The village of Sainte-Perpétue is best known for its Pig Festival – which celebrated its 45the anniversary at the beginning of the month – than for its gastronomy. But the restaurant Au Pâturage and its chef Chloé Ouellet, crowned Revelation of the Year at the 2024 Lauriers Awards and seen on the show The bosses!arouse the curiosity of Quebec’s fine palates.
On a beautiful Friday in mid-August, in Saint-Joseph row, the large room is empty in favor of the equally large terrace at the back, very well appointed. So we join the diners who have chosen to spend their evening in the open air.
Here, there is no risk of eating the same thing twice. The five-course menu changes every week, according to a principle of “true seasonality”, depending on the harvests in the gardens located at the back of the restaurant, then two kilometers further. This is the challenge that Chloé set herself, knowing full well that there would sometimes be less good shots, she told us last summer in an article on the new farm tables in Quebec.
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PHOTO MARTIN TREMBLAY, THE PRESS
Raw and candied tomato, diced brioche with butter, talia foam, lactofermented tomato water, basil and marigold.
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PHOTO MARTIN TREMBLAY, THE PRESS
Here, the raw bean and sunflower seed salad is served with a piece of Arctic char with herb sauce, potato “scales”, lettuce cream and seaweed.
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PHOTO MARTIN TREMBLAY, THE PRESS
Elk from the Le Roy du cerf farm with its wood-fired pepper puree, carrots with sage, mustard shoots and reduced meat juice with mushrooms.
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PHOTO MARTIN TREMBLAY, THE PRESS
We propose a daring pairing with five Quebec vintages.
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Rest assured, almost everything went well during our visit.
The only choices to be made are therefore liquid. We propose a bold pairing composed of five Quebec vintages. We order only one – for my guest! – so that we can hit the road again afterwards. There are also wines from here, Europe and Australia to order by the bottle, a few beers, ciders and piquettes.
But first: cocktails. There are only three on the menu. The Lady Marmelade is based on Comont distillery agave spirit, married with a local apéritif, verjuice and haskap. It’s a bit sweet, but tastes good. The Ginette is longer, served over ice with bubbles. The first sip through a straw is extremely sweet—all the strawberry syrup must have been left at the bottom—but the following ones are refreshing.
The first course of the well-paced meal sets the tone. Chloé Ouellet is a daring chef who practices a more personal than “fashionable” cuisine, marked by her Gaspé origins married to what grows in “her” fields. On half a dozen kohlrabi rounds that can be used like tortillas are placed smoked scallops, but also a few raw slices, which soften the “smoky” effect. A slightly sweet coriander pesto and a delicious toasted brioche complete this beautiful generous plate.
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PHOTO MARTIN TREMBLAY, THE PRESS
Chef Chloé Ouellet opened the country restaurant Au Pâturage in the village of Sainte-Perpétue.
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PHOTO MARTIN TREMBLAY, THE PRESS
The large outdoor terrace is popular on sunny days.
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PHOTO MARTIN TREMBLAY, THE PRESS
There are gardens at the back of the restaurant.
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PHOTO MARTIN TREMBLAY, THE PRESS
There is even a playground, including two pétanque courts!
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The halibut in the next course was a little overcooked, but its accompaniment of small rounds of beans and sunflower seeds in a salad was original. Normally, one would not eat beans raw, but there was no intestinal upset to report!
When I read “corn – egg – ricotta” on the menu, I didn’t expect at all a raviolo with egg runny in a corn cream. But what a nice surprise! This stuffed pasta was succulent and very tasty.
Some diners must also be surprised when the last savoury dish of “veal – mushroom – pepper” turns out to be sweetbreads, a bold choice that I would have enjoyed if the delicate meat had not been too firm. The mushrooms had been replaced by slightly rubbery carrots. The red pepper puree at the bottom of the plate stole the show and the pumpkin seeds added unnecessary texture.
PHOTO MARTIN TREMBLAY, THE PRESS
Chloé Ouellet, seen here grilling peppers in a wood-fired oven, is daring in her cooking.
I mentioned the chef’s audacity. It is evident in the dessert in all its ardor with a noisette butter financier, wood-fired candied tomatoes, orange tomato cream, tomato jam and a touch of crumble. This could be disconcerting for chocolate fans – a product that does not, by the way, enter the kitchen at Au Pâturage – but if you like fruit in pastries, there is no reason not to love this creation.
Despite a certain abundance, the meal was not so heavy as to overwhelm and make the return painful. This is because the approach to cooking is more nourishing than excessive. It takes an hour and a half by car to return to Montreal or Quebec. Are the chef’s talent and the place enough to justify this trip? To get out of your comfort zone, but without being completely jostled, absolutely!
Price
PHOTO MARTIN TREMBLAY, THE PRESS
The bright dining room of the restaurant
The tasting menu is $85 per person, which is very reasonable. Add $50 for the five-drink pairing (again, affordable). On Thursday nights, the five-course meal is $70.
Good to know
There are à la carte brunches on weekends and, on Sundays, from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m., it’s “the festive afternoon” with a wood-fired oven menu. This fall, Chloé Ouellet is opening a refreshment bar in Drummondville with Michael Lemaire-Lambert, maître d’hôtel and sommelier at Au Pâturage. One to watch.
Information
Au Pâturage is open from Thursday to Sunday.
2581, Saint-Joseph row, Sainte-Perpétue
Visit the Au Pâturage website