If you’re in the Ottawa Valley or the Outaouais and you mention the concept of regional cooking in Quebec, Les Fougères will be named

This talented team inspire others and share their knowledge as well. Their book, A Year at Les Fougères, won the Gold Medal/Food Culture at the Cuisine Canada Culinary Book Awards in 2008.

Of course they’ve won other awards….the Prix d’Excellence du magazine Wine Spectator/Wine Spectator Award of Excellence; the Gold Medal (Ottawa) in the Gold Medal Plates competition; Cordon d’Or-Gold Ribbon – Self-Published Cookbook – for A Year at Les Fougères, but it’s the guests comments that mean the most. Here are a few….

• “Of course the food is always superb but it is the service that always makes me glad I came and brought my friends. Life happens here, not just the ritual of dining.” – Karen
• “Un repas exceptionnel dans une ambiance incomparable. Merci d’avoir comblé toutes nos attentes! “- Suzanne & Brad
• “Innoubliable. Je viens de Montréal. Je vous ferai une très bonne publicité. Félicitations! Quelle belle soirée. Personnel impeccable et service parfait. Merci » – Monique
• “Dear Master Chef! What creations!! – of international standard. In from London visiting and my meal here this evening amazed me! You certainly know how to construct a total culinary experience. Regards, and looking forward to my return” Allan L., Mayfair London SW1

Un menu spécial québécois afin d’apprécier et de célébrer les délicieux aliments du Canada (2011)
A special Quebec menu of thanksgiving for, and celebration of, the wonderful foods and food cultures of Canada

Terrine pressée de foie gras et de canard du Québec, avec compote à la rhubarbe et au romarin
Pressed terrine of pure Québec foie gras and duck
with rhubarb and rosemary compote
La Cuvée des Laurentides,
Vignoble Rivière du Chêne

*****
Essence de champignons cueillis dans la région garnie d’un soufflé de basilic frais du jardin
Essence of locally foraged mushrooms garnished with a fresh garden basil soufflé
Pinot Blanc 2009, Mission Hill, Okanagan Valley
*****
Truite arc-en-ciel des Cantons de l’Est légèrement fumée sur bois d’érable, puis grillée avec glaçure de sirop d’érable de Don Thom et vinaigre balsamique du Québec, servie avec hémérocalle en tempura de raifort
Lightly smoked over maplewood Rainbow trout from the Eastern Townships finished under the grill with Don Thom’s maple syrup and Québec wild grape balsamic. Served with Day Lily pod dipped in horseradish tempura
Riesling 2006, Château des Charmes, Niagara on the Lake
*****
Escalope de bison de la Petite Nation poêlée avec salsa verde d’oseille, jus aux canneberges de Venosta et légumes fraîchement cueillis de la ferme Juniper
Seared Petite-Nation bison escalope with a sorrel salsa verde, Venosta cranberry jus and just harvested Juniper Farm vegetables
Meritage 2008, Ravine vineyards, St-Davids Bench
*****
Rassembleu, fromage bleu semi ferme de lait de vache de la fromagerie de la Table Ronde, dans les Laurentides servi avec confiture de prunes jaunes et thym frais et biscuits maison aux noisettes
Rassembleu-Organic, blue veined semi firm , cows milk cheese from the Fromagerie de la Table Ronde in the Laurentians. Served with yellow plum and fresh thyme jam and homemade hazelnut crackers
La Part des Anges 1998, L’Orpailleur (Dunham, Québec)
*****
Pouding estival avec groseilles, gadelles, framboises, mûres et cassis locales, servi avec crème fraîche au miel de Shawville
Summer pudding with local gooseberries, red currants, raspberries, blackberries and black currants served with crème fraîche stirred with Shawville honey
Adélard 2009, Rivière du chêne, Saint- Eustache
*****
Fraises locales au chocolat noir de la chocolaterie locale Olivia
Local strawberries dipped in 77% dark chocolate from local chocolatier “Olivia”

*****
Mélange de café “Bean Fair” de Wakefield ou Récolte de Thé Inuit Nunavik toundra
Bean fair Wakefield blend coffee or Nunavik tundra -harvested Inuit Tea

Les Fougères is one of about 300 restaurants that celebrate Food Day across Canada. Contact them at the number below to reserve a table.

