In a bold effort to uncover What’s Really Good, we’re asking chefs to serve an ideal meal, be it one single dish or seven courses with drink pairings. Iconic culinary masters will tell us what we should be eating and why. The Perfect Meal is a new feature that aims to give readers an alternative perspective on the restaurant scene by leading them beyond their preconceived boundaries, as it pertains to eating.
At a time when dining extends well beyond what’s on a plate, WRG seeks to relay to our readers the raison d’être of Montreal’s finest cuisine: the fusion of food, decor and the overall feel of a restaurant as seen through the eyes of its creators.
“Hey, I’m Dan,” he said as he grabbed a chair from a neighbouring table and pulled up a seat. There was a gleam in his eye and an excitement in his voice as he flashed a genuine smile, reminiscent of a kid meeting a new friend for the first time. He tipped back the wooden chair as he asked the server for a glass of red. When the wine arrived, he picked it up, swirled it with a practiced hand, took a sip and set it down, pleased.
Dan Geltner is the executive chef at L’Orignal. You wouldn’t know it from his laid-back demeanour, but he took over control of the restaurant’s kitchen just this past December. After reworking the entire menu to integrate more seafood and vegetables into the predominantly game-oriented fare, he hired Michael Dalla Libera as a sous-chef and the visionary responsible for developing a new dessert menu. Together a fine balance is struck; the two fuse the technical fortitude required in the mastery of their craft with the creative fantasy found only in those places where food is about far more than function. It’s about fun.
L’Orignal is known for its rustic, cabin-style decor and rural-inspired hearty meals. Boar, deer and rabbit are the proteins of choice and the reasoning behind it is simple: “We don’t use things like beef, chicken or pork because those animals are really hard to find “natural”. We focus on game meats that we get from smaller farms in Québec – from people we know.” While the focus is always on locally-sourced and seasonal ingredients, Dan’s cuisine is defined by more than just the high quality of his ingredients; having worked in six different countries and nine different cities, he brings with him the experience and influence of an international gourmand.
Style can be difficult to pinpoint, especially with an artistic medium that involves many senses. Dan’s style goes well beyond its distinct visual playfulness. Self-described as “heavily rooted in classical french technique but influenced by modern trends, with a whimsical touch”, l’Orignal showcases a wealth of knowledge acquired under the tutelage of renowned chefs, such as Philippe Guérin and Daniel Boulud, who run Michelin star restaurants. The influence is truly palpable: the texture of a 66 degree egg, the delicate flavours of an apple gelée, the subtle aroma of a fennel foam, the vibrant colours of edible flowers. It’s an experience in which all the senses are aroused.
As the cocktails flowed and the waiters buzzed around indulging their patrons, the Damask banquettes, the bar stools and the isolated private area began to fill up. The chandeliers dimmed as the chatter rose. A group burst into laughter behind us, and the conversation quickly turned to the clientèle, to Montreal. Dan spoke excitedly about bringing international cuisine to his native city and its surprising acceptance of – or even desire for – an experimental or “out of the box”, “spur of the moment”, approach to food. Suddenly, the mounting volume in the front of house reminded him of his responsibilities in the kitchen. As he rose to leave, I asked how his team was feeling tonight. With a wink and a grin he responded, “the morale is high!”, as he hurried back to his playground.
View all imagesThe cohesiveness of the dishes was immediately apparent by the conclusion of dinner, even before Dan and Michael returned to discuss the rationale behind the perfect meal. All creations are a balance between daring and traditional. What’s most important to the achievement of an ideal dining experience is the customer’s willingness to relinquish control, to keep an open mind:
The sparse description of each dish facilitates an imaginative expression, what Dan affectionately refers to as his “creative cushion”. Day to day, table to table, the dishes are constantly evolving, always in flux. When probed about the paragon of his talents, he brushed off the notion, without hesitation: “I’m very good at cooking in the moment. If someone came tomorrow and asked me for the perfect meal, it might be different.”
Dan was the kid that ran up the slide, stood on the swings and dangled upside-down by the monkey bars. He plays by his own set of rules; he rejects the absolute nature of an exemplary representation of l’Orignal’s aesthetic. Instead he opts for a ever-changing, uninhibited, organic approach to manipulating his building blocks: like anything in life, it’s all about having fun.
