The first time I had ever picked wild garlic was in the woods near Lake Annecy in France where I was working as a cook in a hotel in Talloires. This is a famed region for edible wild plants made popular by the three michelin starred chef Mark Veyrat. We would stand awestruck in the middle of an incredibly bright leafy floor, feet buried in green, a shock of colour which burst out from the dull spring surroundings. Nothing could be easier to spot or pick. Snip, snip and the intense smell of garlic and chives would fill the air, stain the fingers and frazzle the mouth.Enormous bags were filled in no time. Back at the restaurant we would transform them into pesto, the season's first soups and intense spring salads.
In Quebec, the 70's and 80's witnessed a boom in interest and picking of bear's garlic. Somewhere
up to 6 million plants were pulled up, snipped, chopped, salted, boiled,
even sold in local grocery stores, in other words, consumed. Add to
this the unregulated abusive commercial interests and this plant was doomed. I could see how this could happen given the ease and speed it
took in France to fill our bags.
Since march 1995 ail des ours or ramsons, buckrams, wild garlic, wood garlic, bear leek, wild leek, bear's garlic (take your pick) is protected under article 16 of the act respecting threatened or vulnerable species with a minor exception. Outside of protected zones one can pick a maximum of 50 bulbs a year for personal consumption. Let us say the equivalent of 200 grams.
Standing in the middle of a sugar maple forest, abundance meets
restraint as it should, as with most things wild, and I contented myself
with a few plants, a wild garlic soup at home, and as for my restaurant Renard artisan bistro, well I am happy nonetheless to work with a west coast variety, equally delicious, with their intense
pungent garlic and sweet chive taste to celebrate the coming of spring.
April 14, 2013
February 10, 2013
Moulin La Pierre-a history of quality.
Way back yonder, let us say, somewhere in the Darker Ages and earlier, before all the other things that happened, it is said that white flour was coveted by all, and consumed by the few, the rich. Among the ancient Romans, different bread 'qualities' corresponded
to social hierarchy. Slaves and the poor
ate coarse loaves of mixed grain bread, fabricated out of whole meal
stretched with bran.The middle classes got bread made with less-processed wheat flour, often cut with
milling waste. The whitest, softest loaves of labour intense sifted wheat
flour were reserved for the upper classes. Even if I had invented these facts, we know that there is truth to them in every society, because the history of bread and flour is really a history invention,
greed, scientific discovery and survival which pretty much amounts to
the history of humankind.
During the Middle Ages, white flour was seen as being healthier than dark flours. The fact for this benefit was that by processing the flour, the mold and fungus in the grains, which led to several diseases, were eliminated. Processed white flour could be kept for much longer having lost much of the fatty acid of the germ which would quickly oxidize and give that distinctive rancid taste and smell.
Let us move to Canada where it is now mandatory to enrich white flour. Through scientific evidence it was realized that highly processed and industrial overheating of wheat created flour practically devoid of any nutrition. And for most humans, no nutrients equals useless.
"The standard for flour (also known as "white flour", "enriched flour" or "enriched white flour") in the FDR requires the mandatory addition of thiamin, riboflavin, niacin, folic acid and iron. The addition of vitamin B6, pantothenic acid, magnesium and calcium is optional. All white flour sold in Canada for food use, whether for use in further manufacturing or for sale directly to the consumer, must be enriched. Consequently, all foods sold in Canada that contain white flour must be made with enriched white flour. The sale of unenriched white flour or its use is not permitted in Canada. The only exception to this requirement is white flour sold for the production of gluten or starch." Candian Food Inspection Agency.
Let us move to Moulin La Pierre, St-Norbert-d'Arthabaska,Quebec, one of the last privately owned old water mills which is run year round. In operation since 1845, moulin La Pierre reminds me of the many churches a little outside of Rome...where there are less banal tourists, and a little more faith and integrity. The setting is beautiful, but I cared for that less than the WAY they transform their organic wheat and grains.
Rene Simard and Daniele Huberdeau are the 20th owners. They took over in 1996 from LaPierre who decided to retire. Rene was already working in a boulangerie, bought LaPierre's flour which was already certified organic, they knew each other well, and....the rest is...now. They kept the name but added a space to La Pierre.