Les Fougères est l’un des 300 restaurants à travers tout le Canada qui participent au Journée des terroirs . Contactez Les Fougères directement, au numéro ci-dessous, afin de faire votre réservation.

783 Route 105, Chelsea
J9B 1P1
T: 819 827 8942

www.fougeres.ca

Gardening was by no means her first calling. From the early 1900s she had come to Grand-Metis to fish the pools on the river. She also rode, canoed and hunted. She continued fishing until 1926 when an operation for appendicitis intervened. Ordered to convalesce following surgery, her doctor suggested gardening as a genteel alternative to fishing. She was 54 years old. During the summer of 1926, she began laying out the gardens and supervised their construction. The gardens would take ten years to build. The construction would extend over more than twenty acres. When she began, with the exception of a flagpole, a cedar hedge and a tree-lined driveway, the property was barely landscaped at all. The hay was cut to provide feed for the horses. Flowerpots were arranged on the veranda. It was, after all, a fishing lodge.

Elsie Reford’s is a garden of character and it is also a gastronomic destination.   Throughout the summer season, Estevan Lodge which was formerly Elsie Reford’s rambling home, hosts culinary events and showcases the marvellous ingredients of the southern St. Lawrence region. It’s there, from June to September, Chef Pierre-Olivier Ferry, a fourth generation chef with deep roots in Quebec, serves forth menus of extraordinary beauty using the most local of ingredients. Begin with the Métis Bloom Spoon (pictured at the left)  or a salad of whelks with heirloom carrots. Continue with entrees like halibut in a lobster mushroom crust with a pickled daylily bud tartare sauce and roasted duck breast with alder and Charles-Aimé Robert maple sauce, created with the maple liqueur from one of Quebec’s earliest micro-distilleries.     Desserts may be a lemon geranium tart or a simple bowl of strawberry soup with tarragon yogurt and lemon basil.

Les Jardins de Metis is one of about 300 restaurants participating in Food Day Canada. Contact them at the number below to reserve your table.

Les Jardins de Metis est l’un des 300 restaurants à travers tout le Canada qui participent au  Journée des terroirs . Contactez directement, au numéro ci-dessous, afin de faire votre reservation.

200, route 132
Grand-Métis, Quebec  G0J 1Z0

T: 418 775-2222
E: info@refordgardens.com

www.refordgardens.com

Would that all restaurants were as proactive as DNA! Chef Derek Dammann grew up on Vancouver Island and spent several years as Jamie Oliver’s Chef de Cuisine in London. He founded the restaurant with Alex Cruz, formerly of Montreal’s Decca 77 and who has recently opened his own enterprise which sources Quebec ingredients, Société Orignal.  Together they changed the way Montreal dines. And apart, this extraordinary journey will continue.

Tired of the limited Canadian wine selection from the SAQ, the pair decided that the only way around it was to establish themselves as wine importers.  So they did.  And now wines from all across Canada are being ‘imported’ into the cellar. It’s such an extraordinary list that in 2010 DNA was named by Food and Wine Magazine as “The Best Wine List in Canada”.

They’ve applied this same chutzpah to seafood.  Now it’s possible to slurp down a Cortes Island oyster while you’re eyeing your next course of Desolation Sound mussels. Mine came with pea shoots and a fabulous fennel broth.  Perfect!  For Dammann  ”local” means all of Canada and because he  has cooked across the country, he knows the great hidden ingredients. His passion and his talent are astounding.  He aims for 90% Canadian content.  He writes: “I take great pride in serving sustainably grown and harvested produce, meats and seafood ‘because food tastes better when its ingredients are the product of thoughtful stewardship.’ I have a whole animal philosophy at DNA and will always have one or two dishes featuring offal on the menu because it preserves an overlooked part of our culinary heritage.”