In a bold effort to uncover What’s Really Good, we’re asking chefs to serve an ideal meal, be it one single dish or seven courses with drink pairings. Iconic culinary masters will tell us what we should be eating and why. The Perfect Meal is a new feature that aims to give readers an alternative perspective on the restaurant scene by leading them beyond their preconceived boundaries, as it pertains to eating.
At a time when dining extends well beyond what’s on a plate, WRG seeks to relay to our readers the raison d'être of Montreal’s finest cuisine: the fusion of food, decor and the overall feel of a restaurant as seen through the eyes of its creators.
“Hey, I’m Dan,” he said as he grabbed a chair from a neighbouring table and pulled up a seat. There was a gleam in his eye and an excitement in his voice as he flashed a genuine smile, reminiscent of a kid meeting a new friend for the first time. He tipped back the wooden chair as he asked the server for a glass of red. When the wine arrived, he picked it up, swirled it with a practiced hand, took a sip and set it down, pleased.
Dan Geltner is the executive chef at L’Orignal. You wouldn’t know it from his laid-back demeanour, but he took over control of the restaurant’s kitchen just this past December. After reworking the entire menu to integrate more seafood and vegetables into the predominantly game-oriented fare, he hired Michael Dalla Libera as a sous-chef and the visionary responsible for developing a new dessert menu. Together a fine balance is struck; the two fuse the technical fortitude required in the mastery of their craft with the creative fantasy found only in those places where food is about far more than function. It’s about fun.
L’Orignal is known for its rustic, cabin-style decor and rural-inspired hearty meals. Boar, deer and rabbit are the proteins of choice and the reasoning behind it is simple: “We don’t use things like beef, chicken or pork because those animals are really hard to find “natural”. We focus on game meats that we get from smaller farms in Québec - from people we know.” While the focus is always on locally-sourced and seasonal ingredients, Dan's cuisine is defined by more than just the high quality of his ingredients; having worked in six different countries and nine different cities, he brings with him the experience and influence of an international gourmand.
Style can be difficult to pinpoint, especially with an artistic medium that involves many senses. Dan’s style goes well beyond its distinct visual playfulness. Self-described as “heavily rooted in classical french technique but influenced by modern trends, with a whimsical touch”, l’Orignal showcases a wealth of knowledge acquired under the tutelage of renowned chefs, such as Philippe Guérin and Daniel Boulud, who run Michelin star restaurants. The influence is truly palpable: the texture of a 66 degree egg, the delicate flavours of an apple gelée, the subtle aroma of a fennel foam, the vibrant colours of edible flowers. It’s an experience in which all the senses are aroused.
"It's an experience in which all the senses are aroused."As the cocktails flowed and the waiters buzzed around indulging their patrons, the Damask banquettes, the bar stools and the isolated private area began to fill up. The chandeliers dimmed as the chatter rose. A group burst into laughter behind us, and the conversation quickly turned to the clientèle, to Montreal. Dan spoke excitedly about bringing international cuisine to his native city and its surprising acceptance of - or even desire for - an experimental or “out of the box”, “spur of the moment”, approach to food. Suddenly, the mounting volume in the front of house reminded him of his responsibilities in the kitchen. As he rose to leave, I asked how his team was feeling tonight. With a wink and a grin he responded, “the morale is high!”, as he hurried back to his playground.
View all images
The cohesiveness of the dishes was immediately apparent by the conclusion of dinner, even before Dan and Michael returned to discuss the rationale behind the perfect meal. All creations are a balance between daring and traditional. What’s most important to the achievement of an ideal dining experience is the customer’s willingness to relinquish control, to keep an open mind:
Pick your favourite meat and let us do the rest. We want people to come here and put their trust in us.The sparse description of each dish facilitates an imaginative expression, what Dan affectionately refers to as his “creative cushion”. Day to day, table to table, the dishes are constantly evolving, always in flux. When probed about the paragon of his talents, he brushed off the notion, without hesitation: “I’m very good at cooking in the moment. If someone came tomorrow and asked me for the perfect meal, it might be different.”
Dan was the kid that ran up the slide, stood on the swings and dangled upside-down by the monkey bars. He plays by his own set of rules; he rejects the absolute nature of an exemplary representation of l’Orignal’s aesthetic. Instead he opts for a ever-changing, uninhibited, organic approach to manipulating his building blocks: like anything in life, it’s all about having fun.