The method. Ground on Sylex of about 4 feet in diameter, a heavy Siliceous rock with a 100-125 rpm grind which is slower than say granite at maybe 300rpms and the much faster metal rolls of industrial method but by not overheating the grains, the resulting flour retains much of its nutrients. This has always been the case for many artisans and the organic, bio dynamic and the slow food process...time. This kind of common sense backed with a quality product, backed by an inherit respect for others seems to me the values most people seek.
AND we love the taste of their flour in our homemade bread and pastry shells at Renard Artisan Bistro, and love even more the comforting fact that again we have met people who care, not only for their product, but for general well being of the rest of us, and that is something the history of humankind has always had trouble dealing with.
During the Middle Ages, white flour was seen as being healthier than dark flours. The fact for this benefit was that by processing the flour, the mold and fungus in the grains, which led to several diseases, were eliminated. Processed white flour could be kept for much longer having lost much of the fatty acid of the germ which would quickly oxidize and give that distinctive rancid taste and smell.
Let us move to Canada where it is now mandatory to enrich white flour. Through scientific evidence it was realized that highly processed and industrial overheating of wheat created flour practically devoid of any nutrition. And for most humans, no nutrients equals useless.
"The standard for flour (also known as "white flour", "enriched flour" or "enriched white flour") in the FDR requires the mandatory addition of thiamin, riboflavin, niacin, folic acid and iron. The addition of vitamin B6, pantothenic acid, magnesium and calcium is optional. All white flour sold in Canada for food use, whether for use in further manufacturing or for sale directly to the consumer, must be enriched. Consequently, all foods sold in Canada that contain white flour must be made with enriched white flour. The sale of unenriched white flour or its use is not permitted in Canada. The only exception to this requirement is white flour sold for the production of gluten or starch." Candian Food Inspection Agency.
Let us move to Moulin La Pierre, St-Norbert-d'Arthabaska,Quebec, one of the last privately owned old water mills which is run year round. In operation since 1845, moulin La Pierre reminds me of the many churches a little outside of Rome...where there are less banal tourists, and a little more faith and integrity. The setting is beautiful, but I cared for that less than the WAY they transform their organic wheat and grains.
Rene Simard and Daniele Huberdeau are the 20th owners. They took over in 1996 from LaPierre who decided to retire. Rene was already working in a boulangerie, bought LaPierre's flour which was already certified organic, they knew each other well, and....the rest is...now. They kept the name but added a space to La Pierre.
The method. Ground on Sylex of about 4 feet in diameter, a heavy Siliceous rock with a 100-125 rpm grind which is slower than say granite at maybe 300rpms and the much faster metal rolls of industrial method but by not overheating the grains, the resulting flour retains much of its nutrients. This has always been the case for many artisans and the organic, bio dynamic and the slow food process...time. This kind of common sense backed with a quality product, backed by an inherit respect for others seems to me the values most people seek.
AND we love the taste of their flour in our homemade bread and pastry shells at Renard Artisan Bistro, and love even more the comforting fact that again we have met people who care, not only for their product, but for general well being of the rest of us, and that is something the history of humankind has always had trouble dealing with.
January 6, 2013
Elk, a question of identity
They say that Cap Saint-Ignace was where the last wild elk in Quebec died. That was between 1830-40. It is said that the last Eastern Elk was shot in Pennsylvania in 1877 and officially extinct in 1880. All this due to over hunting.
Presently, in Quebec, there only exists farmed elk, which is sold mainly for its antlers, then canned hunting and then for its meat. Next to no elk farmer in Quebec will or has made a living off of selling only the meat. The main reason and boom for elk farming (perhaps unfortunately) was the Asian market for the velvet antlers which ranks number two to ginseng in importance in traditional Chinese medicine. Big money. Most elk farmers who specialized in velvet antler made a living without needing a second income. That was prior to the year 2000 marked by a string of mad cow disease, all that encephalopathy freaky spongiform suffering stuff and the spread of the disease in elk and deer on the west coast. Borders closed, markets slowed, velvet in the Asian market became suspect.
