Perch: Soil / Land / Sea

What happens when fine dining meets local resourcefulness? In Perch, Ottawa chef Justin Champagne-Lagarde presents a cuisine that is refined but never wasteful, rooted in Ontario’s fields, forests, and waters rather than in imported luxury.

Over 50 recipes highlight Champagne-Lagarde’s commitment to using as much as possible of what’s raised nearby, even as he draws inspiration from international traditions: squab liver mousse buñuelos, goose heart ravioli, rabbit with balsam fir sauce, or pulled shank chawanmushi. The results are elegant, surprising, and deeply connected to place.

The book also introduces the network of farmers, fishers, and producers behind the restaurant, underscoring a vision of fine dining as community as well as cuisine. Step-by-step practices for running a sustainable kitchen—down to reusing espresso grounds as hand soap—make the philosophy as tangible as the dishes themselves.

With striking photography and thoughtful design, Perch reads as both a restaurant portrait and a manifesto: a new model for how fine dining can celebrate its ingredients and honor the people who produce them.

Hardcover. Color photographs throughout.