More Give the tastewhich Hélène Bourgeois Leclerc will host this winter on Télé-Québec, stands out for her fabulous meetings with chefs from different cultures, but also for her absolutely magnificent look.
This is a show that lives up to its title and promises you a whole winter to salivate over.
Filmed in several regions of Quebec, the 12-episode series will launch Friday evening, starting January 10 at 7 p.m., just before Epicthe new adventure competition with Ève Côté, and Two golden men… and Rosaliewith Ricardo as the new co-host.
Let’s first say that Hélène Bourgeois Leclerc, whose very first project at Télé-Québec, shines in the role of host. All her encounters flow naturally, as people confide in her quite naturally.
The one who also hosts the culinary competition The restaurant à Zeste spent part of last summer traveling across Quebec, meeting leaders from various cultural communities.
This shows that Montreal, and even Quebec, do not have a monopoly on diversity when it comes to restaurants.
“We ate, bawled, laughed. Food is a vector of encounters. Everyone wanted to share their culture, but their humanity too. The flavors were multiple and not just on the plate.”
— Hélène Bourgeois Leclerc
The journey begins in Carleton-sur-Mer in Baie-des-Chaleurs at the restaurant Le marin d’eau freshe, known for its Moroccan cuisine.
Mohamed Ben Hamidou, who opened the place in 1999 with his father, is one of the rare immigrants of Moroccan origin to have settled outside the major centers.
With Iman El Habaoui, Hélène Bourgeois Leclerc learns to make better couscous. (Casadel Films)
When we see him evolving with his wife and their three daughters, we can hardly choose a better positive example of integration.
According to him, his wife Iman would make better couscous than his own mother. Hélène Bourgeois Leclerc’s eyes while tasting the dish prove her right.
Moreover, the show is worth the detour as much for the meetings as for the reactions of the host, which are worth gold.
Although we talk about Moroccan cuisine, we see many local products on display. Atlantic salmon with white butter, scallops on a bed of saffron lentils, maple duck breast, halibut with green pepper and the essential lamb tagine are devoured throughout the show.
In addition to Morocco, the series travels through the Congo, Syria, India, Haiti, Vietnam, Poland, Japan, China, Peru, Mexico and Italy.
Give the taste talks about food, but also a lot about culture and historical context. The episode on Vietnam, for example, recalls the different waves of immigration and gives them faces. The one in Peru gives you the opportunity to go sea urchin fishing.
As we tend to forget, the series reminds us to what extent Quebec offers absolutely splendid panoramas.
Hélène Bourgeois Leclerc, with whom we immediately identify as a curious gourmet, does not lack frankness. When she loves, she loves passionately. But when she likes it less, especially when she is served Moroccan lamb’s head or tendons in Tonkinese soup, she doesn’t pretend to salivate.
Hélène Bourgeois Leclerc does not hide her discomfort in front of the sacrificed lamb. (Casadel Films)
“I refused to taste a pig’s snout but I tasted it by ear!” confides the host, who also admires “the people, cultures, textures, tastes, ways of cooking and eating”, which she discovered during her journey.
Even though she already frequented some of the restaurants visited, the host did not know most of them.
In Quebec, we visited Tora-Ya Ramen, Kamuy and Wong. We also went to Rimouski, Sainte-Marie-de-Beauce, Chelsea in Outaouais and of course Montreal.
“I am extremely proud to be part of this project, which focuses on encounters, generosity, sharing, openness.”
— Hélène Bourgeois Leclerc
Tell you how good it feels to discover what wealth different communities bring us, rather than just talking about immigration rates. That’s what we should be interested in.
Our TV is full of cooking shows. But which shows us images as polished and inviting as those of Give the taste? The close-ups of cooked dishes made me salivate and made me want to run to the different restaurants presented.
Director Xavier Havitov, whose father is of Tunisian origin and mother was born in Gaspésie, has done a remarkable job.
Fitting entirely into this instagrammable and “tiktokable” world, Give the taste is a real pleasure for the eyes.
FROM RADIO TO TV, IS IT WATCHED?
If presenting radio on TV has caused many skeptics, the process seems to be popular so far. So, Anything can happenMarie-Louise Arsenault’s meeting on ICI Première, attracts an average of 75,000 regulars on ICI RDI.
In the Saturday slot from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m., it is almost twice as many as last fall. At the time ofLive from the universeit is even more meritorious.
As for The day (is still young)which ICI ARTV takes over during the week at the end of the evening, it attracts 39,000 viewers, making it one of the channel’s most watched shows.
By way of comparison, the soap opera Under a changing sky obtained an average of 33,000 faithful last spring at supper time and we were talking about success.
To respond to this column, write to us at [email protected]. Some responses may be published in our Opinions section.
