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Mon Lapin co-owner and chef Jessica No\u00ebl signs books during a recent event to promote The Mon Lapin Cookbook at Le Veau d\u2019Or in New York City. Lizzie Rollins<\/p>\nIf it\u2019s Tuesday, they must be in New York. Or is it Philadelphia? Possibly New Jersey? In the week coming, they\u2019ll be in Quebec City, then Toronto. And in November, it\u2019s off to Paris, London and Manchester.<\/p>\n
Marc-Olivier (Marco) Frappier, Vanya Filipovic and Jessica No\u00ebl aren\u2019t a touring rock act \u2014 not yet, anyway \u2014 but they are making music of sorts with their culinary creations. They are showcasing their debut tome, The Mon Lapin Cookbook: De Toute Beaut\u00e9, released in English and French versions. And along the way on this whirlwind adventure, they\u2019re not only signing books but also donning smocks to prepare mini-feasts for fans and fellow cuisiniers.<\/p>\n
The three are in a rented van, pulled off to the side of the road as they head to their next destination when we speak via Zoom. Though released just a few weeks ago, the book is in its third printing in English and second in French.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve been overwhelmed by the reaction,\u201d says Frappier, who is behind the wheel. \u201cWe spend our lives in the kitchen almost all the time. We\u2019re not used to being the centre of attention at book launches, getting all this love and appreciation for the restaurant and the book. But have to say it\u2019s been really nice.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s been a big wave of love,\u201d Filipovic marvels.<\/p>\n
Mon Lapin co-owner and chef Jessica No\u00ebl signs books during a recent event to promote The Mon Lapin Cookbook at Le Veau d\u2019Or in New York City. Lizzie Rollins<\/p>\n
Adds No\u00ebl: \u201cIt\u2019s been a great ride to get these super positive reactions and totally justifies the three years we spent working on the book.\u201d<\/p>\n
Although they\u2019ve become almost household names in Montreal and other parts of the country, they weren\u2019t sure what kind of reaction they would receive in the U.S.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe didn\u2019t know how many people would show up to these events in the States, but they\u2019ve all been sold out. People leaving with stacks of books. I\u2019ve just been blown away,\u201d Frappier says. \u201cIn this small town in New Jersey, we hooked up at a restaurant in a small inn with a chef who I started out working with well over 25 years ago, and everyone in the room knew about Mon Lapin.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s been so crazy,\u201d Filipovic says. \u201cEverywhere we\u2019ve been, it\u2019s people who\u2019ve eaten there, who plan to eat there or who\u2019ve heard about it. We had no idea.\u201d<\/p>\n
But this is far more than a cookbook. <\/p>\n
It features more than 100 recipes concocted at the Little Italy resto by chefs Frappier and No\u00ebl, plus whimsical wine insights and essays from sommelier Filipovic. The book, covered in handsome emerald-green leather embossed with gilded lettering, should leave readers smacking their lips, thanks to complementary eye-catching photos by Dominique Lafond. Co-written by Montreal author Mireille Silcoff, it brings out the warmth of the restaurant and its owners, and truly serves as a reflection of the team.<\/p>\n
Its subtitle, From Montreal, With Love, couldn\u2019t be more apt. As much as it\u2019s a collection of mouth-watering recipes \u2014 Croque-P\u00e9toncle, Sourdough Chicken, Tagliatelle with Newfoundland Squid Rag\u00f9, Buckwheat Celebration Cake \u2014 it is also most certainly an homage to the city. Its seven chapter titles are city focused, even seductive. Of note: Steamy Windows in February; What Is a Wine Bar Anyway; Primi \u2014 A Love Affair.<\/p>\n
\u201cI really feel that the book is almost like a nice little business card for Montreal,\u201d Filipovic says. \u201cWe really tried to get what makes Montreal feel so special, what makes our neighbourhood and our neighbours so special. We really wanted to paint that portrait for those who have not yet been to our city or our spot.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Mon Lapin story is nothing short of remarkable. Even magical. Launched just eight years ago, Mon Lapin has been on quite the wild ride the last few years. It finished first on Canada\u2019s 100 Best Restaurants list in 2023<\/a> and again in 2024<\/a>. It also claimed the No. 1 spot on Chris Nuttall-Smith\u2019s The Best Places to Eat in Canada list for Maclean\u2019s magazine in 2023. Plus, it landed at No. 2 in the debut North America\u2019s 50 Best Restaurants list in 2025; the same poll also selected Filipovic as the best sommelier in North America.