{{Infobox chef , name = Normand Laprise , honorific_suffix = {{Post-nominals, country=CAN, CM, CQ, size=100% , image = Normand Laprise, restaurant Toqué!.jpg , caption = , birth_date = 24 mars 1961{{cite web, title=Quebec : from Montreal to the Saint Lawrence River — Normand Laprise, url=http://www.relaischateaux.com/en/Route-du-Bonheur/Canada-East/itineraire-laprise/2435/, publisher=

Relais & Châteaux Relais & Châteaux is an association of individually owned and operated luxury hotels and restaurants. The group currently has about 580 members in 68 countries on five continents. Predominantly represented in Europe, the association is grow ...

, accessdate=5 May 2013, archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130624143119/http://www.relaischateaux.com/en/Route-du-Bonheur/Canada-East/itineraire-laprise/2435/, archive-date=24 June 2013, url-status=dead , birth_place =

Saint-Alexandre-de-Kamouraska, Quebec Saint-Alexandre-de-Kamouraska is a municipality in the Canadian province of Quebec, in the Kamouraska Regional County Municipality. Before July 5, 1997, it was known simply as Saint-Alexandre. History The parish of Saint-Alexandre was founded ...

, Canada{{cite web, title=Normand Laprise, url=http://www.radio-canada.ca/emissions/les_chefs/2012/juge.asp?idDoc=218115, work=Les chefs!, publisher=Radio-Canada.ca, accessdate=5 May 2013 , death_date = , death_place = , spouse = , style = , education = École hôtelière de Charlesbourg
Stratford Chefs School , ratings = Normand Laprise {{Post-nominals, country=CAN, CM, CQ (born 1961) is a Quebecer chef and author. He is the owner and head chef of ''

Toqué! ''Toqué!'' is a restaurant in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is located at 900 Place Jean-Paul Riopelle in the CDP Capital Centre in the Quartier international de Montréal, Quartier international neighbourhood of the Ville-Marie, Montreal, Ville-Ma ...

'' and '' Brasserie T!'' in

Montreal, Quebec Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple-pea ...

, Canada.

Early life and education

Normand Laprise was born in 1961 and raised on a farm in Kamouraska in the

Bas-Saint-Laurent The Bas-Saint-Laurent (Lower Saint-Lawrence), is an administrative region of Quebec located along the south shore of the lower Saint Lawrence River in Quebec. The river widens at this place, later becoming a bay that discharges into the Atlanti ...

region of

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

. At the age of 14 he began working in a restaurant as a dishwasher. After high school, not knowing what he wanted to do, he enrolled in

culinary school A cooking school is an institution devoted to education in the art and science of cooking and food preparation. There are many different types of cooking schools around the world, some devoted to training professional chefs, others aimed at amate ...

at the École hôtelière de Charlesbourg in

Quebec City Quebec City ( or ; french: Ville de Québec), officially Québec (), is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Quebec. As of July 2021, the city had a population of 549,459, and the Communauté métrop ...

, from which he graduated in 1981.{{cite web, title=Normand Laprise, url=http://www.cuisineduquebec.com/chef/laprise-normand, publisher=Cuisine du Québec, accessdate=5 May 2013

Career

Laprise worked four years at the restaurant Le Lutétia at the Hôtel de la Montagne in

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

, after which he had internships in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

and the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. Starting in 1989, he ran restaurant ''Citrus'' in Montreal, until its closure four years later. He then attended the Stratford Chefs School in Stratford,

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

. In June 1993, along with Christine Lamarche, Laprise co-founded restaurant ''

'' on

Saint Denis Street Saint Denis Street (officially in french: Rue Saint-Denis) is a major north–south thoroughfare in Montreal, Quebec. It extends from the Notre-Dame-de-Bon-Secours Chapel on Rue Saint-Paul (Montreal), Saint Paul Street in Old Montreal to the ba ...

in Montreal. Toqué was given a five diamond rating by the

American Automobile Association American Automobile Association (AAA – commonly pronounced as "Triple A") is a federation of motor clubs throughout North America. AAA is a privately held not-for-profit national member association and service organization with over 60 m ...

and the

Canadian Automobile Association The Canadian Automobile Association (CAA; french: Association canadienne des automobilistes) is a federation of eight regional not-for-profit automobile associations in Canada, founded in 1913. The constituent associations (also called "clubs") ...

