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Le Petit Rico - a tasty new addition!
In June, member roaster Café Rico opened the doors to “Le Petit Rico” – a charming restaurant-kitchen that offers delicious lunches and healthy take-out meals from 9 to 5. Sourcing from local Quebec farmers, fisherman, and butchers and using Fair Trade ingredients when they can, Le Petit Rico brings a whole new and unique flavor to the neighborhood.
Chef Asma welcomes any and all!
It’s very rare that coffee roasting is all our members do. If you look through their websites, visit their cafés, and/or get to know their staff, you quickly realize that for many of these small companies, coffee is only just the beginning. Recently, one of Coop Coffees’ members, Café Rico in Montreal, proved once again how true this is. Going beyond the boundaries of roasting coffee and putting their creative minds to work, Le Petit Rico shows how the roasting company is reaching out to offer the communities more than just good coffee.
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Le Petit Rico sells a variety of local foods |
It all began when Café Rico’s owner, Sevanne Kordahi, offered to rent the storage space behind his café to a Montreal restaurant owner. After installing a full kitchen and small seating space, the agreement unexpectedly fell through…but Sevanne decided to go along with the plan of turning the space into a restaurant anyway but on his own terms. He hired Asma, an experienced chef from Tunisia who has been living in Montreal for four years and was tired of the typical late-night shifts of restaurant chefs. Her desire to work during the day matched with Sevanne’s vision of the place as a lunch and take-out place only – the match was made and the rest is history! |
Practically everything that is offered at Le Petit Rico is made with local vegetables, meats, and cheeses and/or Fair Trade ingredients such as chocolate, rice, quinoa, and spices. Asma bases the menu on what the farmers have in stock for the week: “we don’t decide what we receive,” says Sevanne. The idea is to modify the dishes according to the supply as opposed to modifying the order according to the dish. By accepting what farmers have to offer, Le Petit Rico – and the customers that buy the dishes – is able to support local agriculture which has suffered greatly as food production abroad has gotten cheaper and easier to import.
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But the fact that the restaurant is sourcing locally and from Fair Trade hasn’t made it unaffordable as we generally assume. Part of Sevanne’s vision for the diner was to make it affordable and accessible: plates run between $6 and $9. The menu sets itself apart from other restaurants in the neighborhood; instead of serving big bowls of pasta, Asma offers a variety of nutritionally-balanced quiches and salads. If you don’t have time to make dinner in the evening or feel like having a prepared meal that won’t increase your chances of having an early heart attack, Le Petit Rico sells premade dishes ready to be reheated and enjoyed! |
Asma's sinfully delicious "Chocolat Fondant" |
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Local biker enjoys a yummy treat! |
From creating a favorable working environment for its staff, to providing a comfortable, homey environment for its patrons –babies are welcome – to offering a menu that satisfies hunger as much as it supports a good cause, Le Petit Rico is off to a marvelous start in the world of community-based restaurants. Eventually, Sevanne would like to see it partner up with a local “collective kitchen” campaign that teaches people in the community cooking techniques and allows them to use a communal kitchen space to create economical, healthy meals for their families.
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