Restaurant:  Ottawa restaurant Atelier offers a 12-course tasting menu of “New Canadian” food based on modern culinary techniques and technology. “Plate after plate of mind-blowing dishes,” writes Adrian Brijbassi of Vacay.ca. Chef Marc Lepine and his team create a culinary experience that averages three hours in length.

 Chef:  After growing up in Kincardine, Ontario, Marc Lepine finished three years of culinary school and also earned his sommelier certification. Chef Lepine spent time working in Toronto, as well as cities in France and Italy. In Ottawa, he accepted executive chef positions with Algonquin Park’s Bartlett Lodge and the Courtyard Restaurant, twice earning the Canadian Culinary Federation’s ‘Ottawa Chef of the Year’ award. In 2008, Chef Lepine decided to open his own restaurant. While working toward the Atelier’s launch, Chef Lepine worked at Chicago’s Alinea Restaurant with Chef Grant Achatz.

Atelier opened in 2008 to great acclaim. The Globe and Mail called Lepine one of Canada’s “most original chefs.”  In 2012, he won the Canadian Culinary Championship in Kelowna, British Columbia.

Butter:  Atelier’s waiters serve two innovative butters: The first is powdered butter, made by freezing butter in liquid nitrogen and then grinding it to a powder. Explains Chef Lepine, “When it warms to room temperature it remains in powder form and can be spread like soft butter.” The second is whipped butter in a white tube that easily squeezes out the soft, rich topping.

Commentary:  Chef Lepine’s first memory of butter is how it smelled while melting in a cast iron pan as his mother cooked crepes.