“20 years of inspiration” at Télé-Québec: when will Josée di Stasio return to television?

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If Josée di Stasio was still hesitant to return to the fore with a new show, she now knows that the general public, restaurateurs and her friends in the artistic community are eager to find her on the small screen. 

Since her appearance at “Everyone talks about it” last Sunday, as well as at the Montreal Book Fair – where she promotes her two most recent tempting books, “Mes carnets de saison : autumn winter and “My seasonal notebooks: spring summer”, published by KO Éditions -, the testimonies fuse from all sides to remind her that we miss her.

The host revealed by Daniel Pinard on the show “Les pieds dans les dishes” (2000-2002) then piloted her own meeting, “à la di Stasio” from 2002 to 2014 at Télé-Québec. It was for health reasons – she was diagnosed with breast cancer – that she left the small screen, before returning with the show “di Stasio”, presented for two seasons on the same antenna.

Calling herself “in great shape”, the one who is described as an ambassador of good food and beautiful encounters around the island does not hide the fact that she is juggling the idea of ​​​​returning to TV, after years of 'absence.

“What I miss is the complicity with the public and the guests, but also a platform to share the business that I find, where I am. My tool for sharing my findings, my “snooping” and my encounters was the show. There was a ritual with the time slot that I had, on Friday evening, it was fantastic. People were watching with a glass of wine,” said Josée di Stasio, who learned to cook very early with her maternal grandmother. The latter allowed him to transform his kitchen into a zone of experimentation and amusement. “This freedom is a life lesson, it has become a game, you trust yourself afterwards,” she told QMI Agency.

“ I take a few months to decide. We're going to finish the year and we'll see how it goes. Honestly, I have no idea where it's going to go,” summarized the host about a TV project that is on the table.

20 years of inspiration

In the documentary “à la di Stasio: 20 ans d'inspiration”, which will be presented this Friday, on Télé-Québec, the director Patricia Beaulieu returns to all the adventure of Josée di Stasio on the small screen. With a big nostalgia effect.

Described by pastry chef and food critic Lesley Chesterman as an “influencer” long before Instagram, Ms di Stasio chats with chefs and others are interviewed. Unanimous in saying that she has changed their lives on different levels, the latter as well as her favorite guests – Anne Dorval, Vincent Graton, Gilbert Sicotte and Kim Thúy – salute her rigor, her desire to do things in simplicity as well as the “licked” visual invoice of his projects.

In an interview, Josée di Stasio says that she arrived at the “right time” at the helm of her show two decades ago. Quebecers then became more and more curious about food – which itself became much more diversified –, chefs were recognized as stars, cookbooks multiplied and artisans spread their wings throughout the territory.

“I had a bond with the chefs, but not to learn how they cook in their restaurant. Rather to learn how, at home, we can reproduce, get inspired or get stuff from them. Same thing when I went to visit markets or market gardeners, just to learn that local and fresh products make a difference.”

She recognizes that with galloping inflation, not all families who have the means to consume quality and local products, but “the idea is to cook, to develop inexpensive recipes and to multiply your recipes with pasta, rice and legumes. The meat becomes the accompaniment”.

Produced by Zone3, the documentary “à la di Stasio: 20 ans d'inspiration” will be presented on Friday, December 2, at 8 p.m., on Télé-Québec.< /p>