Renard Artisan Bistro used to work with Wapitis Val Grand Bois. They sold and went into retirement. Sad. I called another farm from the Association des Éleveurs de Wapitis du Québec (Certified pure blood elk), Gaston Bouchard asking for elk meat and he replied "non," laughing " il y a trop d'argent a faire..." Sarcastically saying there was too much money to be made in elk farming. Ok. There was obviously something strange here. Another producer I had stayed with a couple years back in St-Charles Garnier on my way to Gaspesie had also sold. Another 'farmer' told me that he did not really care about the meat and if I wanted to deal with it to call the abattoir, his main income being, antlers aka pills. I recently found myself in the fields with Lucien and Jocelyne of Ferme les Wapitis des Beaux Pres in Aston-Jonction talking about why is elk more expensive than other meats, and why everyone is struggling to sustain their living.
Almost 18 years in the elk trade, original founders of the Association des Éleveurs de Wapitis du Québec begun in order to protect the industry of pure bred elk from those who were crossing deer and elk and selling at elk prices, (the buying price of elk being 6 to 8 times higher than deer usually), and still struggling to make ends meet but happy. Caring. Working in a system much dominated by chicken, pork, beef...all subsidized by the government? The protection of quotas? More questions. They grew up in the North, as in a 15 hour drive up into the tundra, used to eating caribou meat. When they returned back 'south' they approached the MAPAQ asking about caribou farming. 'Farming!? What you need is a zoo permit! Find another animal." they were told and so elk it was.
The Beaupre family are a couple who have had 8 children and are happy; humble and happy to share. Something I struggle everyday to appreciate, attain, and keep within my own circles. Nonetheless, their story is one of beauty, struggling to keep their elk farm in existence, working in the four corners of Canada, a family living apart, living together, almost living at the edge of the modern industrial world, poised perfectly at that junction where most of us ask the most important questions of ourselves and our community. In a society where intensive industrial farming is the norm and will not change anytime soon, it is possible watching elk in their vast space, observing their behaviour, that something will be lost when it is replaced by steel and concrete walls. It is not a question of the pumped up, fucked up, legless battery chicken because there are so many poor people to feed, because rich people are buying the same birds, it is a more a question of norms established, reasons behind them and government regulations. Many more questions.
When cheapness should not dictate out better judgement, the fact is that almost everybody wants things inexpensive, especially food. We should all remind ourselves (because we are modern and educated) that with cheapness comes a price, hidden but everpresent. Elk meat for the moment is marginal, not very subsidized, meaning that it will definitely be more expensive (or as some would say representing the true cost of living), meaning you won't see it on any fast food restaurant any time soon... but on Renard's menu it has become a must, and most probably because of its relation and natural voice in what many have called the slow food movement. And again another question arises, would we ever want to see elks bear the same burden as the so called modern cows, pigs and chickens? And yet the big market for elk is for its antlers and not the meat....and yes,again, so many more questions.....
Presently, in Quebec, there only exists farmed elk, which is sold mainly for its antlers, then canned hunting and then for its meat. Next to no elk farmer in Quebec will or has made a living off of selling only the meat. The main reason and boom for elk farming (perhaps unfortunately) was the Asian market for the velvet antlers which ranks number two to ginseng in importance in traditional Chinese medicine. Big money. Most elk farmers who specialized in velvet antler made a living without needing a second income. That was prior to the year 2000 marked by a string of mad cow disease, all that encephalopathy freaky spongiform suffering stuff and the spread of the disease in elk and deer on the west coast. Borders closed, markets slowed, velvet in the Asian market became suspect.
Renard Artisan Bistro used to work with Wapitis Val Grand Bois. They sold and went into retirement. Sad. I called another farm from the Association des Éleveurs de Wapitis du Québec (Certified pure blood elk), Gaston Bouchard asking for elk meat and he replied "non," laughing " il y a trop d'argent a faire..." Sarcastically saying there was too much money to be made in elk farming. Ok. There was obviously something strange here. Another producer I had stayed with a couple years back in St-Charles Garnier on my way to Gaspesie had also sold. Another 'farmer' told me that he did not really care about the meat and if I wanted to deal with it to call the abattoir, his main income being, antlers aka pills. I recently found myself in the fields with Lucien and Jocelyne of Ferme les Wapitis des Beaux Pres in Aston-Jonction talking about why is elk more expensive than other meats, and why everyone is struggling to sustain their living.
Almost 18 years in the elk trade, original founders of the Association des Éleveurs de Wapitis du Québec begun in order to protect the industry of pure bred elk from those who were crossing deer and elk and selling at elk prices, (the buying price of elk being 6 to 8 times higher than deer usually), and still struggling to make ends meet but happy. Caring. Working in a system much dominated by chicken, pork, beef...all subsidized by the government? The protection of quotas? More questions. They grew up in the North, as in a 15 hour drive up into the tundra, used to eating caribou meat. When they returned back 'south' they approached the MAPAQ asking about caribou farming. 'Farming!? What you need is a zoo permit! Find another animal." they were told and so elk it was.
