Parti culinaire du Québec

The Parti culinaire du Québec (French pronunciation: [paʁti kylinɛʁ dy kebɛk]) 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]

Parti culinaire du Québec
Leader	Jean-Louis Thémis
Founded	2018 (2018)
Ideology	Creation of a "Gastronocracy"
Seats in the National Assembly	0 / 125
Website
http://www.particulinaireduquebec.org/
Politics of Quebec Political parties Elections

Background

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.

Ideology

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]

Election results

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]

The party stood in the 2025 Terrebonne provincial by-election, coming in 7th place with 145 votes (0.64%).^[6]