One of the most glowing recent reviews came from Montreal food critic Leslie Chesterman.  She wrote in The Gazette “ When analyzing a chef’s cooking skills, I divide the evaluation into three parts: first, the creativity of what’s on the plate, second, the choice of ingredients, and third, the level of technique displayed. Right now, there are few chefs in Montreal who score so high in all three categories. After two meals enjoyed here this month, not only was I impressed with Dammann’s impeccable technique, but dazzled by his mastery of unusual ingredients too few Montreal chefs are willing to explore.”

Located near the waterfront in a fabulous part of Old Montreal, DNA is a happening place…glass and light and chrome and action!    Their menus are good to read, good to think and good to taste!

~~~~

Food Day Canada at DNA Restaurant (from 2011)

Wild Boreal food

~~~~~

Wild boar pancetta copatta

Fried sea lettuce

Smoked porcini mushrooms and balsam fir butter. Daisy bud capers and wood sorrel

Steamer clams and sea peas. Dulse and Red Fife scone.

Sea parsley maccheroni “alla chitarra” ~ Saint Beatrix pepper, duck yolk, cured lamb liver

Shoulder of Mr. Petit’s goat in hay ~ Wild gremolata

Spruce cone sorbet, wintergreen leaves

Larch panna cotta. Sea buckthorn and crabapple

Wild rose Turkish delight

Menu Notes:

1.Pancetta copatta is the belly wrapped around the loin and dry cured for one year.

2.Sea lettuce is a wild seaweed that we fry until crisp and toss with maple sugar.

3.Balsam fir butter is a homemade cultured butter flavoured with the tender tips of the tree itself, strained and emulsified.

4.Sea peas are a shore vegetable from Gaspesie. Dulse is a seaweed that flavoured the bread, also with beer and Red Fife wheat ( a true Canadian product under the slow food ark of taste ).

5.Sea parsley is just what it sounds like. Cured lamb liver is done in the style of the tuna hearts of Sardinia and grated over the top of the pasta to give a briny, sweet taste.

6.Mr. Petit is our goat farmer 30 minutes away in St. Angel de Manoir. The goat is cooked in hay from his farm. Wild gremolata is made in the same vain as the traditional except the ingredients are wild garlic, wild arugula, water mint and sumac.

7.Spruce cones are the rough cones of the tree that bud in July, they are split in half and infused in syrup to give off their flavour and a beautiful magenta hue. Very cleansing, especially with the wintergreen leaves.

8.Larch is a deciduous tree that yields a tender eucalyptus tasting needle. Sea buckthorn is a small bright orange shore berry from Gaspesie that tastes very much like passionfruit.

DNA Restaurant is one of about 300 restaurants that celebrate Food Day across Canada. Contact them at the number below to reserve a table.

DNA Restaurant est l’un des 300 restaurants à travers tout le Canada qui participent au Journée des terroirs . Contactez DNA Restaurant au numéro ci-dessous, afin de faire votre réservation.

355 rue Marguerite D’Youville Vieux Montreal,
H2Y 2C4
T: 514 287 3362

www.dnarestaurant.com

Chez Eric is one of those delightful places that one simply wants to claim for one’s own. It is a real treasure.

On the banks of a spring-fed stream, Chef Che Chartrand and his wife/partner Lisa have created not only a gourmet haven but one where the young, eclectic families of Wakefield head for a meal. A sandbox full of toys is  near the lovely outdoor patio.

Che is a perfectionist who believes in Canada.  We first met the Canadian Chef’s Congress where he was the first chef in the Province to represent Quebec. Yet he embraces the most local of ingredients.  His brilliant  2010 menu began with a Weed Salad then a Le Coprin Mushroom Ragout with puff pastry, cream and fresh basil from the backyard of Chez Eric.

Before growing season, I went on a foray with him into the country to visit one of the restaurant’s regulars,  a gentleman-farmer who is, as I write this, growing his lettuces, root veggies and “tons of tomatoes” and soon will be the source of Che’s beef.

It is as idyllic as any farm I’ve ever visited with green, rolling hills and wide open pastures for the herd of Highland cattle.

