Bell Center: from ice rink to kitchen
Not long ago, the sound of pucks, skate blades and the crowd was heard at the Bell Center. Less than two months later, we can only hear the hum of the ventilation system. Still fighting the current health crisis, the Montreal Canadiens' arena now has another function.
The only difference is that the hockey players dressed in blue, white and red are replaced by roughly 200 employees of the culinary team of CH Group.
Over the next few weeks, theywill be assembling dishes that will be donated to the Moisson Montreal food bank. Due to social distancing measures, only 45 people can show up daily and this is done according to public health recommendations. Hand washing is required every 20 minutes, as well as hairnets, hats or caps, in addition to the mask and gloves.
"People are so happy to be here, we are just chatting with each other and we are having fun, but we have taken notes for next week and we should be able to put some music on to add some atmosphere", said Patrick Bigras, vice-president of catering for the CH Group.
“We are working on the chain. There are people to put the chicken, the potatoes, the sauce, put the lid, wrap, label the package and bring it back to the freezers. Moisson Montreal then collects the dishes for distribution in food banks and shelters."
La Tablée des chefs had approached the CH Group about two weeks ago, in efforts to provide meals to food banks in Quebec. At the beginning, the employees had to carry out their creations on the corridor of the M2 Marché-Montréal. Bigras said the space was interesting, but not enough to go from 8,000 to 10,000 meals. The ice rink then became the privileged place.
When the menu is selected, the food is prepared in the kitchens of the Bell Center, located under the ice, then employees assemble the dishes on the tables set up on the ice.
Source: RDS
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MAY 18, 2026
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| G | A | PTS | ||
| Zachary Bolduc | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Rasmus Dahlin | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Phillip Danault | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Jordan Greenway | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Alex Newhook | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Alexandre Carrier | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Kaiden Guhle | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Lane Hutson | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Beck Malenstyn | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Ryan McLeod | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Owen Power | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Mattias Samuelsson | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Nick Suzuki | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Alexandre Texier | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Josh Anderson | - | - | - | |
| Zach Benson | - | - | - | |
| Bowen Byram | - | - | - | |
| Cole Caufield | - | - | - | |
| Kirby Dach | - | - | - | |
| Ivan Demidov | - | - | - | |
| COMPLETE STATS | ||||