We challenge you to find elsewhere in Quebec desserts as spectacular as those prepared by Catherine Méra in her pastry shop in Baie-Saint-Paul. His log with honey, vanilla and haskap was the gourmet conclusion to our Christmas meal at Ferme Éboulmontaise.
Like Marc Landry, French pastry chef Catherine Méra fell under the spell of Charlevoix when she moved there a few years ago to work at Manoir Richelieu and Germain Charlevoix. Today, it has its own address in Baie-Saint-Paul, which employs six people in the service of a particularly refined food profession.
PHOTO PHILIPPE BOIVIN, SPECIAL COLLABORATION
Before opening her pastry shop, Catherine Méra worked at Manoir Richelieu and Germain Charlevoix, among others.
Two passions
The business is the culmination of the two passions of the one who first did the Hautes Études Commerciales in France, then, at the age of 30, her course at the National Superior Pastry School of Alain Ducasse and Yves Thuriès. It takes advantage of both hemispheres of the creative but pragmatic lady’s brain!
Here, Catherine Méra discovered a host of inspiring products, including saffron and agastache from Safran Charlevoix, foie gras from the Basque Farm (for the macaroons), greenhouse strawberries from Explorafruits, cheeses, honey base of Charlevoix Mead, sweet clover, haskap, etc. She tries hard to bake as much as possible with what she finds in the surroundings, although chocolate, citrus fruits, vanilla are far from being excluded from her cooking.
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PHOTO PHILIPPE BOIVIN, SPECIAL COLLABORATION
Tenderly vanilla is a superb crown… vanilla!
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PHOTO PHILIPPE BOIVIN, SPECIAL COLLABORATION
This dessert, which served as the inspiration for our honey log, was created for the Cuisine, cinéma et confidences festival, held in November.
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PHOTO PHILIPPE BOIVIN, SPECIAL COLLABORATION
Here, we can clearly see the inside of the honey, vanilla and haskapwood log.
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PHOTO PHILIPPE BOIVIN, SPECIAL COLLABORATION
Jams, chocolates and spreads, among others, can be purchased in the “grocery” and “chef’s shop” section of the pastry shop.
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PHOTO PHILIPPE BOIVIN, SPECIAL COLLABORATION
Catherine Méra is having fun with the scents of her macaroons. On the lower level of the display, you can see the “unemployed puddings” made from brioche offered by the pastry chef.
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For Christmas, a collection of eight “haute couture” logs was created. You can salivate by looking at them on the pastry shop: yuzu, adzuki beans and black sesame; caramel, nougatine and chai; nougat, clementine and spices; pistachio, hazelnut and cranberry …
Open year round
Although she does not reach the summer turnover at this time of the year, Catherine Méra is keen to keep her business open year round, for local customers who want to spoil themselves. The shop is also a cafe / tea room. You can eat a pastry there in the morning or take a sweet break in the afternoon.
For a small municipality like Baie-Saint-Paul, which experiences several downtimes in a year, it is quite a privilege to have access to this level of quality without interruption.