Toqué & Co.

Like so many other chefs and restaurateurs, Normand Laprise — co-owner of Toqué, Brasserie T, Beau Mont and Burger T — is withstanding the pandemic with a combined takeout-meal/grocery operation. His strategy is multi-pronged and ambitious. Run entirely out of the Beau Mont space in the Mount Royal suburb of Montreal, Signé Toqué invites customers to order wholly prepared dishes — say, a comforting whelk gratin or a delicate fillet of walleye with root vegetables and lobster sauce — that merely require heating. Orders could include exceptional ingredients — which Laprise uses so successfully in his restaurants — that range from house-aged duck and beef to his favoured maple syrup, organic garlic and kamut flour. For customers who prefer even more of a helping hand, there are building-block ingredients like chicken stock and ready-to-grill T-Burgers. Everything on offer is raised and grown in Quebec, and wastage is reduced to near-zero, with excess pork and duck fat turned into soap. Says Christine Lamarche, Laprise’s business partner: “We are learning all kinds of things in this pandemic.”

—Marie-Claude Lortie