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Montreal Gazette

Former Gazette fine-dining critic Lesley Chesterman among eight women to receive Order of Montreal

Lesley Chesterman is to receive the Order of Montreal. The former Gazette fine-dining critic and cookbook author is among a special cohort of eight women selected by Mayor Valérie Plante who will receive the honour in a ceremony on Friday, in addition to the regular recipients of the award. Trained at the Institut de Tourisme et d'Hôtellerie, Chesterman worked as a pastry chef in Quebec and France before becoming The Gazette's fine-dining critic from 1998 to 2018. She is the author of the cookbooks Make Every Dish Delicious (Oct. 18, 2022), Un Week-End chez Lesley and Chez Lesley: Mes secrets pour tout réussir en cuisine, and appears regularly in various Quebec media. Other recipients of the award include author Kim Thúy, former premier Pauline Marois, Inuk singer-songwriter Elisapie, journalist and personality Janette Bertrand, former pediatrician-hematologist and university professor Yvette Bonny, former Quebec Superior Court judge France Charbonneau and Léa Cousineau, first female president of the executive committee of the city of Montreal. The ceremony will take place at the official inauguration of the Place des Montréalaises and the Place Marie-Josèphe-Angélique on Friday, both dedicated to women from diverse origins who have shown engagement to the city in various domains throughout history. 'After eight years as the first woman mayor of Quebec's biggest city, I wanted to honour and celebrate eight remarkable women who participated in the history of the city, its heritage and its identity,' Plante said in a statement. 'As we approach the inauguration of the Place des Montréalaises and Montreal's anniversary, we give these symbols of the Order of Montreal to a cohort specially created for these women who contributed, each in their respective sphere, to the development, the edification, the influence and advancement of Montreal and of Quebec society as a whole. 'I'm very proud to make this exceptional gesture, combined with the inauguration of the Place des Montréalaises, strong gestures that mark the territory by recognizing builders of Montreal, which these women are.'