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00:00Montreal, a city where you can taste every kind of cheese, oysters on the
00:10half shell, French charcuterie, but beyond classic French delicacies, there are
00:17bolder spicier flavors of making waves in the city. Montreal's Haitian food is as
00:25vibrant as the community that's making it. Oh that's jamming. In every bite you can
00:33taste the strength of Haiti's flavors and its people. I'm Suresh Das. I've spent my
00:41career writing about the local favorites that make Canada's food scene truly unique.
00:45I believe every bite tells a story. Now I want to share those stories with you.
00:55My wife and I try to come to Montreal once a year. This is where we fell in love.
01:03There are food experiences here that you just can't get anywhere else. One of them
01:09is a food scene I've been watching grow over the years that the city is really
01:13taking notice of. For a long time I've been really curious about the Haitian food
01:17culture in Montreal. I have to say I mean from the few Haitian friends that I've
01:22had in Toronto and having met people in Montreal, Haitian people are some of the
01:26most resilient people you'll ever meet because they've gone through a lot. We're
01:30talking dictatorships, political turmoil and then natural disasters and all the
01:34while the beacon in the air for the Haitian people has been together we're strong.
01:39That spirit of strength through unity is the power behind the remarkable Haitian cuisine in
01:48Montreal. Over half of newcomers from Haiti have made their home in Quebec because
01:55speaking French makes it a natural choice. Many have settled in the northeast of the
02:00city which is a distance. So we're gonna go from hybrid to electric.
02:05Montreal Nord is vibrant and full of life. There is a strong sense of community
02:14shaped by its multicultural roots. People here face challenges but stick together
02:18with a lot of pride.
02:20I'm heading to one of the Haitian community's mainstays, a restaurant called Kanesuk. It's
02:29run by Claudette Desours and our daughters Noemi and Clarice. I really want to meet Claudette.
02:35She's from what I understand the matriarch of Haitian food in Montreal.
02:40Bonjour. Good morning. Morning. Are you Claudette? Yes I am. I've heard so much about the food that you are doing here.
02:48I've heard that your soup jamou is like the best in the city. The best one. I would love to try that if you don't mind, yeah.
02:53Okay.
02:58Soup jamou, or independent soup, is perhaps the most important dish in Haitian cuisine.
03:06It starts with a vibrant blend of peppers, parsley, and other aromatics fundamental to Haitian cooking called épis.
03:18It's rubbed into generous chunks of lime-marinated beef, then simmered with noodles, and topped with vegetables.
03:28It's a beautiful soup, right? Mm-hmm.
03:31Including pumpkin squash, which I didn't know has a special meaning for Haitians.
03:36Oh, this looks good.
03:47Oh. Mm.
03:49It's good, huh?
03:50I'm gonna need a minute. I can't say anything for like a minute. This is incredible.
03:54Whoa, it's like, it's luscious.
03:56I love that it's so chunky, and there's like so many different textures.
03:59Yes. And the meat is just beautiful, like just so much depth, so like just comforting.
04:06The kind of soup that you eat with your whole family, every Asian family, they go to church.
04:13After church, they all eat together. This is why we sell the soup on some days, and it's always sold out, always.
04:20If you come here after 11 o'clock, you're not gonna find some soup.
04:23Wait, really? Yep. After 11 o'clock?
04:25After 11 o'clock.
04:26It's finished. Because la soup, c'est très au confort, hein?
04:29Exactly.
04:30Ça réunit la famille.
04:31Yeah, the comfort of the family.
04:32Yes.
04:33Yeah. But what is the significance of soup djemu? Like how important is it to the community and the culture?
04:38It was the first thing that we were able to eat after the slavery, after that we had our independence.
04:44French colonizers did not allow enslaved Haitians to eat the pumpkin squash they grew, or the soup made from it.
04:52So after their liberation, soup djemu became a powerful symbol of freedom eaten every January 1st, Haitian Independence Day.
05:03The friends and even the neighbors that come to the house, and we all eat the same soup.
05:09We're able to remind ourselves what our ancestors did for us so we can be here together today.
05:14True liberation.
05:15Yes.
05:16Through a bowl.
05:17Exactly.
05:18Claudette's own independence has been a hard one.
05:24After immigrating from Haiti in 1994, Claudette had a successful restaurant with her partner for 25 years, then lost everything in their separation.
05:35The restaurant's name is the Creole word for sugar cane. A plant that can survive in the toughest
05:42situation.
05:43The restaurant's name is the Creole word for sugar cane. A plant that can survive in the toughest
05:48situation.
05:49With the help of family and friends, and even all customers and employees, Kanesuk took root.
06:04Oh, that's great. That's wonderful.
06:05She has so many friends that love her. She has so many friends that want to help her.
06:18Her friends make like a little envelope and everyone put like $100 for her.
06:34Oh, that's cool.
