You know the French paradox – triple-cream brie, foie gras, and chocolate-covered éclairs seem to have no affect on the French waistline. In Quebec, which comes closest to France in Canada, you can see why.
Proud of their gastronomic ingenuity, Quebec City residents enjoy a number of unique establishments, like the oldest North American grocery store, Maison Jean-Alfred Moisan founded in 1871; SAQ Classique wine shop selling “produits du Quebec”like honey wine and ice cider; chocolate museum-shop Choco-Musee Erico, and honey museum-shop, Musee de l’Abeille.
Quebec gourmet specialties include maple syrup, apple butter, black currant liquor, and late-late harvest ice wine made of grapes frozen on the vine, so it’s especially enticing to visit in the fall, when local farmers celebrate harvest time.
98% of the agriculture is in Ile d’Orleans across a bridge from the city. Ile d’Orleans is a treasure island of traditional produce, popular with the city dwellers and tourists alike. The islanders cherish and strive to retain their quiet existence amid golden fields of hay and grazing sheep. The only loud sounds allowed here are those of chirping birds and crushing waves of the Saint-Laurent River that surrounds the island.
On my recent trip to Quebec, I took a short drive to Ile d’Orleans and visited some charming family establishments like Cidrerie Bilodeau which produces sweet ice cider made from apples frozen on tree branches; Fromages de l’Isle d’Orleans, faithfully recreating a cheese recipe from 1635 and Isle de Bacchus cellar, where I tried Le Kir de L’Ile – a light aperitif wine with black currant syrup.
Inspired by the vitamin C-loaded black currants, I sat down to lunch on an open terrace at Cassis Monna & Filles, a specialty wine shop and restaurant that produces black currant wines and serves simple but very French home-made meals. Be it a duck pate sandwich or a lamb terrine, healthful berries would be present everywhere, as well as in sodas, salads, dips, dressings and even beer.
Back in the city, I took a walk down the street from my hotel to the bursting seams of the Quebec City market, Marche du Vieux-Port, filled with bright colors of fruit and vegetables and perfumed with fresh herbs and flowers.
I overheard a tourist from Minnesota telling her companions, “These strawberries, they don’t look real.” I bit my tongue not to blurt out loud, “No, honey, these strawberries are real, those you buy at your city grocery store are not.”
To round up a day of gourmet adventures, I dined on elk, deer, and caribou meat prepared on an open fire at Sagamite Restaurant overlooking the Akiawenrahk River at the four-star Hotel-Musee Premieres Nations. The surrounding territory is inhabited by Native Americans of the Huron-Wendat nation for 450 years and is home to the community of Wendake – part and parcel of Quebec’s rich cultural and culinary scene.
For more information to help you plan your culinary adventures in Quebec, visit www.bonjourquebec.com and www.quebecregion.com.
Photo credit: Yuri Krasov
