Pierre Trudeau's Chef [General]

2009 Apr 27
I was going to post this under the baked potato topping ideas (because it does include potatoes) but thought this little story deserved its own space.
It happened a couple summers ago...

I was flaked-out on a picnic table at Aylmer beach after cycling a couple loops in the Gatineau Hills. A couple of small seaplanes appeared and circled. Kids/everyone stopped their frolicking and watched. The planes landed and came into shore directly in front of me. Both pilots hopped out, waded the few metres in, and walked right up to my table and asked if they could sit. Almost sounds like Chanel #5 commercial doesn't it?

Why post this story on OF? Well, one of the man-pilots told me, when the conversation swung to potatoes (and doesn't it always? :)), that all/most of the nutrients in a potato are in that very thin layer just beneath the skin. I don't care if that's right or not, I'm going with that story because who was this man-pilot that told me? Maurice Prud'homme, chef for The Right Honorable Pierre Elliot Trudeau. He told me about the acrobatic competitions he and Pierre would have and then demonstrated his prowess by balancing, plank-like on his forearms, off the edge of the picnic table with his legs extended out parallel to the ground. Understatement here: very impressive. "Now you try" he encouraged me. Much laughing and pointing ensued.
A HUGELY charming man. Whenever I see a small plane flying around up there, I wonder if it's him.

The other pilot was a young man, Louis. I remember they compared the sizes of their pontoons (on the planes, yes), laughing. The cost. The upkeep. Shared plane-love. Louis took off first, looped around and did a fly-by with some engine-revving. Maurice shouted "What a show-off! Hurray!" And then Maurice did the same fly-by across the sky before me. Man, I was one lucky monkey that day.

Oh yeah, and Maurice told me Pierre's favourite dinner was roast potatoes and stuffed sea bass.
Yes, I asked.


2009 Apr 27
AMR - Great Story!

I did a little GOOGLING and well...

It seems like Chef Maurice is still up to his old tricks, read this entry from February 2009.

I can easily see why these two crazy guys (Maurice & Pierre) got on so famously... they were professionals at what they did for work, kids at heart, and had a dose of dare-devil thrown in for good measure.

www.copanational.org

2009 Apr 27
Very cool story! Thanks for sharing.

I so would have asked that same question.