Food Day Canada Menu (from 2011)

This year, they’ll be celebrating Food Day Canada for an entire week!
Taster’s menu available from Saturday July 30th – Sunday August 7th

Special Food Day Taster’s Menu:  $37
Additional Wine/Beer Pairing with Québec’s Le Vignoble Rivière du Chêne and Borèale Beer:  $20

Chez Eric’s Weed Salad
($6 if ordered alone)

Local organic greens (Juniper Farms) tossed with edibles from the backyard at Chez Eric and a dried cranberry (Vallée des canneberges) and honey (Berg en dal) dressing.
Pairing: 3 oz of Rosé Gabrielle 2009, a dry rosé from the Dechaunac and Seyval Noir varieties

Québec Cheeses and Charcuterie
($12 if ordered alone)
A sampling of some of the finest cheeses from the Belle Province and charcuterie made in-house. Finished with pickled wild garlic from Québec, fruit, crostini bread and edible flowers from the backyard of Chez Eric.
Pairing: 3 oz of L’Adélard 2009, a unique golden white wine flavoured with Québec maple syrup

Local Meat Loaf with Cheese Curd Potatoes
($18 if ordered alone)
Made with premium local and organic ground beef (JIH Farms) and herbs from the Chez Eric backyard. Served with cheese curd mashed potatoes, local farmer’s veg (Juniper Farms) and a rich mushroom gravy (Champignons Le Coprin).
Pairing: 1/2 pint of Borèale Rousse beer, an all-natural ale with subtle bitter notes and a full mellow taste

Wild Québec Blueberry Pudding Chômeur
($6.50 if ordered alone)
Traditional French Canadian dessert of sweet white cake, wild blueberries and warm, sticky maple syrup. Finished with a pile of whipped cream.
Pairing: 1 oz of Vintage Glacée des Laurentides 2008, a late harvest white wine slightly less sweet than ice wine

Chez Eric is one of about 300 restaurants that celebrate Food Day across Canada. Contact them at the number below to reserve a table.

Chez Eric est l’un des 300 restaurants à travers tout le Canada qui participent au Journée des terroirs . Contactez Chez Eric directement, au numéro ci-dessous, afin de faire votre réservation.

28 Valley Drive,
Wakefield,
Québec J0X 3G0
T: 819 459 3747

www.cafechezeric.ca

When we first met  in 1999, Chef Alain Labrie was creating some of the finest dining experiences Quebec has ever seen at the iconic inn, Auberge Hatley.  When that inn was not rebuilt after a fire in 2005, he and his wife, Joelle Beaupre, set about to bring many of the same, unique flavours to the heart of the Eastern Townships in Sherbrooke, Quebec

Menu Dégustation

Confit scallops, salicorne, beet roots carpaccio and citronnella emulsion Alsace Pinot Gris 2009, Cave de Pfaffenheim, Alsace, France

Fried dumpling of shoulder pork Nagano with spices, duck juice with garlic confit Minervois L’Opéra de Villerambert Julien 2007, M. Julien, Languedoc, France

Fillet of milk fed veal, warmed “tomme de chèvre” and cooking juice with tomatoes Hawkes Bay Syrah Woodthorpe Vineyard 2009, Te MATA Estate, Nouvelle-Zélande

Pan seared duck foie gras, brioche and duck juice with mushrooms Valle del Maule Sauvignon Blanc Vendanges Tardives 2007, Concha y Toro, Chili

Green apples mousse and green grapes with yuzu, pistachio cookies

Menu Dégustation

Pétoncle confit à l’huile d’olive, salicorne de mer, carpaccio de betteraves et émulsion à la citronnelle Alsace Pinot Gris 2009, Cave de Pfaffenheim, Alsace, France

Dumpling frit d’épaule de porc Nagano aux épices, bouillon de canard à l’ail confit Minervois L’Opéra de Villerambert Julien 2007, M. Julien, Languedoc, France

Filet de veau de lait, fondu de tomme de chèvre et jus de cuisson tomaté Hawkes Bay Syrah Woodthorpe Vineyard 2009, Te MATA Estate, Nouvelle-Zélande

Foie gras de canard poêlé, pain brioché, jus de canard aux champignons Valle del Maule Sauvignon Blanc Vendanges Tardives 2007, Concha y Toro, Chili

Nuage de pommes vertes et raisins verts au yuzu, sablé à la pistache

60$Menu

40$Palette de vin

La Table du Chef is one of about 300 restaurants that celebrate Food Day across Canada. Contact them at the number below to reserve a table.

