Anjou Restaurant
Roger Paquet (1915-2004) was a successful chef who immigrated from France to Québec in the early 1950s. He owned several distinguished restaurants in Montréal during his lifetime, including Le Caveau, Le Jonquiere, Les Ramparts, and Le Chatelet in Morin Heights. Reflecting his Angevin roots, his first venture was called Anjou.
This is a really unusual, yet highly evocative, sign. It’s double-sided, with laminated metal and a sheet of metal gauze sandwiched inside. It’s in the shape of a shield or badge, with an outline of a pair of bull’s horns on top. The outer surfaces show evidence of bronze-coloured paint. Three fleurs-de-lis are riveted to both sides of the gauze, echoing the coat of arms of Anjou. The restaurant’s name is cut out of the outer metal sheets, giving a subtle shadow effect.
In chapter 14 of his autobiography, Souvenirs d’un Angevin migrateur (Éditions Francine Breton, 2003), he briefly describes ordering up the sign: “Tout d’abord, je décide de changer le nom du restaurant et de l’appeler dorénavant Anjou. Pour ce faire, je demande à un artisan ferblantier du quartier de me fabriquer une enseigne en forme d’écusson, d’environ deux pieds par trois, avec, dessus, les armoiries angevines. Celui-ci sera attaché par des anneaux à une tige de fer, elle-même fixée dans la façade l’immeuble. Le ferblantier me fabrique trois modèles, j’ en choisis un, l’affaire est réglée et l’enseigne, rapidement installée.” [Trans: “First, I decide to change the name of the restaurant and now call it Anjou. To do this, I ask a tinsmith in the neighborhood to make me a badge-shaped sign, about two feet by three, showing the arms of Angers. It will be attached by rings to an iron rod, itself fixed to the facade of the building. The tinsmith makes me three models, I choose one, the case is settled and the sign quickly installed.”]
We’re very grateful to M. Paquet’s family, especially Mme. Joan Pauli (at left), for this gift to the MSP. Mme. Pauli also drew our attention to the insightful reference in Souvenirs d’un Angevin migrateur. Thanks also to the wonderful research librarians at the BaNQ for help tracking down some references to Anjou, including the announcement, above.