La Grande Tablée: A Culinary Extravaganza with Heart

Culinary finesse, philanthropy, and community spirit come together at La Grande Tablée, the annual, fundraising gala event that embodies the essence of La Tablée des Chefs’ noble mission: to feed and to educate.

La Grande Tablée is a joyous occasion to get together with like-minded individuals who share not only a mindset and a commitment but also a meal cooked by passionate individuals and featuring locally sourced ingredients. This enchanting evening takes place every fall and this year’s theme for the event is “Transferring knowledge to the Next Generation”. It unites the culinary talents of carefully selected chefs who share La Tablée’s values with the drive and passion of the next generation of young and talented cooks. On November 6, 2023, the local business community will gather at the Fairmont Royal York for an exquisite dining experience, while simultaneously supporting the initiatives of La Tablée and indulging in a night of culinary sophistication.

Last year La Grande Tablée was a sold-out event held at the Fairmont Royal York with over 300 tickets sold to this unique epicurean gala. With over $195,000 raised at the event, it allowed La Tablée des Chefs’ mission to be carried out: Feed today, to fight against food insecurity, and educate young people, to develop their food autonomy.

The funds raised from the yearly La Grande Tablée event help support the following three La Tablée des Chefs programs: The Kitchen Brigades, Food Recovery and Solidarity Kitchens – Next Generation Edition. These programs are being rolled out across Canada from coast to coast and address important food security issues at the local household level.

The Kitchen Brigades Program aims to introduce young high-school students aged 12 to 17 to cooking and healthy eating through 24 culinary workshops led by trained chefs and offered in schools as an extracurricular activity. The program was launched in 2012 and is currently implemented in more than 250 secondary schools in Quebec, and over 35 schools across Canada. The Food Recovery Program allows La Tablée des Chefs to act as a liaison between donors of surplus food and local community organizations that collect the donations and redistribute them to people in situations of food insecurity. Launched in 2002, the food recovery program has helped recover and redistribute more than 15 million cooked portions to people struggling with food insecurity, which represents 4,565 tons of surplus food! And finally, the Solidarity Kitchens – Next Generation Edition’s goal since 2003 has been to bring awareness about food insecurity to the next generation of chefs and to mobilize culinary students and professors to take on the challenge of preparing meals that are redistributed to food banks in their region.

Great projects require not only a dedicated team, but also strong partners who share your values. One notable supporter of this remarkable cause is Sobeys, a steadfast partner of IGA in Québec and English Canada since 2018 and a fervent believer in La Tablée des Chefs’ mission. As La Tablée des Chefs works to expand its educational initiatives across Canada through its Kitchen Brigades and Cook Up Your Future programs, Sobeys has lent its support in this important endeavour.

La Tablée des Chefs has also been able to count on Hellmann’s for the past several years to support food recovery and reduce food waste. This has been carried out through various initiatives with La Tablée that promotes their Real Food Movement – setting up actions to reduce food waste in Canadian households.

This year’s La Grande Tablée will be held again at the historic Fairmont Royal York Hotel on November 6th, 2023. The partnership established with Sobeys and Hellman’s has been a real support in La Tablée’s efforts to address food insecurity. Jana Sobey – SVP of Fresh Merchandising at Sobeys and Naniss Gadel-Rab – General Manager Nutrition Unilever Canada are Co-Chairs of La Grande Tablée, thus solidifying their commitment to the cause. Together with the Founder and Director Jean-François Archambault, they have worked to grow the movement together, “[w]e have proven the impact of our programs in Quebec. Now it’s time to scale our impact across the country as we know the needs are high and our passion to deliver has no boundaries! We would not be able to accomplish this vision and scaling strategy without key partners like Sobeys, Unilever and Saputo”.

Two additional Grandes Tablées will be held in 2023, one at Montréal’s Marché Bonsecours on November 20^th and another at Fairmont le Château Frontenac in Québec City on November 13^th. These galas are La Tablée des Chefs’ signature fundraising events.

With such a large amount of food waste occurring at so many levels in the food chain, La Tablée des Chefs is trying to do its part in supporting individuals and communities that are food insecure.

• Almost 6 million Canadians living in the ten provinces live in food insecure households;
• 60% of food waste in Canada is generated at the household level;
• Canadians create over 50 million tonnes of food waste every year;
• Food waste costs households over $1,350 per year;
• More than half of the food wasted consists of bread, vegetables and fruit that are still good to consume;
• Food waste represents 8 to 10% of global greenhouse gas emissions;
• Canada’s yearly food waste is equivalent to 9.8 million tonnes of CO2.

For more details or to book your package, visit the event’s webpage, click here.