This text is part of the special Pleasures notebook
You don’t have time or don’t want to cook between now and Christmas? If your budget does not allow you to treat yourself to a good restaurant, your group exceeds 10 people or you want to get off the beaten track, there are solutions for each of your desires. Heading towards catering trends and prepared dishes to know about.
Celebrate with frozen food
Despite its perverse effects, the pandemic has allowed many Quebecers to appreciate the concept of eating out at home. Although things have since returned to normal, the offer of gourmet takeaway meals has remained popular. However, it has its limits in terms of choice and accessibility. This is why a formula that has been resoundingly successful in France for a good twenty years is becoming more and more talked about here: high-end frozen food.
Founder in 1998 of Gastronomia, a frozen food company intended for chefs, then in 2010 of Cool & Simple, a network of stores and a transactional site whose offering is only made up of high-end frozen foods, Vincent Mahé wishes to change the perception of Quebecers when it comes to frozen prepared meals: “People often confuse freezing and deep-frozen here, a process that cools a product more quickly and thoroughly, so that it retains all its flavor and nutritional properties,” he explains. -he. They are also more accustomed to frozen products that are tasteless and full of additives. »
Even if a first visit to a store entirely made up of freezers may be surprising, the Cool & Simple catalog is vast and interesting. There you will find local French products (Dauphin potatoes, Royan ravioli, etc.), but also all-purpose specialties, such as bakery products, pizzas, burgers, cooked pastas, appetizers, vegetables. or even desserts. Some of those that sell very well, such as duck fat fries and sarladaise potatoes, are also sold in traditional grocery stores.
“What sets us apart is taste,” says Mr. Mahé. Our customers want to have a taste experience as successful as in a restaurant, so we make no compromises on taste or the quality of ingredients. These two aspects are also part of our status as a certified B Corp company. »
Cool & Simple obviously follows trends in prepared meals closely. In addition to local recipes that attract a European clientele, those that could be found in French bistros, as well as others focusing on exoticism, such as poké bowls and ramen soups, are appreciated by clients.
“We are also asked for more and more small formats, including for the holidays,” adds Vincent Dahé, who therefore also offers a turkey stuffed with apples weighing more than 6 kg with its sauces – “which has nothing to do with see with the Butterball industrial turkey,” specifies the entrepreneur — a roast turkey stuffed with maple and bacon or a half capon stuffed with cranberries and chestnuts weighing 1 kg.
Appetizers of all kinds, as well as what Mr. Mahé calls “small, affordable luxuries,” such as foie gras, scallops with champagne sauce or gratin dauphinois, are also on the menu for end-of-year meals. year. Without forgetting the desserts, including logs and different cakes of your choice.
The beauty of this formula? “We just have to defrost and, for hot dishes, reheat in the oven, that’s all! says Mr. Mahé. But I would personally advise you to focus on a mix of fresh products, such as vegetables, and frozen products if you have people over during the holidays, for a perfect balance. »
Catering 2.0
Bringing home restaurant-quality festive dishes is great. But bringing back the chef who concocts them is wow… especially if we come out with the endless “no crust sandwiches” and braised beef cheek. This is precisely what the duo who created Chaud avant!, a new event gastronomy company, are offering.
Indeed, Amine Nasrallah, former sous-chef of Normand Laprise at Le Toqué! and Charles-Antoine Crête at Montréal Plaza, as well as his partner Jean-François Fournier, former sommelier of several fine addresses (Europea, Majestique, Montréal Plaza, Cabane d’à Côté) have joined forces to dust off the world of traditional caterers .
“A bit like Menu Extra, we have a different project which represents the catering of tomorrow,” explains Mr. Fournier. We add a gastronomic and fun flavor to what is usually done in the industry. » Thus, with Chaud avant!, the cocktails are adorned with stations where salmon is smoked minute-by-minute or seafood, opened and presented in front of the guests. Braised chicken breasts and breasts are transformed into grilled steaks, barbecues or briskets. In addition, the know-how of the sommelier accompanies all this with a range of around fifty privately imported wines.
“With my background as a chef, I also want our ingredients to be local and seasonal,” says Amine Nasrallah. And to those who think it’s difficult to do without tomatoes in winter, I say that there are lots of great things to do with beets, rutabagas and turnips. You just have to be creative. »
Obviously, the gastronomic and sustainable concept of Chaud avant! does not scare people away, since the small start-up company receives up to 20 requests per week, from the aperitif dinner to the wedding banquet, including the evening of chef at home. “A caterer like us is practical for groups who are refused access to restaurants due to lack of manpower. And we are also flexible enough to adapt to the wishes of our customers,” explains Jean-François Fournier.
Moreover, the duo received several special requests for the holidays, from a “vintage Christmas” with deviled eggs and meatball stew to a native meal including sagamité and game. “This second contract allowed me to learn that the First Nations did not salt their food and did not yet use maple syrup. It was a great challenge,” says the chef with a smile. Something to change the ordinary at the end of the year, right?
This content was produced by the Special Publications team at Duty, relating to marketing. The writing of the Duty did not take part.