The Ironman Chef: Seb

Serving a hot meal prepared on-site to 2,800 people in 45 minutes is quite a feat

At the heart of this unusual family – the Ironman Mont-Tremblant team – there’s a chef well known in this region. Sébastien Houle, owner of the restaurant sEb l’Artisan Culinaire, masterminds the banquet, the athletes’ and volunteers’ brunch, and the catering service that welcomes participants at the finish line.

It’s a mammoth challenge. The Friday evening banquet, which launches the festivities, is an event in itself. The 2,800 athletes take their places in a magnificent 40,000 square-foot tent and barely three quarters of an hour later, they devour a delicious, healthy meat which watching a show made-to-order

by Gary Quadros and musical director David Laflèche. After that it’s a matter of ensuring that the finish line catering service for the athletes – where more than 2,800 poutines are served – the volunteers’ banquet and the breakfast of champions on Monday morning all happen without a hitch.

Sébastien Houle, the Ironman Chef.

“I refused initially,” Sébastien Houle confides, “but Dominique Piché insisted. You have to believe that he had more confidence in my abilities than I did, because serving a hot meal prepared on-site to 2,800 people in 45 minutes is quite a feat,” he admits, smiling.

“Seb met the challenge with style. It’s still pretty unusual in the Ironman circuit. When I ask the crowd to thank the chef, I get a standing ovation. At Ironman Mont-Tremblant, the banquet-shows under the big tent are an integral part of the participants’ experience,” says Dominique Piché, producer and race director for the Ironman Mont-Tremblant events.

“You sense a very strong feeling of belonging during the event,” Seb confides. “There is tremendous teamwork among the members of our team. I’m thinking of, among others, Marie-Andrée Touchette and chefs Ismael Osorio, Marco Provost, Lindsay Petit, Éric Pellerin and Bruno Saint-Hilaire,” he adds.

 

Guillaume Vincent430 Posts

Rédacteur et journaliste de profession, Guillaume Vincent a fait ses armes au sein de l’agence QMI. Il s’est joint au Tremblant Express en 2014. Promu en 2017, il y assume depuis le rôle de rédacteur en chef et directeur de la publication. / A writer and photojournalist by profession, Guillaume Vincent won his stripes in the QMI agency. He joined Tremblant Express in 2014. Promoted in 2017, he has been editor-in-chief and co-publisher since then.

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