When most think of Quebec, big cities like Quebec City and Montreal come to mind. I love both for different reasons, but the region of La Mauricie remained a mystery, until recently.
The La Mauricie region is halfway between Montreal and Quebec City, and I was invited to explore what they called “Quebec’s new food region.”
I’m not sure if it was new as much as it was rich with agriculture and traditions, but I was pleased to discover the Cabane Chez Dany maple sugar shack, one of the key maple syrup producers in the area.
I highly recommend a stop here for a family-style Québecois maple syrup-filled feast with maple ham, maple baked beans and pork, bacon omelette, an incredible pea soup, tourtière, addicting oreilles du crisse (deep-fried smoked pork jowls similar tochicharrón) eatenwith maple syrup, fried potatoes, homemade bread, maple pancakes and more.
Typically this meal is enjoyed during the spring when the sap starts flowing, but Cabane Chez Dany is open year round.
It might feel a bit touristy once you see the menu offered in eight languages, but the food was home-cooked, the experience was affordable, and the ambiance was fun as you dine on communal tables right at the sugar shack.
While getting your hands sticky with maple syrup is a must-do, the culinary adventures at the upscale boutique eco-resort, Auberge Le Baluchon, are not to be missed. The resort is located in nearby Saint-Paulin and it is worth the trip to La Mauricie alone.
Executive chef Claude Girard has been a professionally trained cook and herbalist for 15 years. He creates the menus for Le Baluchon, which are in continuous flux in order to be sourced locally and sustainably.
The menu features wild herbs, plants, and flowers he forages on the 1,200-acre property the resort is built on, and guests of the inn can even go with him.
The soups are made with health in mind and ingredients chosen are carefully selected with natural medicinal qualities. It’s a Chinese philosophy Girard feels passionately about and it’s rare to see in a western or modern context.
Le Baluchon also has an on-site sugar shack, but it opens only in the spring when maple sugar festivities start.
Don’t forget to treat yourself to an outdoor massage (weather permitting), which takes place in a lovely tree house in the forest facing the waterfall, or on the riverbanks in a luxurious canopy hut. Forget the “Sounds of Nature” soundtrack, this is the real deal.
Find Mijuneat the sold-out Amex Platinum Cardmember dinner at Hawksworth Restaurant on Sept. 30, judging the City of Vancouver United Way Chili Cook-off on Oct. 2, and co-hosting the “Passion for Pork” BC Sausage Making Competition at the Fraser Valley Food Show on Oct. 4.
Find out more about Mijune at FollowMeFoodie.com or follow her on Twitter and Instagram @followmefoodie.
