‘People don’t like calling Montreal a multicultural city, but the way we eat is definitely multicultural’ | The Corner Booth

Everyone is looking for a break at the grocery store these days, even former Gazette fine-dining critic and cookbook author Lesley Chesterman.

“ It’s unbelievable the amount of money that we’re all spending on food these days. I mean, we’re all talking about gas, but let’s talk about the price of beef, the price of coffee, the price of chocolate.

“All of these things have skyrocketed,” Chesterman said on this week’s episode of The Corner Booth, with hosts Bill Brownstein and Aaron Rand at the Snowdon Deli. She’s promoting her latest book, A Montreal Cook.

“So let’s say I’m at the Jean Talon Market. Well, I know that at the Boucherie du Marché, if you get two duck breasts, the third is free. I’m actually looking for bargains and I think at the market you can get bargains. But I’m also a bit lazy, so I tend to just go to the supermarket.

Jean-Talon is one of the largest open-air markets in North America.

“For a city that maybe seven months out of the year has no local produce, we have an incredible array of ingredients,” she said.

While the author says her next cookbook might be about coupon clipping, Chesterman said her current one is an ode to Montreal’s diverse culinary scene.

“People don’t like calling Montreal a multicultural city, but the way we eat is definitely multicultural.

“ Even the most diehard separatist will talk about how much they love couscous. We do not discriminate when it comes to what we like on the plate.”

The Corner Booth is also available on The Gazette’s YouTube channel, Apple Podcasts and on Spotify.

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