The Artistic World of Joe Beef’s Fred Morin

Away from the dining room, Fred Morin’s studio is filled with paintings, sculptures, found objects, and the ideas that shape his restaurants.

ParHaley Clarke-Cousineau

1 juin 2026 · 5 min de lecture

The Artistic World of Joe Beef’s Fred Morin

Photography by Gabriel Boutin / @gabrielboutin

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Ten years ago, Frédéric Morin realized he needed a space apart from his house and restaurants where he could explore interests beyond fine dining. What started off as an art studio also became a gym for his three kids, a place to host friends, and storage space for artwork, school projects, Halloween costumes, and a canoe.

Guests are offered a comfy chair, some friendly conversation, and—depending on the time of day—either instant coffee or a cocktail from the minibar. The smell of wood shavings or paint fumes from Morin’s latest projects linger, and hanging on every wall are landscapes, seascapes, and graphic art.

“I want to solve the sky”

Morin creates through a mix of painting, bricolage, and what he calls ‘tinkering’: “you just take whatever you have in your shop, you know?” he says, calling the studio pivotal because it’s “the expression of the artist.”

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“I want to solve the sky”

A camping trailer, which has seen many family road trips over the years, appears in various paintings against backdrops of mountains, woods, and setting suns. True to form, one piece is done from the perspective of someone barbecuing a steak.

Venturing into sculpture, Morin created a 3D model of the trailer using found objects from his studio; the model consists of papier mâché wheels, mesh windows stapled to colourful fabric walls, and a license plate bejeweled with rhinestone stickers. He similarly brought multiple art forms together in a model train set that was displayed in Joe Beef’s front window throughout the COVID pandemic. The trains chugged along painted mountains through a corridor of artworks by himself and other artists he admires, including staff.