Prominent members of Montreal’s culinary scene say they’re angry that the city’s new restaurant in the provincially-owned Montreal Casino has decided to feature the menu of a foreign celebrity chef instead of promoting local talent.

The new restaurant, L’Atelier Montreal, is one of a dozen owned by France’s Joel Robuchon, whose empire includes franchises in Shanghai, London and Las Vegas.

Montreal Gazette food critic Lesley Chesterman called the provincial lottery corporation’s choice of Robuchon a “golden opportunity wasted” when it comes to showcasing Quebecois cuisine.

“When tourists go to the casino, they’re going to see French food from a French chef,” she said.

David McMillan, co-owner of renowned restaurant Joe Beef said he’s a “huge fan” of Robuchon, but the choice was a slight against Montreal chefs.

Locals could have “come up with a great program for the casino,” according to McMillan, “but, you know, it’s easier to order a franchise.”

McMillan said he thinks the public deserves to know how much money the provincial lottery corporation, Loto-Quebec, is spending on the Robuchon brand.

The province says details of the contract will remain private. Quebec Finance Minister Carlos Leitao would only say Montreal is “open to the world,” and that he doesn’t see any disadvantage in “the fact we have in Montreal now one of the world’s most renowned chefs.”

L’Atelier Montreal’s executive chef Eric Gonzalez, who recently spent five weeks with Robuchon in France, points out that his boss has more highly-coveted Michelin stars than any other.

“This is the best in the world,” he said.

Gonzalez also says it’s wrong to say they are not showcasing the province’s cuisine. Although he, too, is French, he has worked in Quebec for many years and considers himself Quebecois. On top of that, he said, most of his staff members are Quebecois and Robuchon has ordered that nearly all the food products come from Quebec.

With a report from CTV’s Vanessa Lee