Internationally renowned chef Paul Toussaint is ready to take flight with a brand new restaurant concept!
On Saturday August 8, one of Montreal's hottest chefs will open Kamúy, a Pan-Caribbean restaurant celebrating the best of the islands, in the heart of the Quartier des spectacles.
Taking its name from the Taino (Caribbean First Nations) word for sun, Kamúy is much more than a restaurant, for both its executive chef and his team. It's an opportunity to bring together and celebrate a rich and diverse community through food, music, culture and art. Inspired by the different regions of the Caribbean (and beyond), Chef Paul and his team hope to offer something new to the Montreal culinary scene by combining the flavors, spices and colorful creations of Caribbean food with French gourmet cuisine, the comfort of Quebecois snack bars, the exploratory techniques of avant-garde chefs and the diverse influences of the many communities that call Montreal home.
The idea behind Kamúy is to bring people together - the concept is very community-based, created by the people, for the people! The menu will focus on sustainable food, with a healthy scoop of local ingredients, spices and root vegetables from all corners of the Caribbean. The atmosphere will reflect the idea of a traditional Caribbean market, with all its colors, flavors, art, music, flora and festive nature. Kamúy is the result of a team effort involving many people. Among them is Oski, the restaurant's artistic director and artist, whose mission is to present Caribbean culture through a visual experience. Through a variety of mediums, including painting, sculpture and digital art, many luminaries of the art world join Oski in bringing his vision to life. The team includes architect-designer Sophie Buteau, a young Haitian from New York responsible for space design, photographer Darwin Doleyres, sculptors Remy-Jn-Eddy aka Franco and Normand Hamel, graphic designer Williamson Dulcé, manager Audrey Lemay, mixologist Valérie Chagnon, chefs Ana Castillo and Vincent alongside chef Paul, and long-time collaborator and project advisor Carla Beauvais.
Replacing the funky space in the former Taverne F restaurant, Kamúy is an idea that has long germinated in chef Paul's mind. Paul Toussaint was born and raised in Jacmel, Haiti. He moved to Canada at the age of 20 to study law, but soon realized he wasn't an office boy. So he decided to pursue a career in the kitchen of Toqué! one of the world's top restaurants, where he honed his craft and learned the ins and outs of gourmet cooking. After spending several years in Haiti to help rebuild the country following the devastating earthquake, Chef Paul agreed to return to Canada to take on the role of Executive Chef at the Montreal restaurant Agrikol, where he was able to showcase Haitian cuisine. "I love Haiti, it's my culture," says Chef Paul proudly. However, he wanted to offer something different when it came to gastronomy and was looking for new challenges, hence the idea of blending all Caribbean influences under one roof. Although Paul cut his teeth as a chef in some of the country's most renowned establishments, it was above all his childhood spent in his native land and the traditional ways of cooking that shaped his culinary creations. Paul's greatest influence was his babysitter, a woman named Sonia, who raised him from the age of seven and passed on to him the tools and passion for preparing traditional Haitian dishes - knowledge he couldn't have learned at school. Today, Paul runs a ready-to-eat counter in Montreal's Time Out market (those who have tried it have adopted it!), where he serves succulent dishes. The counter is set to reopen this week, but the experience of a full restaurant meal will be incomparable and unique at Kamúy.
At Kamúy, the seasonal menu is constantly being reworked, and will continue to evolve and change over time (as any good menu should). Because Caribbean cuisine is so varied, with so many possibilities and inspirations from all corners of the region, Kamúy 's chefs are extremely eager to get into their stoves. According to Colombian chef Ana, cooking with unusual ingredients like narangille (a citrus fruit that looks like a green tomato, but tastes like strawberry and passion fruit) is a dream come true that allows her to draw inspiration from her childhood. She is delighted that the restaurant offers what she describes as a harmonious representation of Caribbean food.
In the kitchen, you'll also find Chef Vincent, who was born in Guadeloupe and trained in France's top restaurants. Vincent is eager to free himself from the constraints of classic cuisine and explore his creative side with ingredients he knows well. As for Chef Paul, his meat dish cooked in a cloth directly on the grill, a traditional technique that makes him smile every time he talks about it, is without doubt the one he's most proud of. The dish doesn't have a name yet, but it's sure to be one of the most popular! Other succulent dishes on offer include creative curries, spicy jerks, seafood prepared in a variety of ways, home-grown root vegetables, exotic fruits and flavours of all kinds perfected over generations.
An avid art collector, Chef Paul is also delighted to transform his restaurant into an open-air art gallery. It will feature both indoor and outdoor dining. All sanitary measures will also be put in place to protect COVID-19's customers and employees.
The atmosphere will be enhanced by carefully selected music, which is an integral part of the Caribbean experience. During their meal, guests will hear an eclectic mix of reggae, bachata, merengue, twoubadou, jazz, salsa and much more. Dinners at Kamúy will be delicious, great, informative, festive and fun, in an environment where art is the heart and soul of the place. Every Sunday, a Bagatelle brunch will be served until 3 pm.
The word "community" takes on its full meaning at Kamúy, a place where the emphasis is on community spirit with a unique gourmet touch.
A huge thank you to all the investors for their confidence and for agreeing to take on the project from the outset. Chef Paul would also like to thank his family members, friends and the entire team who worked tirelessly to bring the Kamúy restaurant project to life, even in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. Finally, Paul would like to extend his thanks to all those at Agrikol who gave him the opportunity to showcase his talent and love of cooking.
You can catch Chef Paul on Netflix as part of the special series Somebody Feed Phil, as he spends some quality time with Phil Rosenthal (creator, writer and executive producer of the popular Everybody Loves Raymond series) in Montreal alongside other local chefs.
Kamúy will open its doors on Saturday, August 8, 2020.
The restaurant is located at 1485, rue Jeanne-Mance, next to the Musée d'art contemporain. To reserve a table, email info-reservation@kamuy.ca or call 514 447-7481. The website will be launched on August 8.
Visit www.kamuy.ca for more information on this date. Links to photos here.-30-Media contacts:
Leisa Lee - 514-946-2010
Talar Adam - 514-833-0274
Alex Nitsiou - 514-443-3731