<\/p>\n Nearly two years ago, husband and wife Frappier and Filipovic \u2014 along with fellow owners No\u00ebl, Alex Landry and Marc-Antoine G\u00e9linas \u2014 opened R\u00f4tisserie La Lune a few blocks to the east of Mon Lapin, also on St-Zotique St. E. This tribute to old-school Qu\u00e9b\u00e9cois barbecue restos has quickly been garnering awards and accolades.<\/p>\n Prior to opening Mon Lapin, Frappier, Filipovic and No\u00ebl worked together for 15 years at the Little Burgundy hot spot Vin Papillon, part of the Joe Beef group.<\/p>\n Although Frappier is fond of saying he doesn\u2019t consider himself a \u201cfine-dining chef,\u201d that\u2019s precisely what he and No\u00ebl do: They make fine-dining experiences in every sense of the expression. Be it intricate squid rag\u00f9s or something as seemingly simple as radishes, which they deftly transform into \u2026 mmm \u2026 radish-top biscuits or marry delectably with chicken livers.<\/p>\n \u201cWe do try to hide all the work that goes behind it,\u201d No\u00ebl says. \u201cAlthough the menu is kind of obscure, we want our food to look so simple on the plate and that it doesn\u2019t appear to look threatening. We want it to feel comforting to experience the plate. That has always been the key we\u2019ve been after.\u201d<\/p>\n Unlike some high-end restaurants, the atmosphere inside Mon Lapin is not threatening either. D\u00e9cor is down-home cosy. Nothing frilly here. The food and staff are the draw. And while it certainly attracts tourists from around the world, particularly during Montreal\u2019s festival-laden summers, it is also favoured by locals of all ages and backgrounds.<\/p>\n In short, it ain\u2019t snooty.<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s my favourite part,\u201d Filipovic says. \u201cTo gather families. To gather people who are dressed up or dressed down. People who can afford to come on a weekly basis or people who have been saving up for special occasions. The whole gamut of clientele.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI feel it represents us well and I feel it represents Montreal well,\u201d Frappier adds. \u201cI wouldn\u2019t want to own a restaurant that I wouldn\u2019t feel comfortable in.\u201d<\/p>\n \t\tEditor\u2019s Picks\t<\/p>\n One might expect that while touring New York, the team would be hit with offers to open a Mon Lapin there or elsewhere.<\/p>\n Ever the prankster, Frappier quips: \u201cThat\u2019s the dream. We\u2019re opening in Dubai by the end of the year and then Las Vegas, where we have this 900-seat penthouse wine and steak bar. And our plan for La Lune is top of the Eiffel Tower in 2028. Our HR is just figuring out the little details now. It\u2019s going to be amazing.\u201d<\/p>\n Yeah, that\u2019s never happening. That\u2019s not the world this gang inhabits.<\/p>\n \u201cWe never had a plan to conquer the world,\u201d Frappier says. \u201cThat\u2019s not what we wanted to do \u2014 ever. We just wanted to open a restaurant where we would make the food we love eating. Simple as that.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s been so cool travelling from city to city,\u201d Filipovic says. \u201cBut we also can\u2019t wait to go home and be in our restaurants. That\u2019s where we want to be the most.\u201d<\/p>\n Incidentally, Mon Lapin didn\u2019t derive its name from that famed bunny Bugs, nor from Frappier\u2019s famed Oven-Baked Rabbit alla Marco, but rather from Jean-Fran\u00e7ois Ganevat, a winemaker with whom Filipovic once worked and who called friends his \u201cbunnies.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHe taught me that wine goes far beyond just harvest and grapes. It\u2019s about opening your eyes up to everything else that\u2019s around you. It was a really revelatory experience and has served us so well at work. Words to live by.\u201d<\/p>\n The Mon Lapin Cookbook: De Toute Beaut\u00e9 \u2014 From Montreal, With Love (Phaidon); $64.95; hardback; 272 pp; available at bookstores and online.<\/p>\n![\"1016](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/1016-city-col-brownstein-2110_305758753.jpg\")
The Mon Lapin Cookbook: De Toute Beaut\u00e9 features embossed gold-coloured lettering, gilt edges in gold colour and a flip-book animation of a running rabbit in the bottom right corner. Dave Sidaway \/ Montreal Gazette<\/p>\n