. In January 2004, Toqué relocated to the

Centre CDP Capital Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentricity ...

in the

Quartier international de Montréal The Quartier international de Montréal (QIM) or Montreal's International District is a district of the Ville-Marie borough in the city's downtown core of Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is roughly bordered by René-Levesque Boulevard to the north, ...

. To In 2006, Laprise became a

Grand Chef. In June 2010, he founded ''Brasserie T!'', a

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

-inspired

gastropub A gastropub or gastro pub is a pub that serves gourmet comfort food. The term was coined in the 1990s, though similar brewpubs existed during the 1980s. Etymology The term ''gastropub'' (derived from gastronomy) was coined in 1991, when David E ...

located in the Quartier des spectacles. Along with

Jean-Luc Boulay Jean-Luc Boulay (born 1955) is a French-born chef, restaurateur and television personality who emigrated to Canada in 1976, and founded his first restauranLe Saint-Amourin Quebec City with his business partner Jacques Fortier in 1978, which over t ...

and Pasquale Vari, Normand Laprise is one of the three permanent judges on

’s top cooking competition TV show '' Les chefs!'' broadcast on

ICI Radio-Canada Télé Ici Radio-Canada Télé (formerly known as Télévision de Radio-Canada) is a Canadian French-language free-to-air television network owned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (known in French as Société Radio-Canada), the national pub ...

since 14 June 2010, which is hosted by Élyse Marquis et Daniel Vézina.{{Cite web, title=Radio-Canada.ca {{! Information, radio, télé, sports, Arts et divertissement, url=https://ici.radio-canada.ca/tele/les-chefs/site/emission/juges, last=Médias, first=Groupe des Nouveaux, website=Radio-Canada, language=fr-ca, access-date=2020-05-13

Awards

In 2009, Laprise was named a Knight of the

National Order of Quebec The National Order of Quebec, termed officially in French as ''l'Ordre national du Québec'', and in English abbreviation as the Order of Quebec, is an order of merit in the Canadian province of Quebec. Instituted in 1984 when Lieutenant Gove ...

for his promotion of

Quebec cuisine The cuisine of Québec (also called "French Canadian cuisine" or "cuisine québécoise") is a national cuisine in the Canadian province of Québec. It is also cooked by Franco-Ontarians. Québec's cuisine is descended from 16th-century French cu ...

. In 2014, he was named a Member of the

Order of Canada The Order of Canada (french: Ordre du Canada; abbreviated as OC) is a Canadian state order and the second-highest honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the ...

for the same reason.{{cite web, title=Order of Canada Appointments - December 26, 2014 , url=http://www.gg.ca/document.aspx?id=15922&lan=eng, publisher=

Governor General of Canada The governor general of Canada (french: gouverneure générale du Canada) is the federal viceregal representative of the . The is head of state of Canada and the 14 other Commonwealth realms, but resides in oldest and most populous realm, t ...

, press release, accessdate=26 December 2014 On May 3, 2013, Laprise won a

James Beard Foundation Award The James Beard Foundation Awards are annual awards presented by the James Beard Foundation to recognize chefs, restaurateurs, authors and journalists in the United States. They are scheduled around James Beard's May 5 birthday. The media award ...

for his book, ''Toqué!'' in the ''Cooking from a Professional Point of View'' category.{{cite web, last=Bagnall, first=Janet, title=Montreal chef Normand Laprise's cookbook wins international acclaim , url=https://montrealgazette.com/news/montreal/Montreal+chef+Normand+Laprise+cookbook+wins/8338698/story.html, publisher=

The Gazette (Montreal) The ''Montreal Gazette'', formerly titled ''The Gazette'', is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Three other daily English-language newspapers shuttered at various times during the second half of th ...

, accessdate=5 May 2013

References

{{Reflist

External links

Restaurant Toqué!
{{Authority control {{DEFAULTSORT:Laprise, Normand Canadian male chefs People from Bas-Saint-Laurent 1961 births Living people Knights of the National Order of Quebec Members of the Order of Canada James Beard Foundation Award winners