06:35Yeah.
06:36That's cute.
06:37Old school social way.
06:38Yeah.
06:39The pre-social media.
06:40Yeah.
06:41And I feel like this is the way that you can really tell like unity is a strength.
06:44Mm-hmm. Absolutely.
06:45Because of that, we have the train to open this right now and do what we do every day.
06:51Yeah.
06:52It's a way to show the love that we have for our customers.
06:54Well, I'm glad I got a taste of that.
06:56Yeah.
06:57I may have to ask you for a second bowl.
06:59Montreal Nord as one of the largest Haitian communities in Canada.
07:15Today, the area is recognized for its strong community activism and vibrant entrepreneurial
07:20spirit.
07:21Every single plaza that I see, I see something.
07:23Barbershops, there's a butcher shop, more restaurants, a couple of takeout places.
07:27And I've heard about a group of guys called Do What a Chef, run by four young entrepreneurs
07:33that are doing something really interesting.
07:42Four young Haitian Canadians united in a takeout and catering operation that thrives on their
07:47connection to the city.
07:49Today, they're prepping for one of their famous outdoor block parties.
07:53Hey Google, can you reduce the temperature by two degrees?
07:58Sure.
07:59Turning down the temperature.
08:01I've heard about this thing called Haitian poutine, which, I mean, assimilation at its
08:06finest.
08:07And what could be more organically assimilating of Canadian culture and Haitian culture than
08:12griot poutine?
08:14Do What a Chef began almost by accident when childhood friends Ray John Batiste and Don Joseph
08:21ran into each other at culinary school.
08:24When we saw each other, we were like, what you doing over there?
08:27We didn't know that we both had the passion for cooking.
08:30Yeah.
08:31And after that, we never separated.
08:34They joined forces with Ray's cousins Rémy and friend Carlito Cetoute with a mission
08:40to create a menu that is uniquely Montreal Haitian.
08:44God, what are you doing?
08:47You should have brought a couple of friends with me.
08:49I don't even know how to react to this, okay?
08:51Like, there's so many things on this plate.
08:52What do we have here?
08:53Here we have the shrimp, the crevettes, here we have the plantain, the madame plantain,
09:00Cri, Acra marinade, the classic griot.
09:03The classic griot.
09:04I love that.
09:05Yeah.
09:06The tasty magic that is griot is made by marinating pork shoulder in a spicy, tangy house
09:12blend of Haitian epis, simmering until tender, then deep-frying until crisp.
09:18Apparently, it's called the piqulis.
09:20It's made by choux and strong cinnamon.
09:23Perfect.
09:25Wow.
09:26I mean, I love that crust on it.
09:29Crispy and tender, for sure.
09:30Yeah, because I mean, normally, I mean, griot is something where it's like,
09:33anyone can make it, but you have to make, you have to execute it properly, right?
09:36It's that, that, with that cut of pork, you have to be very careful that you don't make it tough.
09:40This is wonderful.
09:41Okay, so, see, second generation Haitians.
09:43What was it like growing up here, right, as a Haitian?
09:45It's a, it's a, it's a, it's a combat, a sort of combat, to find ourselves.
09:49Our parents, our parents are Haitians.
09:52Our parents are Haitians.
09:53And then, we grew up in Quebec.
09:55We're the first generation who had to find a balance between the two.
09:58Ah, yes.
09:59And I also think that's what our food reflects.
10:02It's this balance between Haitians and Canada.
10:07Oh, yes.
10:08The perfect example is Duo de Chef's griot poutine.
10:12Crisp fries that are topped with cheese curds, covered with Duo de Chef's special gravy,
10:18and finished with spicy, tender chunks of griot.
10:24Whoa, whoa.
10:25And this incredible plate of gooey mac and cheese with flavorful Haitian-style shrimp.
10:31Whoa, here we go.
10:32That's nice.
10:33That's, that's nice.
10:34Oh, delicious.
10:35Okay, and then this.
10:36Yes, this is the must.
10:37You have to tell me why this, this is the best griot poutine in Montreal.
10:42First of all, the, the griot is tender, and the homemade gravy that we have is something,
10:51is something else.
10:52Without telling me the secrets, what makes it special, the gravy?
10:56I will not.
10:57Is it, is it like a, is it like a spice?
10:58Is it, oh, it's so good though.
10:59Wow.
11:00It's got like a nice silkiness.
11:01It's rich.
11:02Slight, like there's something there, like an umami, like something like a Worcestershire
11:03kind of thing, or like dark sauce.
11:04You're cold, cold, cold, cold.
11:05I'm cold.
11:06Cold.
11:07I'm playing this game like my son does.
11:08Warm, warm, hotter, boiling, boiling.
11:09Whatever the secret is, it keeps the Montreal Nord community coming back.
11:13I know for the both of you, it's really important to give back to the community.
