| Parti culinaire du Québec | |
| Leader: | Jean-Louis Thémis |
| Colorcode: |
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| Seats1 Title: | Seats in the National Assembly |
| Website: | http://www.particulinaireduquebec.org/ |
| Country: | Canada |
| State: | Quebec |
The Parti culinaire du Québec (pronounced as /fr/) is a minor provincial political party in Quebec, Canada.[1] [2] [3] Founded in 2018 by Madagascar-born Quebec chef Jean-Louis Thémis, it aims to educate Quebec voters about food and respect for nature.[1]
Jean-Louis Thémis was born Jean-Louis Thémistocle Randriantiana in Madagascar in the 1950s, and moved to Quebec in 1972.[1] Thémis has held a variety of positions in Quebec, including former head of Metro-Richelieu, founder of Cuisiniers sans Frontières (which teaches cooking to low-income communities internationally), and most recently as a teacher at Institut de tourisme et d'hôtellerie du Québec.[1] He announced his retirement from the ITHQ to pursue this project.
The keystone of the party's ideology involves the creation of a "gastronocracy", in which farmers and food producers would be viewed as the elites in society.[1] No government decisions would be made that would jeopardize Quebec's food supply, using the proposed Energy East pipeline as an example.[1] [2]
Themis has called for an end to Sunday shopping so that families could eat together, improving food in hospitals and community health centers and the creation of a Ministry of Gastronomy.[1] [2]
The party would like to see artisanal restaurants using local and organic ingredients exempted from Quebec Sales Tax.[2]
In the 2018 Quebec election, Themis was the party's only candidate, in his home riding of Laurier-Dorion. He received 169 votes, or 0.54% of the votes cast in the riding.[4]
In the subsequent 2022 election, the party presented two candidates. Thémis was the party's candidate in the riding of Gouin, where he received 199 votes, or 0.68% of votes cast in the riding. Amélie Villeneuve ran in Laurier-Dorion, where they received 157 votes, or 0.58% of the votes cast in the riding.[5]