The Beaupre family are a couple who have had 8 children and are happy; humble and happy to share. Something I struggle everyday to appreciate, attain, and keep within my own circles. Nonetheless, their story is one of beauty, struggling to keep their elk farm in existence, working in the four corners of Canada, a family living apart, living together, almost living at the edge of the modern industrial world, poised perfectly at that junction where most of us ask the most important questions of ourselves and our community. In a society where intensive industrial farming is the norm and will not change anytime soon, it is possible watching elk in their vast space, observing their behaviour, that something will be lost when it is replaced by steel and concrete walls. It is not a question of the pumped up, fucked up, legless battery chicken because there are so many poor people to feed, because rich people are buying the same birds, it is a more a question of norms established, reasons behind them and government regulations. Many more questions.
When cheapness should not dictate out better judgement, the fact is that almost everybody wants things inexpensive, especially food. We should all remind ourselves (because we are modern and educated) that with cheapness comes a price, hidden but everpresent. Elk meat for the moment is marginal, not very subsidized, meaning that it will definitely be more expensive (or as some would say representing the true cost of living), meaning you won't see it on any fast food restaurant any time soon... but on Renard's menu it has become a must, and most probably because of its relation and natural voice in what many have called the slow food movement. And again another question arises, would we ever want to see elks bear the same burden as the so called modern cows, pigs and chickens? And yet the big market for elk is for its antlers and not the meat....and yes,again, so many more questions.....
October 8, 2012
the passion according to Mathieu...Gosselin
A great many things contradict common sense or any sense. Two come to mind as I was driving to visit Mathieu Gosselin in Rigaud from Montreal. Organic heroin or cocaine...something pretty disturbing if ever it comes to be and animals raised without ever having seen and felt our great powerful sun...something even more disturbing since it is very common.
Guinea fowl is one of those victims. The scenario is simple. A bird with wild and strict hierarchical instincts stuffed into tiny boxes for its entire life. That is what the industrial chicken farmer becoming guinea fowl farmer does. That is the fate of probably all guinea fowls raised in Quebec. Plume des Champs is the exception and the scenario is also simple; they are the only ones (for now) raising free range guinea fowl in Quebec. Gosselin and his three associates created a 5 acre space (soon to become 10), dug a fence a few feet underground which the coyote, the fox and any predator cannot dig and penetrate, and a 'roof' of netting 6-7 feet high (so that the fowl can fly but the air borne predators cannot dive and kill). Standing with the shy guinea fowl and Mathieu describing in detail their habits and nature, I knew that this was another ally of artisans, of education and of the love of all things beautiful.
Arguments that guinea fowls run around too much and therefore become too tough also fail. Gosselin's guinea fowls are juicy, tasty even without sous-vide cooking. And standing in the field with his birds I can testify that they do not cease to move. Serving them at Renard Artisan Bistro and having eaten a few myself I can say that the too much movement argument is false. Period. Plume des Champs are the first that I have seen with this type of elevage, which is extremely sane, but worrisome because they are still in our day of online information and imagery of the rare few. Why? Well there is no doubt that information is extremely abundant...so? are we cheap? do we not give a shit? are we selfish? are we stupid? are we fucked? You decide.
Guinea fowl is one of those victims. The scenario is simple. A bird with wild and strict hierarchical instincts stuffed into tiny boxes for its entire life. That is what the industrial chicken farmer becoming guinea fowl farmer does. That is the fate of probably all guinea fowls raised in Quebec. Plume des Champs is the exception and the scenario is also simple; they are the only ones (for now) raising free range guinea fowl in Quebec. Gosselin and his three associates created a 5 acre space (soon to become 10), dug a fence a few feet underground which the coyote, the fox and any predator cannot dig and penetrate, and a 'roof' of netting 6-7 feet high (so that the fowl can fly but the air borne predators cannot dive and kill). Standing with the shy guinea fowl and Mathieu describing in detail their habits and nature, I knew that this was another ally of artisans, of education and of the love of all things beautiful.