11:30Now with the block party and all the other events and the pop-ups that you've done.
11:34Is that symbolic of the Haitian spirit in Montreal?
11:50I mean, like there is a saying that I keep hearing.
11:52Unity is strength.
11:55Aha.
11:56What does that mean to you?
11:57When you come together, there's no limit to what you can do.
12:01When it goes less well, it's the unity that makes the difference.
12:04It's how we can accomplish things that we can't even realize.
12:09That's beautiful.
12:10You're going to leave me alone with my poutine and my mac and cheese now?
12:12That's all yours, that's all yours right now.
12:26From the northern outskirts of Montreal, I've made my way to one of my favourite districts.
12:30The Old Port downtown.
12:33I'm here to check out a young chef who's bringing Haitian cuisine to Montreal's waterfront.
12:38Mike Leffayee has opened the city's first Haitian food truck.
12:43It's a satellite of his nearby brick-and-mortar restaurant, Cuisine, and it's flourishing in this wonderful area.
12:49Angelo.
12:50Hey, man.
12:51How are you, man?
12:52Good to see you.
12:53Good to see you.
12:54Yeah.
12:55Angelo Cadet, actor, producer, and cultural promoter, is a long-time champion of young Haitians with ambitious dreams in Montreal.
13:03So, I've asked him to introduce me to Mike.
13:05Mike.
13:06Hello.
13:07Hey, Mike.
13:08Nice to meet you.
13:09How are you doing, man?
13:10Finally.
13:11Oh, yes.
13:12Nice to meet you too, man.
13:13I've been waiting for this for so long, and I mean, two Haitian ambassadors in the city, so...
13:16Okay.
13:17So, what are we here to try?
13:18We're gonna follow your lead, man.
13:19Okay, dessert, you have something with mamba, but...
13:20Yeah.
13:21I have a mamba cake.
13:22Mamba cake.
13:23Go have a seat.
13:24I'm gonna take care of you guys.
13:25Okay.
13:26Thank you, chef.
13:27Thank you, man.
13:28Mike came to Canada after the Haitian earthquake in 2011.
13:33He wanted to be a chef, but it was tough to move up in kitchens because of his eyesight.
13:38He realized that one day when I was learning how to drive with my uncle, and then I almost went into a tree, and then that's when I had to go see a doctor.
13:45I see blurry in the middle, but I have a good peripheral sight.
13:50So, he opened his own restaurant, leaning on loyal staff to build a strong new business where he could serve up Afro-Caribbean dishes and his incredible desserts.
13:59Doing the same food all the time gives me a headache.
14:03It gets me bored.
14:04A bakery and pastry.
14:06I kind of really like a lot.
14:10You must have the perfect technique to roll it. Let's roll it together.
14:13Okay.
14:14This whole restaurant, it's not only me, it's also influenced by a lot of people that I met, my cooks, everyone who comes in and brings in their part of flavors and their recipes.
14:26This is what makes cuisine better.
14:27Mike's restaurant was so popular, he decided the next step was a food truck where he could keep his creative juices flowing.
14:33I mean, the waterfront here is beautiful, but to be able to see the integration of, like, culture through food trucks, street food, that's incredible.
14:43I mean, this must make you really proud, right?
14:45I'm really proud because it's got a lot of guts, you know, to do that.
14:48Whoa!
14:49Okay, okay.
14:50I'm gonna serve you the spicy mamba cake.
14:51Mamba cake?
14:52Yeah.
14:53Mamba is a spicy Haitian peanut butter.
14:54You just said the magic word for me, spicy peanut butter.
14:55Spicy, spicy.
14:56Haitian peanut butter.
14:57Haitian peanut butter.
14:58Haitian peanut butter.
14:59I like to mix spicy and sweet, you know, it's salty and sweet, something different.
15:11I love it.
15:12I mean, like, one of my favorite things about Haitian food culture is the peanut butter.
15:16The fire roasted peanuts and scotch bonnet peppers of mamba give a fantastic kick to a cake inspired by the French bouche de noel, pairing beautifully with its layers of sponge and chocolatey cream.
15:33It's like there's so much going on there, right?
15:35Like that earthy peanut butter taste.
15:37Salty, but not salty.
15:39A little bit sweet.
15:40A little sweet.
15:41So, Angela, things are really happening with the Asian culture here, and it feels like Haitian food is having a moment.
15:52Our parents opened the doors, and then we opened, like, the path, and then the kids opened the shops, you know?
16:02Yeah, yeah, the second generation kids, you know?
16:03Yeah.
16:04Now it's easier to make that dream come true, and we have resources.
16:10Well, really, I mean, Angela, I think the sky is the limit.
16:13The sky is not the limit, man.
16:14You can see the sky, you can see beyond it.
16:16Beyond the sky.
16:17Yeah.
16:18Yeah.
