| The politicized waitress >> Restaurant owners’
philosophies
These days, in order to find work as a waitress, you need to know your ABCs and your multiplication tables. And have an undergraduate degree in arts or sciences. And if you hope to be hired by Peter Pryor, executive chef of the new Restaurant Savannah, you’d also better brush up on Canadian foreign policy, history and philosophy. You could, however, decide you’re not up to such scrutiny and apply instead to a nice egalitarian vegan restaurant. But if your interview is with Marie-Pierre Michaud, chef and owner of the new vegan resto Les Vivres in Val-David, you should read the latest articles on history and be up to speed on your human biochemistry and nutrition. Both Michaud and Pryor are opening new restaurants this month. Pryor’s Restaurant Savannah, on St-Laurent and Mont-Royal, is high-end, featuring a “Southern fusion” menu, valet parking and a long wine list (full disclosure: this reporter worked for Pryor for two days doing data entry). Michaud’s restaurant is another Les Vivres, a vegan collective opening in Val-David with an all-vegetable menu, and in place of wine, highly potent teas. Pryor’s father was a prominent New York state attorney and a gourmet cook, and political discussions around the family dinner table were frequent. His great-grandfather, John Wyndel Langhorn Pryor, was a freed slave and the author of a book about slavery, Neither Bond Nor Free. Pryor asks a battery of questions of his potential employees: “If you were prime minister of Canada, how would you change foreign policy? Who is your favourite dictator/philosopher? What is 125 times 67 plus 17?”
According to Pryor, a resumé is less important than intelligence and strong communication skills. “I’m looking for people who have personality,” explains Pryor. “Good dining is like good theatre, only the entertainment is through service, atmosphere and the setting. We’ll be getting a wide range of people coming to Savannah, from ‘foodies’ to people from the arts, publishing and business communities. Asking these questions helps me formulate how well potential staff will fit into the restaurant I’m creating.” Marie-Pierre Michaud is also looking beyond the CV when she hires staff. This is the third time the former massage therapist, science and psychology student opens a vegan restaurant. She says she knows exactly what she is looking for. “I don’t make a big deal whether or not they are vegan,” says Michaud. “All I want to know is if they are interested in the movement, and if they are informed. I often don’t even ask them if they have restaurant experience. I ask them about motivation and the capacity to communicate, because we are not a hierarchy here. This means that a cook is paid the same as a dishwasher, because there is as much honour in washing dishes as there is in preparing meals. The person must be able to take on responsibilities, compose the daily menu, and have the capacity to recognize the restaurant’s needs”. Quebec is a restaurant-loving province. According to l’Association des restaurateurs du Québec, despite high inflation rates and dire predictions after September 11, the service industry’s bankruptcy rates are down by 23 per cent from the previous year. François Meunien, the ARQ’s director of public affairs, says the restaurant sector has grown steadily since January 2000. “Quebecers believe in pleasure,” says Meunien. “Anybody can open a restaurant, but it takes administration, accounting and leadership skills. If you don’t have those qualities yourself, you get someone who does. A restaurant needs a strong team to go get resources. There is room for everybody, but the principle is that it is extremely competitive and clients are demanding. The time when you opened a restaurant in Quebec and the money flowed in like water is over.”
There are many reasons why people go out to eat, and with 4,500 restaurants in Montreal, many places to go. Restaurateurs need to go that extra mile to create a unique atmosphere. For Pryor, food may be a tough business, but it is also about love. “When the Greeks opened the first restaurant, they made an enormous contribution to history,” he says. “More than just sustaining the body, food is a catalyst for socialization. Great societies can and have been influenced by the way they eat. Napoleon was a sensualist who believed in lavish dinners. He changed the way a nation ate. You have to be passionate in this business, it’s the most difficult business out there because your doors always have to be open.”
“I have a theory that the reason dairy products are harder to give up than meat is because we associate meat with masculinity, with the father. But we associate milk products with the feminine, with mothers. It’s a lot harder to let go of one’s mother. “My objective is to give a balanced, wholesome vegan meal to a person who doesn’t know how to cook it but will enjoy it. When you are eating with others you reach a point of happiness, because humans just enjoy being together. We all want to feed and be fed.” : |
by
NOEMI LOPINTO
Marie-Pierre
Michaud agrees that this is a very difficult business. Part of her reason
for running Les Vivres as a co-operative is so that she can try to work
less than 70 hours a week. “Eating alone feels like you’re
in survivalist mode,” says Michaud. “It’s very natural
to eat among other people.