I met Thierry in a café to discuss two projects on which he’s been working on for 5 years now. An independent lawyer by trade, he’s got his hands in many pots, notably as a partner in restaurants and bars around the city.
What’s his project all about?
Le Burger Week, in September, and La Poutine Week, in February, are events where dozens of restaurants prepare a special version of an iconic dish and compete over who has “the best”.
Where did the inspiration come from?
“My co-founder, Na’eem Adam, thought of a competition to find the best burger in the city. We’d heard of events celebrating various dishes, but nothing that would put restaurants in the spotlight and have people vote for their favourite! If we couldn’t agree on which burger was best, we thought: how about letting the people decide?
And from there, we figured the next logical step was poutine, which gave us something that was fiercely local to go alongside the burger, which is a more international dish. Since we started in 2012, we’ve seen hundreds of partner restaurants on four different continents!”
What’s been difficult?
“I think distinguishing ourselves with our branding has been particularly challenging, especially in light of all the similarly-themed ‘weeks’ and ‘fests that have popped up since we started. Sometimes, people think we had a hand in an event that had nothing to do with us, which is definitely a double-edged sword!”
What are some of the lessons you’ve learned?
“If you’ll allow me a cliché: done is better than perfect. When we were launching, we were so focused on making everything perfect that a few days prior, we were scrambling to get everything done. Once it’s out in the world, it takes on a life of its own, and from there you can perfect it, incrementally every year.
Work with friends: I’m not saying only work with your childhood friends, but find someone with whom you get along, and an environment where you’re in a position to have some fun. It really helps the project because it creates a positive workspace.
There are no killer ideas, it’s all about execution. We adapted an idea for a burger week, then adapted THAT idea for poutine. We’ve had so many people come up to us with great ideas, but if no one decides to act on them and execute, then they’ll remain just that, ideas. Don’t be afraid to adapt a good idea; if you think you can do a great job executing it, go for it!”
Good tips – thanks for the inspiration!
“You’re welcome! See you soon at Burger Week!”
You can learn more about Le Burger Week (1-7 September 2016) and La Poutine Week (February 2017) on Facebook.