Catering: Famed Montreal chef Normand Laprise's Toque team owes its suppliers nearly $7.5 million.

The carnage continues in the catering world. In dire financial straits, famed Montreal chef Normand Laprise's Toque team owes its suppliers nearly $7.5 million.

Dok Group recently sheltered three of its companies from their creditors Insolvency and Bankruptcy Law, Mentioned Newspaper.

Documents submitted to the trustees show a dire financial situation similar to the crisis hitting many other prestigious catering companies.

Distributors of cheese, fruits and vegetables and kitchen appliances, vineyards, banks… The list of lenders has almost 100 names.

Even window cleaners and knife sharpeners were not paid.

Toqué Group companies are owed thousands of dollars tied to a loan from Revenu Québec and Canada Economic Development. Not to mention RBC Bank, which provided an amount of approximately $850,000.

The trustee takes control

On January 3, the restaurant group opened five Brasserie T! announced the closure of establishments, notably Montreal, Sainte-Thérèse and Brossard. At least 130 people have lost their jobs.

The well-known upscale restaurant Toqué!, located in the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec building, however, reopened its doors after the holiday break.

Since then, three companies in the group have filed for bankruptcy, including Société en commandite Groupe Toqué, which bankruptcy trustee Nathalie Brault took control of on February 5. A meeting of creditors was also scheduled for this Tuesday.

Contacted Wednesday afternoon, Dogg Group public relations officer Denise Dev noted that it was not planned that the popular Dogg! Closes its doors.

The company's co-founders, Normand Laprise and Christine Lamarche, declined to be interviewed.

In January, they pledged in a press release to “use their efforts and their talents to ensure the sustainability of Toqué!, which celebrates its 30th anniversary in 2023.”

Inflation and turnover

Both highlighted the difficulties they face in restaurants, particularly “rising costs of raw materials, construction and salaries” and “staff turnover”.

Companies that have disappeared across Quebec in recent months for similar reasons can no longer be counted.

In Montreal alone, / In the first week of January, Café Boutique Les Malines, Beaufort Bistro and Dinette National announced their closures.

In September 2023, Newspaper It revealed that two-thirds of restaurants that received a $60,000 loan from the federal government during the COVID-19 pandemic have yet to repay.

The deadline for this refund is January 18.

In collaboration with Philippe Langlois