Menu Extra Crafts a Dinner Party Around Brutalist Architecture
In Montreal, Efflorescence takes central stage in a Franciscan Chapel.
Montreal is no stranger to Brutalist architecture. The iconic utopian housing complex that overlooks the St Lawrence River (Habitat 67 by Moshe Safdie for Expo 67) is just one of many, albeit the most famous. During the 6 years that I lived in the city, my time was marked by raw, unfinished concrete—from Concordia University’s Hall Building to Place Bonaventure Metro station, and many others. In fact, much of the architectural landscape of the city bears the weight of its brutalist forefathers. It’s in this context that Montreal-based culinary studio Menu Extra crafted a gastronomic experience rooted in brutalism, local flavours and immersive design.
“After our activation at Habitat 67, we felt compelled to highlight other, perhaps lesser-known gems of Montreal’s modernist built-heritage. There’s a grounding quality to brutalist architecture that creates a striking backdrop for an experience exploring fine dining as ritual. The raw materiality and monumental character of these spaces naturally lend themselves to a sense of contemplation,” shares Creative Director Samuel de La Courtemanche.
Designed as part of Montréal en Lumière, an annual winter festival set in the city’s downtown core, Menu Extra transformed Chapelle des Franciscains in Rosemont into a cinematic, chartreuse-tined stage for a multi-course tasting menu of Québec’s finest flavours. Created by a multidisciplinary team of sommeliers, chefs, designers and other creatives, the soiree was dubbed Efflorescence—a name that aptly combines art and brutalism, referencing both the chalky powder excess that appears when water evaporates from concrete and a state of flowering.
Designed by Menu Extra and Montréal-based design studio Martha, the graphic identity of Efflorescence is anchored in architecture, with an elongated typography and logotype that references the geometry of its setting.
Blooming from within the stark, but soaring, vaulted ceilings, a 40-foot-long, communal dining table draped in sultry green fabric—with a hollowed diamond motif that mirrors the ceiling—emerges as the central focal point. In its center, guests can discover a fluted-acrylic lightbox full of live plants, designed to mimic Canada’s boreal forest. Other design touches included aluminum chairs designed by LESORR to complement the raw surroundings, steel stands displaying the menu’s core ingredients (scallops from the Magdalen Islands, among other local delicacies) and a soundscape by local artist KROY paired with two futuristic speakers designed for the event by MYCOAUDIO. Designed by Creative Director Samuel de la Courtemanche with Creative Producer Amanda Prow, the immersive set design was meant to inspire interactions between guests and foster a sense of exploration and discovery.
“Our experiences are ephemeral in nature, which inspires guests to be truly present, knowing the moment cannot be repeated,” says Co-Founder and Sommelier Alexis Demers.
Illustration by Nicolas Lapierre.
With the chefs cooking on full display and a choreographed service—which included an aromatic hot towel and scented smoke to complement select dishes—Menu Extra channelled fine dining as ceremony. And like a call to prayer, the sound of a bell guided guests to their seats.
Rooted in seasonality, the menu—created by Francis Blais, Co-Founder and Executive Chef of Menu Extra with selected wines from Co-Founder and Sommelier Alexis Demers—featured Nova Scotian lobster, scallops from the Magdalen Islands, citrus grown by Vyckie Vaillancourt in Laval, and more.
Photography by Venessa Cassar and Jeremy Dionne.
