This text is part of the special book Plaisirs
From Baie-Saint-Paul to Châteauguay, via Sainte-Perpétue, chefs are getting down to earth. In their kitchen, there is an abundance of berries, vegetables and herbs freshly harvested from their own vegetable garden, meats from local producers (when they are not raised in their backyard!) and gourmet dishes that do not distort our terroir. Meeting with three proud ambassadors of the “farm to table” movement, an ancestral way of life brought up to date and which gives pride of place to the culture of the hyperlocal.
Le Bercail and Les Labours: Charlevois flavors
At the helm of the kitchens of the two restaurants at Hôtel & Spa Le Germain Charlevoix, chef Patrick Dubé admits to having “fallen in love” with his adopted region. On site, his brigade can count on a little over an acre of gardens where several kilos of vegetables grow. “We have, among other things, 8 beehives, 2,000 garlic plants, more than 200 tomato plants, 25 varieties of edible flowers and almost as many herbs,” he explains. We also have a farm: 15 oxen and 40 lambs… The products go directly from the field to the plate! »
Here, the spirit of the farm-to-table movement can be felt, seen and tasted. “Our goal is to provide local cuisine despite the volume,” agrees the chef. This is why we also work with several producers in the region. Featured: cheeses from Laiterie Charlevoix, products from Charcuterie Charlevoisienne and spirits from the Menaud distillery, among others. “We even started to make our flour with wheat from our fields! »
The experience: After visiting the gardens and pastures that surround the hotel, head to Le Bercail to enjoy a 100% Charlevois pizza. Even the tomato sauce is cooked on site from tomatoes from the vegetable garden.
Au Pâturage: gastronomy in the village
In Sainte-Perpétue, in the Centre-du-Québec region, chef Chloé Ouellet has won her bet: bringing a gourmet restaurant to life in a village of around 1,000 inhabitants. Gourmet, yes, but without the stuffiness associated with “white tablecloth” type establishments. This project imagined with his companion and business partner, Maude Laplante, includes not only a country table set up in a former theatre, but also a catering service, market gardens including a new greenhouse and a fishmonger’s to visit at the public market in Drummondville.
With a magnificent one-acre playground, the chef makes it her duty to make the most of what grows in the fields surrounding the farm. “We don’t lose anything,” she says. Our ugly vegetables, we cook them differently. “For the rest, no need to go very far: “there are elk 2 kilometers away, rabbits 40 kilometers away and even fish in Lake Saint-Pierre. » The hyperlocal spirit at its best!
The experience: You never eat the same thing twice at Chloé Ouellet’s table. From her kitchen open to the dining room, she showcases the crops of the moment without taking herself too seriously.
L’Épicurieux: the Laurentians on your plate
L’Épicurieux, located in the heart of Val-David, enjoys an idyllic setting with a view of the Rivière du Nord. In the kitchen open to the dining room, the team of chef and co-owner Fanny Ducharme works first and foremost to promote local producers. The atmosphere is friendly, like the tasting menu to share, which she adapts to the arrivals. “We don’t just buy products from Quebec. The tomato that was picked in the morning a few kilometers from here ends up on our table two hours later, illustrates his accomplice, Dominic Tougas. It’s a simple approach, but it makes a difference in the supply chain. We’re pretty sure it’s the right thing to do. »
The experience: In the warm atmosphere typical of small neighborhood restaurants, the chef declines her menu in multiple dishes to share, a question of encouraging taste discoveries.
Chez Mes Soeurs and La Traite: tradition at the service of the community
A nod to the site’s rich history, the 5,000 square foot vegetable garden at Manoir D’Youville, on Saint-Bernard Island in Châteauguay, perpetuates a two-hundred-year-old heritage. “You should know that at the time, the Gray Nuns were already cultivating the land there to feed their patients,” recalls Jean-Martin Côté, the general manager of what has now become a popular resort on the Rive. -South. There are thus tomatoes, beets, pumpkins and beans, as well as corn, beans and squash, planted according to the indigenous companionship method of the three sisters.
This vegetable garden is part of a food self-sufficiency approach since, during the harvest season, the vegetables grown will go directly from the ground to the table, as at the time of the Gray Nuns. These will indeed be found on the menu of the restaurant Chez Mes Soeurs and the bistro La Traite.
Beyond the hyperlocal gastronomic offer, the social vocation of the hotel, of its bistro and of its restaurant holds just as much attention. “I wanted to give back by entrusting the management of the gardens to a dozen young people with autism spectrum disorders,” explains general manager Jean-Martin Côté.
The experience: The terrace of the La Traite bistro set up in the former dairy, with its magnificent view of the surrounding nature, is worth the trip in itself.
With Catherine Lefebvre