Mr. and Mrs. Harting ready to visit Les Frères Troisgros in Roanne. Photo: A. Harting

Sheltered from the snows of the 1973 winter in their apartment in Toronto, Toni and Ria Harting began dreaming of a summer vacation in Europe. First to their native Holland to see friends and family, then why not head to France and visit the fancy restaurant, L'Oasis, they so enjoyed a few years before? "But then sanity left us and we lost control," Toni explains, years later, "We added another superb restaurant, then another, and another, eventually winding up with a list of ten fabulous, top-of-the-line three-star restaurants in the eastern half of the country. Five of them near Lyon were to be visited on five consecutive days." The process of planning the trip to 30 three-star Michelin restaurants in 20 days, then meant awkward trans-Atlantic phone calls and writing letters.

36 years later, six chefs led by Jamie Kennedy and sommelier Jamie Drummond, are seeking inspiration from the Hartings decalogue of meals for a series of tastings in September (click here for information and to buy tickets). For Vertical's Tawfik Shehata, who is teamed up with John Lee, owner of Chippy's Fish & Chips and 3C Consulting Corp., to try and channel the Hartings first meal on that trip at Maxime's, the Hartings' trip and photographs are a connection to his late father who lived in Paris and described eating at the glamorous restaurant, once owned by Pierre Cardin, to his chef son. On the phone in between lunch and dinner service, Shehata is excited about planning his menu, though also a little nervous: " I haven't cooked that style of classic French cooking for nearly a decade!"

"Before I went to cooking school, my dad bought me Paul Bocuse's book," Donna Dooher explains, "I cooked from it, or I tried to, even though I didn't really know what a truflle was." Dooher, whose Mildred's Temple Kitchen restaurant serves more casual, farm to table fare, lept at the chance to recreate the Hartings' eight course meal at Bocuse's restaurant. In part because of a meeting she had with him in Toronto in the 1990s and in part because "in 1971, 72 and 73 I travelled through Europe and it opened my eyes to what food and cooking could be." For Dooher, tapping into the spirit of the Hartings' trip marks a symbolic "return to the table", that she is glad to champion.

Bertrand Alepée (teamed with his partner at Amuse Bouche, Jason Inniss) is as excited by the juxtaposition of art and fine dining brought forward by the exhibition and tasting series as by the chance to re-conceptualise the dishes he learned to cook at chef's school in his native France. "We studied these chefs and restaurants," he explains, "so this especially fun."

Chef Alain Chapel of La Mère Charles in Mionnay. Photo: A. Harting

Find out more about 'Thirty in Twenty' at TheDepartment.ca.

Malcolm Jolley is the editor of Good Food Revelation.

There are three main points of significance to the Thirty in Twenty installation and the culinary journey of this young couple. The first was the era. It was a time of shifting ideologies, politically and culturally. Contemporary culture was becoming more relaxed, however there was still an expectation of formality especially around fine dining. To have dinner in a Michelin starred restaurant was considered an occasion and something one took very seriously. Many restaurants today still adhere to the formal principals defined by some of the restaurants that Tony & Ria visited.

The second reason is the restaurants that Tony and Ria choose. Chosen because of their Michelin status, many of them have not only maintained their culinary status, but have gone on to receive further acclamation such as l’Oasis & Pyramide which have both become Relais & Chateau properties. These restaurants are still culinary landmarks that inspire young chefs today and have touted such iconic chefs such as Paul Bocuse, who would begin the culinary revolution of ‘Nouvelle Cuisine’.

The most significant reason for this exhibit is the journey itself. There are very few people who would allow themselves the time or take the risk to embark on such a adventurous and romantic culinary pilgrimage. Toni and Ria’s appreciation of fine dining as a component of culture is at the core of all people who are passionate about food. Their journey represents the ability to take a moment and indulge in the pleasure and passion of food and dining. It is because of the documentation of this incredible journey that we are reminded how important and significant these moments are to create for our own sense of culture and happiness.