16:19Amazing.
16:20Nighttime in Montreal, the city winds down.
16:31But downtown, the restaurants are humming.
16:36And in the Place des Arts, I'm heading to taste the food of another celebrated chef.
16:41Paul Touissant is shattering the cultural glass ceiling by uniting strong Haitian flavours with the romance of French dining.
16:56Perfect.
16:57Here, on est bon.
16:58I'm in the cultural hub of Place des Arts to visit a restaurant of a chef who's united the vibrant flavours of Haitian cuisine with the romance and finesse of French technique to create Kamui, one of the most exciting restaurants in the city.
17:22It highlights Haitian cuisine and culture to a level rarely seen in dining.
17:27Vicky, how are you?
17:29Vicky, how are you?
17:30Vicky, how are you?
17:31Vicky, how are you?
17:32Vicky, how are you?
17:33So nice to see you.
17:34Spotlighting Haitian culture is what entrepreneur and business coach Vicky Joseph is all about.
17:39She often works with restaurants like Kamui on events to boost their profile.
17:46I mean, being at the Place des Arts, like, at the centre of the city, it's just amazing.
17:50Even for me, coming from, you know, the Haitian culture, for me to see, like, you know, all the vibrance.
17:56Today, in the middle of Montreal, is just resonating even more.
18:02Yeah, right in the core.
18:03Right to the core.
18:04Yeah.
18:05Right to the core.
18:06And in the kitchen, Chef Paul Toussaint works with his team to unite that Haitian warmth and spark with a little bit of French flair.
18:19Paul originally came here from Haiti to study law, but changed course to culinary college when he realized his true passion was food, and he fell in love with Montreal.
18:33His poisson-free reimagines traditional fried snapper by grilling it and adding a tangy passion fruit butter, serving it with crisp watercress and spinach.
18:47Whoa.
18:48Whoa.
18:49Whoa.
18:50Oh, my God.
18:51It's tangy.
18:52This is, like, you know, Michelin level.
18:53Ah.
18:54Absolutely.
18:55Like, this should win awards in terms of the way it's presented.
18:56The flavors are familiar, right?
18:57But it's presented in a different way.
18:58In a different way.
18:59Ooh.
19:00Should we dig it into our...
19:01Okay, let's do this.
19:02Yeah, Jambalaya John John?
19:03For his Jambalaya John John, Paul shakes up the southern classic with house-made sausage and the rare Haitian black mushroom John John, known for its deep umami flavor.
19:24Then he finishes the dish with fresh shrimp and mussels.
19:27It's spectacular.
19:29This is the John John Jambalaya make with love.
19:36This looks incredible.
19:37Mm-mm.
19:38Mm-mm-mm.
19:39Mm-mm-mm.
19:40Reminds me of, obviously, risotto and the way it feels.
19:44Oh, my God.
19:45Yes.
19:46But the flavors are just so deep.
19:48And the spicing is, like, there's a little kick, you know, like, it hits you with, you know, every forkful.
19:54Hey, Paul, this is...
19:56This is love.
19:57This is incredible.
19:58It's love.
19:59Yeah.
20:00This is exactly, that's what we were saying.
20:01You could feel it, you see it.
20:03So, what inspired you to express Haitian food this way?
20:07The love for cooking, like, it's come from Haiti.
20:10I always say that because I think the fact I grew up in Haiti till I was 20, like, they feed you, they feed your soul with the food, you know?
20:18Is that gonna stay in here?
20:20What I learned from cooking here in Montreal is picture, you know, presentation and all that.
20:27When I'm home, I'm home.
20:28Yeah.
20:29I want my mom to cook for me perfectly.
20:31I want all that.
20:32But when I'm here...
20:33Yes.
20:34I want it to be, like, the best of the best.
20:36You wanna play?
20:37I can create.
20:38Yeah.
20:39Well, I mean, this represents your life experience, but also, like, your creative spirit, too.
20:43Yeah.
20:44Because I'm a funky guy.
20:45I want to...
20:46That's it.
20:47...enjoy everyone, like, you know, sitting together.
20:49Like, Asian meet with the...
20:50Exactly.
20:51With, like, you know, Caribbean, with the Canadian...
20:54It's not only Haitian people that comes here.
20:56That's what's strong with this restaurant.
20:59Haitian food is so warm.
21:02You know, kind of, like, resembles everybody around the table.
21:05I mean, that really speaks to Haitian community.
21:07It says unity has strength.
21:09The Haitian spirit of unity, relying on friends, family, and community, and also bringing flavours and cultures together, has not only created a cuisine of strength in Montreal, it's created a legacy.
21:24Truly, L'Union Fela Force.
21:39Only, let's put that in front of you to work with.
21:41Noámia talent.
21:42NãoESE disciplines.
21:43Not questions.
21:44Just please.
21:46There are lots.
21:47食
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