La Tale du Chef est l’un des 300 restaurants à travers tout le Canada qui participent au Journée des terroirs . Contactez La Table du Chef directement, au numéro ci-dessous, afin de faire votre réservation.

11, rue Victoria, Sherbrooke, PQ, J1H 3H8 T: 819 562 2258 http://www.latableduchef.ca/

Danny St. Pierre is one of the new generation of Quebec chefs who are poised to take all of Canada by storm.  They are celebrating their French roots with passion and style and extraordinarily good taste. Auguste is part of La Journée des terroirs/ Food Day Canada but he personally will be on the road traveling to other pockets of French culinary excellence across the nation to film a television series that I can hardly wait to watch.

Their mission? To provide a refined and relaxed atmosphere where diners can enjoy high quality cuisine. Auguste’s website includes a detailed list of their suppliers, as well as their extensive wine list. Named for Auguste Escoffier, the patron saint of French culinary tradition, Auguste has been profiled by Chatelaine,  The Montreal Gazette, and featured on CBC Television as part of “Let’s Eat in Quebec”.

Food Day Canada Menu (from 2011)

À l’apéro

Poutine inversée (6)  6

Platter of 8 amuse bouches 14

Table d’hôte

Cabbageb and sweet corn soup with Théberges double smoked bacon

Courgettes slaw with green garlic yogurt and mint

Heirloom greens with lemon vinaigrette and pumpkin seeds

Warm beef tongue salad, dijonnaise endives and beet pickles

Cast iron sauted whelks, cold potato cream, pommegrenate red bell peppers  +3

Raddichio and fresh chorizo, poached egg, red wine shallots +3

VSC beef or bobines trout tratare, chips and roquette +5

Pork confit raviolli, corn and bacon ragout, sharp cheddar and lovage 24

Wild mushroom risotto laced with baby spinach, sauted bay scalops 40

Pan seared milk fed calf’s liver, green beans and fondant potatoes 29

Crispy black pudding, mashed potatoes, braised red cabbage and flanc 31

Haddoc without chips, cucumber, radishes and rock shrimp, tartare sauce 34

Bobines trout filet meunière, mussels, steemed swiss chard 32

Thick cut flat iron VSC beef steak, strawberry ketchup, polenta fries 38

Leg of Stanstead rabit with spiciy cocoa broth, bean purée and roasted beets 36

Tartelette of strawberrys and white chocolate parfait

Pavlova with, berry curd, fresh fruit and whipped cream

«butter scotch» crème brulée

Maple pudding chômeur with Coaticook ice cream

Hazelnut and chocolate torte, caramel au beurre salé

Sorbets Savoroso

Auguste is one of about 300 restaurants that celebrate Food Day across Canada. Contact them at the number below to reserve a table.

Auguste est l’un des 300 restaurants à travers tout le Canada qui participent au Journée des terroirs . Contactez Auguste directement, au numéro ci-dessous, afin de faire votre réservation.

82 Wellington Nord,
Sherbrooke, PQ, J1H 5B8
T: 819 565 9559

http://www.auguste-restaurant.com/

Le Château Frontenac has been one of the jewels of Canadian hospitality since it was built in 1893.  It was designed to be, in founder Sir William Van Horne’s own words, “the most talked-about hotel on the continent.

Now part of Fairmont Hotels and Resorts, it remains one of the most photographed landmarks in all Quebec.  In those early days, the food was local and today it has returned to those roots thanks to the leadership of Executive Chef Jean Soulard.  His was a foundational role in the new gastronomy of Quebec City.

The stamina required to be a fabulous chef is massive.  But Executive Chef Jean Soulard of Le Château Frontenac has taken it to new heights.  He is officially an ‘iron man’ having completed the Montreal Triathlon. For him, however, training is pretty easy.  He bikes the countryside around the city to source new ingredients for his kitchen. Jean Soulard is the first Canadian Chef to be awarded the “Maître cuisinier de France”.

