will give us the means of our ambitions by being a major support of the City of Montreal to the actors of the culinary ecosystem. This commitment is a strong signal to restaurateurs in our city, reaffirms the leadership of our organization and supports our tourism sector hit by the pandemic. With a presence in all Montreal neighborhoods, this initiative will contribute as much to enhancing the experience of local visitors as to attracting foodie tourists from overseas, ”enthuses Yves Lalumière, President and CEO of Tourisme Montréal.
“As Executive Director of the ITHQ, President of the Board of Directors of Culture Montreal and Destination Canada, I am delighted with the creation of an Office Montréalais de la Gastronomie. Over the years, Montreal has become a popular and daring gastronomic destination, it is time to make it the gastronomic capital of North America! At the ITHQ, the largest hotel school in the country, we train a passionate succession to whom we wish opportunities commensurate with their talent. In the current context, we are delighted that this new project is helping to make the restaurant industry more attractive, to promote its trades and professions and to perpetuate the sector. ” - The Honorable Liza Frulla, C.P., C.M., O.Q., Director General of the ITHQ.
Make gastronomy a lever of international influence
The Office's mission will be to mobilize and organize the key gastronomy sector in order to support its strategic development and its international influence. It will implement a governance structure bringing together the players in the sector and an action plan so that the industry can provide answers to the challenges of the sector. Its actions will aim in particular to:
Facilitate partnerships to create projects allowing the deployment of strategic development initiatives for the sector, such as:
• Support the international influence of chefs and artisans
• Foster relationships between niche producers and independent restaurateurs
• Ensure succession through the promotion of catering trades
• Accelerate the use of technologies in industry
The Vision is to raise Montreal to the rank of first choice gastronomic destination recognized worldwide in North America. It should be noted that all the procedures of the Office montréalais de la gastronomie will be done in concert with those of the Chamber of Commerce of Metropolitan Montreal related to gastronomy.
SOURCE Ville de Montréal
