They are chefs, market gardeners, fishermen, hunters, photographers or winegrowers. They are all immensely curious about the flavors of Quebec. The duty went to meet them to learn about their favourites, their recent discoveries and snoop a bit in their cooking and their memories! Today, an incursion into the gourmet universe of actor and author Fabien Cloutier.
You are the spokesperson for reserved designations in Quebec. How did this collaboration come about?
They approached me, and it happened naturally. It is in my DNA to highlight the know-how of craftsmen. Having met them in recent years, I realize that these are people who do things without compromise, putting their real ideas forward. This is an approach that I very much appreciate.
You were born in Sainte-Marie-de-Beauce. How was the 7-year-old Fabien at the table? What did his culinary world look like?
The food of Quebec of the 1980s. A warm and affordable cuisine, which is shared. Very few restaurants, because we didn’t have the means. My mother has always had a big garden. We also had a potato field with an uncle, so we ate a lot of things from the garden. It really shaped my world, because I still have a garden and I still need to call my mother to ask her when I put my garlic in the ground. I note it, but there is something important in the supreme knowledge of a mother!
When did the Quebec terroir become important to you?
Always. Because of the garden, because of the potato field, because my mother made bread and because, when I was young, I went to work with the farmers. Quite quickly, I understood this case. Coming out of adolescence, it took on greater importance. I was in a hurry to taste things in cane, because there were none at home! And the moment you buy a rod, once, you understand that it’s not good!
What is your Proust madeleine?
Cooking for many people. Large tables. I like that friendliness. I like the idea of serving yourself. Which also means that the cook or cook can sit down! When I receive at home, I don’t bring up the plates! I make the food, I put a lot of it, I put a lot of it, I put a lot of accompaniments, but help yourself!
What does your kitchen look like?
We bought a house from the 1940s, and the kitchen was originally closed in on itself. We couldn’t wait to air it all out. It’s an open place, with an island around which you can work, discuss and prepare group aperitifs. I like noble materials, so there is wood, the counters are made of a mixture of stones. The cabinets are quite contemporary. And it’s functional. A kitchen doesn’t have to be a trinket. I think my cooking is pretty “instagrammable”, but that’s not the point!
What kind of cook are you?
I’m not super patient (laughs). I’m a guy who likes to put nice pieces of meat or chicken in the oven and let it all work. I like boiled ones, because you just cut the vegetables in half! My girlfriend is more patient to cut into small pieces!
What is your specialty for your sons?
My chicken thighs, either on the barbecue or directly on the coals, it works very well. And I can serve them whole fish with the head on. They’re going for the cheeks! I’m proud of that!
And what kitchen tool you can’t do without?
I’ve had a good meat grinder for two years. I’ve tried many, but this one is my new friend! When I go bustard, goose or duck hunting, I do a lot of [volaille] chopped with the breasts. The shepherd’s pie is often with goose, and the spaghetti sauce, with duck.
An essential ingredient?
I have a lot of spices; I use a lot of them and I like to try them. There’s a new thing I met on the Christian Bégin show, it’s called Badia. You can find it everywhere in the grocery store. Since I have this, my chicken can’t live without it! (laughs)
You are a Quebec liquor lover, what are your favourites?
I have a lot of fun with the Quai Distillery in Bécancour. His Sophia gin is truly a favourite. She also makes 1989, a Norwegian-inspired anise-based eau-de-vie. I’m not an anise lover, but that, I like that. With cranberry juice and lots of ice cream, that’s one of the things I quite enjoy. And for microbreweries — there are plenty! —, but I have a weakness for Les grands bois. My favorite beer is Hully Gully.
Do you have any must-see addresses?
In Longueuil, Aux Saveurs des Sévelin is where I belong. For flank steaks, cuts of meat, traceability of all products; I really like it a lot.
From time to time, I buy from Mon beau bon boeuf, in Oka. They have Galloway and black Angus beef. I’m a supply guy! When I get to the end of my deer or moose hunt, and the freezer is empty, I place an order!
Where would you like to be seated right now?
I would go to the Cabin next door. I can’t wait to go back and sit in a tent in the orchard. I like the idea of the picnic basket that we open and share. Eating outside, being in direct contact with where the products come from and having extremely fresh seasonal cuisine. I would go there today!