MONTREAL, April 29 — French chef titan Joel Robuchon, who boasts bragging rights to holding the most Michelin stars in the world, has become the latest culinary superstar to set his sights on Canada with the opening of a new restaurant in Montreal.

After Paris, London, Hong Kong, Tokyo, Las Vegas and Singapore, Robuchon has announced plans to open his first Canadian outpost of L’Atelier de Joel Robuchon at the Casino de Montreal.

Citing the city’s burgeoning culinary landscape, Robuchon said in a statement that he’d been planning the opening for some time. The Montreal restaurant is set to open its doors in spring of 2016.

In recent years, culinary heavyweights have woken up to Canada’s dynamic dining scene and increasingly sophisticated palate.

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British food TV star Jamie Oliver, for instance, has chosen Toronto to be his first North American restaurant location. Jamie’s Italian is set to open this year at Yorkdale Shopping Centre, a major retail complex.

In 2012, Michelin-starred chef Daniel Boulud opened his first Canadian eatery at the Four Seasons in Toronto, while one of New York’s favourite young chefs, David Chang, brought his Momofuku empire to the city in the same year.

Meanwhile, the arrival of several high-profile, elite chefs in Canada could help bring the country out of culinary anonymity.

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The reverential red book, the Michelin guide, sends no inspectors to the country, which is also snubbed by the World’s 50 Best Restaurants list, a ranking that aims to capture the zeitgeist of the gastronomic world.

To fill the void, local food experts chimed in to create their own domestic ranking, Canada’s 100 Best Restaurants, which was published this spring.

Topping the list is Toqué! in Montreal. — AFP-Relaxnews