This text is part of the special Pleasures notebook
The second largest food producing region in Quebec, Chaudière-Appalaches has decided to bring together its farmers, restaurateurs, processors and food-related shops by offering the Arrêts gourmands route. Roadtrip guided by the belly.
From Montreal, after almost three hours by car, the O’Ravito Café Relais, in Lévis, lives up to its name. Whether visitors arrive there by bicycle or by car, it remains a good excuse to take a break and sit down with a quality coffee, a pastries or a brunch. On the menu, the know-how of local artisans: the breads are from Borderon et fils, the duck confit from Canard goulu, the chicken and ham from the Turlo butcher shop.
It’s Ann-Rika Martin, 2017 winner of the show The Chiefs !, which is the origin of the map. She took over her mother’s bicycle repair shop and added a kitchen that makes you want to stroll around. You can order one of the dishes that change according to the seasons or one of the classics: the ham and cheese croissant, the salmon gravlax or the Lucille brioche, inspired by the owner’s grandmother.
Gourmet inn
When you choose your nest to flit from one gourmet stop to another, the Auberge des Glacis is ideal. We will opt for one of the 16 rooms or for the new Hen House adjoining the main building and which can accommodate up to 10 people. In L’Islet, in a stone building that was previously a mill, Nancy Lemieux has been welcoming visitors for 18 years, now supported by her daughter, Audrey Jade Bherer.
“As soon as I arrived, I thought that my tourist attractions were the producers and I immediately wanted to become a gateway to introducing them. Today, our menu is built around the creations of 70 artisans,” explains the innkeeper with pride.
Stops in Saint-Jean-Port-Joli
The choice is difficult when we have to decide which ones to include in our itinerary among the 160 Gourmet Stops brought together since 2021 by the Table agroalimentaire de la Chaudière-Appalaches. For this time, it is in Saint-Jean-Port-Joli that we are focusing. This pretty riverside village brings together around fifteen of these stops.
Sunday morning: the terrace of the Sibuet bakery is busy. Those who know how make detours to come and stock up on sourdough bread, croissants, cream puffs, or to get their hands on the famous cream and maple sugar pie. But we also offer a generous lunch and dinner menu every day. Manon Leclerc and Thibaud Sibuet are the owners of this artisanal bakery which perpetuates the know-how of the Sibuet family from France to Quebec. “They have been bakers from father to son for three generations,” explains Manon as she drops off the coffees.
Three minutes away, Le Moule à Sucre is a must. In 2002, Nathalie Niemeyer and Roberto Di Giulio left Montreal on a whim after falling under the spell of an old barn on the side of Route 132. In the restored building there is now a floor devoted to the professions of art and another at the confectionery and the general store, where you can discover more than 1,200 products, most of which come from Quebec.
Even in the middle of the afternoon, we line up in front of the Chouinard dairy bar, also along Route 132. Catherine Chouinard grew up among sundaes, cones and frozen treats. It was her ancestor, a milkman, who opened the first kiosk in 1960. Today, the proud representative of the fourth generation to take care of the place, Catherine has preserved the values of her ancestors. She uses local maple syrup and waits for the berry season to put them on the menu in her grandmother’s strawberry jam, for example, which tops the soft cream. “Short circuits are fashionable now, but that was already the case back in the day! » recalls the thirty-year-old, happy to perpetuate the traditions.
After untying your legs near the water, go to Ras L’Bock. The end of the day is the ideal time to meet on the magnificent terrace of this microbrewery, which overlooks the quay and offers majestic sunsets.
Within walking distance, La Coureuse des Grèves offers local and seasonal products on its menu. Its specialties — bison, duck, fish & chips — are to be enjoyed on the large heated terrace.
It’s already time to head back home, after a second night in the luxury Le Poulailler at the Auberge des Glacis. But why not take advantage of the road to explore other gourmet stops?
In Berthier-sur-Mer, the Domaine des Feux Follets is one of the new additions to the network. “We didn’t think we would open to the public, but people asked to visit,” says Sarah Inkman, visibly happy to show off the vineyard in which she and her partner, Frédéric Paré, have put their hearts since 2015. Because he has It took love to transform the family farm that belonged to Frédéric’s great-grandfather in such a beautiful way.
We leave the Chaudière-Appalaches region with a trunk full of good wines, beers, breads and sweets, but above all with the memory of these meetings with always passionate entrepreneurs that we can discover at Arrêts gourmands.
This content was produced by the Special Publications team at Duty, relating to marketing. The writing of the Duty did not take part.