A Crash Course on Rabbit and Polenta with Elena Faita (VIDEO)

In this episode of Giardinos, Le Bremner chef Danny Smiles gives props to Elena Faita, the godmother of Italian cooking in Montreal. At her Mezza Luna cooking school, Danny gets a crash course on a hearty northern Italian rabbit and polenta dish—perfect for Montreal’s brutal winters. He also learns the dangers of cooking with pepper and the not-so-delicate art of butchering a rabbit.

But right before his one-on-one cooking lesson, Danny walks us through Montreal’s Little Italy to pick up supplies and pastries for Elena, whose nearby Quincaillerie Dante hardware store is an institution and one of the last old-school remnants of a rapidly evolving neighbourhood.