Cirque du Soleil’s
Totem Soars High
in the Kitchen
with Mia Messier
By Michelle Winner
up with Mia in Portland, Oregon
recently and sat down for lunch
and an interview in the heart of
TOTEM’s little gypsy village,
the food trailer “dining room,”
surrounded by many of the show’s
star athletes and performers.
Mia left music after several years to
attend Quebec Tourism Institute,
focusing on food and catering
management. For 10 years, Mia
worked catering movie sets, cooking
in bistros, hotels and private
kitchens and opened her own
pizzeria in Montreal.
What fuels those high-fliers and
ethereal acrobats of Cirque Du
Soliel’s TOTEM traveling show? A
varied menu and