According to Soulard, “I grew up in the countryside where nature was bountiful and where farmers handed down their land and their passion from one
generation to the next. Respect for local produce was absolute, like a solidly established family tradition. Nowadays, we are experiencing the need to return to nature, which has so often been abused, to rediscover the true tastes and flavours of the past.”

Menu Inspiration – Food Day Canada (from 2011)

Rouleau printanier de langoustines,
pleurotes à la crème d’ail et soupçon de miel du Château
Dublin Bay Prawns Spring Roll,
Pleurote Mushroom with Garlic Cream and Honey from the Chateau’s rooftop

Sorbet du moment
Chef’s inspiration Sorbet

Longe de cerf rouge, pamplemousse et Ciel de Charlevoix
Loin of Red Deer, Grapefruit and Ciel de Charlevoix Cheese

Quatre-quarts au citron et crème de menthe
Pound Cake with Lemon and Crème de Menthe

65$

The Champlain Dining Room in the Chateau Frontenac is one of about 300 restaurants participating in Food Day across Canada. Contact them at the number below to reserve your table.

Champlain Dining Room dans Le Chateau Frontenac est l’un des 300 restaurants à travers tout le Canada qui participent au Journée des terroirs . Contactez Chateau Frontenac directement, au numéro ci-dessous, afin de faire votre réservation.

1 rue des Carrières
Québec, Quebec  G1R 4P5
T: 418- 692-3861

www.fairmont.com/frontenac

Chef Geneviève Filion was one of the marvellous team of Auberge Hatley who was determined to stay in the area after the inn’s fire. Chef Alain LaBrie of La Table du Chef was the other.  Her cooking is contemporary and modern.  Her bistro is right in the heart of Old Sherbrooke which is, itself, surrounded by magnificent farming country

Begin with her brandade de morue & salade de crevette de Matane (Matane is just down the St. Lawrence River)  or simply dine in style with the cuisse de canard confit with sauce teriyaki or a perfect côte de porc Nagano grillée & aubergine au vinaigre balsamique Desserts are great but this is cheese country, so I’d opt for the plate of some of the best of Quebec.

Le Bouchon is one of about 300 restaurants that celebrate Food Day across Canada. Contact them at the number below to reserve a table.

Le Bouchon est l’un des 300 restaurants à travers tout le Canada qui participent au Journée des terroirs . Contactez Le Bouchon directement, au numéro ci-dessous, afin de faire votre réservation.

107, Rue Frontenac,
Sherbrooke, QC, J1H 1J7
T: 819 566 0876

http://www.lebouchon.ca/

It is a great privilege to have Normand and Christine as part of Food Day Canada!

Toqué! is one of about 300 restaurants that celebrate Food Day Canada across Canada. Contact them at the number below to reserve a table.

Toqué! est l’un des 300 restaurants à travers tout le Canada qui participent au Journée des terroirs . Contactez Toqué! directement, au numéro ci-dessous, afin de faire votre réservation.

900 Place Jean Paul Riopelle
Montreal, QC H2Z 2B2
T: 514 499 2084

www.restaurant-toque.com

He offers diners a chance to discover the Made in Quebec experience from the decor to the food and, at times when he’s not taping his popular television show, personally offers private cooking classes.

The Boutique is a showcase for our products and Québec artisans. It is possible for our customers to get a wide variety of products from Québec, as well as various articles designed for him by local artists and a number of house-made delicacies.

A word from Daniel on Food Day Canada / Journée des terroirs. “These menus are my personal tribute to Quebec’s homegrown producers who make me proud to call myself a “Quebec chef.”

Daniel Vézina
Chef/Owner

laurie raphaël is one of about 300 restaurants that celebrate Food Day across Canada. Contact them at the number below to reserve a table.

laurie raphaël est l’un des 300 restaurants à travers tout le Canada qui participent au Journée des terroirs . Contactez  laurie raphaël directement, au numéro ci-dessous, afin de faire votre réservation.

Restaurant/Atelier / Boutique
117, rue Dalhousie,  Québec City, QC
T: 418 892 4555
www.laurieraphael.com
laurie raphaël

Restaurant/ Boutique
2050, rue Mansfield, Montreal, QC H3A 1Y9
T: 514 985 6072

www.laurieraphael.com