Helena Restaurant

When she arrived in Montreal at the age of 21, Helena Loureiro was teeming with ambition; she wanted to travel, to discover the world and to settle somewhere else other than Portugal, where she was born. She visited New York, Toronto and Vancouver, but it was the Quebec metropolis and its bohemian, European feel that won her over and convinced her to stay awhile. "The first thing I did was enrol at ITHQ (Quebec's Institute of Tourism and Hotel Management)," says Helena. "I thought it was the best way to get settled in."

As a student at the institute, Helena learned the basics of French cuisine, which is mainly based on butter and cream as opposed to olive oil. So Helena, who had started cooking in her grandmother's kitchens at the age of 11, had to rewire the way she worked as she completed her apprenticeships. And now, almost 30 years later, we've come full circle: Helena has returned to her first loves and to her roots. Her typical Portuguese cuisine is now one of the most highly regarded in Montreal.