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Little Burgundy nonprofit and Black youth outreach organization DESTA is opening a stall in the Jean-Talon Market today.
Until October, La Maison Onyx will host a rotating roster of Black chefs and producers, starting with chef Jae-Anthony Dougan’s Saint-Henri restaurant Tropikàl, which will occupy the stand until July 27. Its menu includes grilled corn with scotch bonnet pepper butter and a dusting of pecorino romano, shrimp skewers with mango chutney and rice, and a jerk chicken gyro, among other dishes.
Up next will be another Notre-Dame Street restaurant, Afro-Québécois Maquis Yasolo; two-time MasterChef Canada contestant and creator of Elle Jay’s private dining service Marissa Leon-John; and Evy Mendes, the creator of Cantine Toca Toca, an online catering operation serving vegan West African fare.
Other unspecified participants, including some of the city’s Indigenous chefs, are also poised to join the lineup. In a press release sent to Eater, De says “street food-style menus, chef-led market tours, and on-site food demos” are all in the works.
La Maison Onyx is an offshoot of DESTA’s community food program, dedicated to addressing food insecurity in Montreal’s Black community through initiatives like a home gardening program, food donation and delivery, a pop-up incubator for budding chefs, and various partnerships with Black-owned businesses in the Southwest. A portion of profits from the Jean-Talon Market stand will be channelled back into the DESTA food program.
DESTA’s stand is located next to gluten-free bakers Lulubelle, and is part of the market’s new north-end restaurant zone, which this year also brought in newcomers Bouffe-moi, serving vegetarian comfort grub, and churro food truck Cabane à Chichis.
La Maison Onyx is open Wednesday to Sunday, from 12 to 8 p.m., at the Jean-Talon Market (7070 Henri Julien Avenue).