Arguments that guinea fowls run around too much and therefore become too tough also fail. Gosselin's guinea fowls are juicy, tasty even without sous-vide cooking. And standing in the field with his birds I can testify that they do not cease to move. Serving them at Renard Artisan Bistro and having eaten a few myself I can say that the too much movement argument is false. Period. Plume des Champs are the first that I have seen with this type of elevage, which is extremely sane, but worrisome because they are still in our day of online information and imagery of the rare few. Why? Well there is no doubt that information is extremely abundant...so? are we cheap? do we not give a shit? are we selfish? are we stupid? are we fucked? You decide.
July 3, 2012
our Nordic fruit's return. Sherrington Quebec.
Driving into southern Quebec, off highway 15 towards Sherrington I was debating whether rhubarb was a fruit or a vegetable. After having pushed Renard artisan bistro experiment into the limits of local food, the Nordic winter was a little difficult. We relied mostly on a few preserves, apples and pears. It was easy to abandon olive oil, but fresh fruit?
Down intensely straight rows of lettuce on the dead end rang St-Joseph I was more than excited to begin working with the first fruits of summer. I pulled into the driveway, stepped out and found myself staring in a sort of chaotically organized mixture of gardens, fruit trees, bushes, weeds, post asparagus cloud like beige cotton candy , dog house, farm tools, children's toys, a shed, a goji berry bush? After all those long perfect rows of lettuce this seemed definitely wild, or part of something else. All these 21 arpents I am staring at are part of Les Champs Fruites experiment begun by Valerie Leclair in 2003. We walk through her land as she shows me her cassis, gooseberries, red lake currants, pink champagne currants, ground cherries, Boyne raspberries (juicy soft, the kind you will probably never find in a supermarket), autumn raspberries, toka prunes, mont-royal prunes, Reine Claude prunes, Saskatoon berries, Trappist and Isaac varietals, big late, Juliette and Romeo cherries, blackberries, black raspberries, a few pear varietals, and the camerise a truly boreal tear drop shaped blueberry like fruit that she is testing. I could not help feeling that this compact quiet place was becoming a sort of history of our northern fruits.
Valery's father explains to me that most of the farms in the region had to become larger with a bigger production in order to survive, essentially because of big supermarket's pressure on increased production and lower prices (the frightful modern feudal horn). Farmer's have very few choices, and Valerie's choice is of the micro type kept alive by farmer's markets in cities, the one I would say most sane, honest and sustainable.
She bought two bee hives in 2011 to aid the pollination of her land, and she talked about a sort of asparagus honey which had me immediately thinking about potential dishes....I thought, of course, that is why we have no choice to love our artisans. Playful, intense, chaotic, curious, eternal...a place of real tradition always becoming.
Down intensely straight rows of lettuce on the dead end rang St-Joseph I was more than excited to begin working with the first fruits of summer. I pulled into the driveway, stepped out and found myself staring in a sort of chaotically organized mixture of gardens, fruit trees, bushes, weeds, post asparagus cloud like beige cotton candy , dog house, farm tools, children's toys, a shed, a goji berry bush? After all those long perfect rows of lettuce this seemed definitely wild, or part of something else. All these 21 arpents I am staring at are part of Les Champs Fruites experiment begun by Valerie Leclair in 2003. We walk through her land as she shows me her cassis, gooseberries, red lake currants, pink champagne currants, ground cherries, Boyne raspberries (juicy soft, the kind you will probably never find in a supermarket), autumn raspberries, toka prunes, mont-royal prunes, Reine Claude prunes, Saskatoon berries, Trappist and Isaac varietals, big late, Juliette and Romeo cherries, blackberries, black raspberries, a few pear varietals, and the camerise a truly boreal tear drop shaped blueberry like fruit that she is testing. I could not help feeling that this compact quiet place was becoming a sort of history of our northern fruits.
Valery's father explains to me that most of the farms in the region had to become larger with a bigger production in order to survive, essentially because of big supermarket's pressure on increased production and lower prices (the frightful modern feudal horn). Farmer's have very few choices, and Valerie's choice is of the micro type kept alive by farmer's markets in cities, the one I would say most sane, honest and sustainable.
She bought two bee hives in 2011 to aid the pollination of her land, and she talked about a sort of asparagus honey which had me immediately thinking about potential dishes....I thought, of course, that is why we have no choice to love our artisans. Playful, intense, chaotic, curious, eternal...a place of real tradition always becoming.
April 23, 2012
the magical mysterious land of maple
Standing in the silence of a maple forest near Bonsecour Quebec I was expecting to hear the sap flowing, groaning, dripping....nothing; just a soft wind through the tree tops and barely visible shoots. It is strange and magical that so few trees have this characteristic, next in popularity being the birch. A Northern thing I suppose. I was also surprised that Quebec accounts for 75% of world production with almost
25 million liters a year, with the rest of Canada adding another 5% to
that figure. That's a lot of fucking syrup man.
Before the winter maple trees will store starch in the roots and trunks which will convert to sugar in the spring. This sap, the stored energy of the maple will start flowing when temperatures rise above 0 degrees Celsius, or when an intense sun heats the bark exciting that half of the tree to flow while the shaded side remains dormant. The buckets we all remember hanging from a tree below a spout burrowed in the trunk have largely been abandoned, replaced by a long system of surreal tubes which are hung around the forest leading to a central shack where the maple water is collected. From there another long journey to a separation bin or a concentrateur of the brut water by osmosis, which is then sent to an evaporateur, which concentrates the syrup, and for some less industrial businesses with send the syrup to a finisseur which heats the syrup on a flat bed, evenly, timely. And Les Sucreries d'Or's organic maple syrup definitely taught me again the important lesson, it takes time, and a lot of it to get there. Then comes the classification, different everywhere, and in Quebec is divided into two classes No.1 and No.2 and with 5 colour classes in each. The tastiest and most complex I think is the extra claire No.1, also the rarest and least affected by bacteria.
According to the Federation des producteurs acericoles du Quebec 20% of erablieres are organic on the French site, translated into English it reads that only 12% are organic...don't know how that got mistranslated, or which figure is the right one, but one thing is for certain is that we'll be enjoying our organic maple syrup at Renard artisan bistro for some time to come, maybe even in our homemade bread.
Before the winter maple trees will store starch in the roots and trunks which will convert to sugar in the spring. This sap, the stored energy of the maple will start flowing when temperatures rise above 0 degrees Celsius, or when an intense sun heats the bark exciting that half of the tree to flow while the shaded side remains dormant. The buckets we all remember hanging from a tree below a spout burrowed in the trunk have largely been abandoned, replaced by a long system of surreal tubes which are hung around the forest leading to a central shack where the maple water is collected. From there another long journey to a separation bin or a concentrateur of the brut water by osmosis, which is then sent to an evaporateur, which concentrates the syrup, and for some less industrial businesses with send the syrup to a finisseur which heats the syrup on a flat bed, evenly, timely. And Les Sucreries d'Or's organic maple syrup definitely taught me again the important lesson, it takes time, and a lot of it to get there. Then comes the classification, different everywhere, and in Quebec is divided into two classes No.1 and No.2 and with 5 colour classes in each. The tastiest and most complex I think is the extra claire No.1, also the rarest and least affected by bacteria.
According to the Federation des producteurs acericoles du Quebec 20% of erablieres are organic on the French site, translated into English it reads that only 12% are organic...don't know how that got mistranslated, or which figure is the right one, but one thing is for certain is that we'll be enjoying our organic maple syrup at Renard artisan bistro for some time to come, maybe even in our homemade bread.
March 27, 2012
In Organic We Trust
Organic definitely means a lot of things. Someone recently told me that it was a return to the essence, the way things were meant to be. Someone else was explaining how it was the path to real health. Indeed for some organic is almost Edenic or paleolithic or pure. On a more or less lucid day I think that organic is really post caveman, post biblical, post industrial and pushed a little further post Fritz Haber. It is exactly the pressure point which counters the immense, insane expansion of use of ammonia synthesis, the overuse of pesticides, growth hormones and liquid shit. Organic is about time. Relatively it takes an 'organic product' much more time to grow that an 'industrial super pumped enriched' one, sometimes by a third. This of course means more feed, more rented space, and probably more expensive. But it also mean as many studies have proven more mineral complexity, more molajuja in organic products etc....I will leave that to them to test and describe.
What is fundamental for me in organic is sincerity and transparency.
What it should not be is lies and abuse and hidden practices.
In 2001 Picardier farm sold their milk quota, and in 2003 became organic. Not a difficult certification because the farm has more or less been matter of fact in their practices. And they are very matter of fact; ready to give figures, costs, percentages, let us say down to earth, calculating, with probably one of the tastiest, juiciest chicken I have ever roasted...to be continued...again and again pure and simple.....Renard artisan bistro
What is fundamental for me in organic is sincerity and transparency.
What it should not be is lies and abuse and hidden practices.
In 2001 Picardier farm sold their milk quota, and in 2003 became organic. Not a difficult certification because the farm has more or less been matter of fact in their practices. And they are very matter of fact; ready to give figures, costs, percentages, let us say down to earth, calculating, with probably one of the tastiest, juiciest chicken I have ever roasted...to be continued...again and again pure and simple.....Renard artisan bistro
February 13, 2012
very far from the Potemkin place of things
I once visited a farm, was shown around by the owner who explained to me that his farm was in essence organic, but he did not believe in being certified because it was such an additional useless cost, because of course one (being me or any other) could see and understand that being a farmer already was difficult and with so little revenue and tight margin, why bother I was told again and again that it was clear that his farm was...sane...good for my health, good for humanity. Until walking around some storage space to get to the butcher room I see quite a few cardboard boxes with Cargill printed on them, and also fertilizer and feed bags that were far from anything considered organic. Not to mention that he talked of every other surrounding farm as cheating and lying to their clients, not very neighbourly to say the least . We continued the tour, he piled gifts of meat and charcuterie on us with the hope of doing future business. Never called him, never will.
I must admit that at the beginning I was charmed, nodding my head as if I understood, or was in the process of trying to understand, gullible and believing. Immediate kindness and attention is something we all have a weakness for. But upon leaving the farm, and actually visiting the surround farms I realized that the whole thing was something of a Potemkin experience, lied to, bullshitted to, convinced of something that was otherwise, rimmed with false information...a Glengarry Glenross situation. I was sold something that was not quite.... Exactly what each of us hates about the 'world' and 'humanity', the elusiveness of all the dark themes, each thing that each of us hides....all this was intensified at that farm. In short, the uncomfortable feeling of being in the echo of corruption.
And years later I find myself at Ferme Morgan in the dead of Quebec winter. Chickens pecking at my boots, stepping in duck crap, and petting boars. I began to think that all these animals, guinea fowl, ducks, cows, would become meatcycles as cold as it was. No. You notice how animals huddle, create a space, and leaning against a cow I realized how warm it was, how comforting. They did not have to be confined, as some would have you believe. We just showed up in Weir, along an icy road and were invited to go wander where we wanted. No one followed us, no one explaining what was there. I then understood the modern importance of what transparency means. It is not what someone says, not the print, not the advertising, but the open backroom, the figures, the silence of truth. Back at the 'boutique' we talked to Joel, one of the 10 new owners of Ferme Morgan.
Ferme Morgan was the 1000 acre project of John Bastian, a German businessman who had a vision of an organic farm. Certified organic 300 acres of farmland and 700 acres of forest. A good balance. Duck, guinea fowl, chickens, cows, wild boar, veggies. Pretty incredible. And then the sale. I cannot explain his real reasons for transferring, but suffice it to say that 22 months into it, the 10 new owners of various ages, experiences and backgrounds run the farm now and care for its original vision. Most live on it, work on it, including even an organic bakery. It almost sounds ideal, monastic, and self sufficient. But there are, I am told, the realities of no real government subsidies for organic farming (that all conventional farms get--read consumer taxes that pay anyway to have lower prices, a white lie?). Joel explains that the reasons are the heavy lobbies behind the government that block recognizing organic as something legitimate. I nod. Lobby of chemical fertilizers giants, lobby of....the lobby of the great Potemkin global village giants who insist on selling us something not quite what it is....and visiting ferme Morgan was just that reminder that there still exist people who are honest enough to be transparent. Would it really be crazy to say that 85% of the world, of us, of humans have something to hide, and would not like transparent policy?...... and yet we all demand it of others...while thinking up ways of closing the deal. (note: being certified organic costs about 1300$ to 1500$ a year depending on the products you sell and the size of your farm, so the excuse is already rather limp not to be so...) And as I have always said, to have the assurance of an organization which closely follows the rules is the closest thing that Quebec and Canada for the moment have to an AOC. Ferme Morgan, a great place that Renard Artisan Bistro is proud to know and support.
I must admit that at the beginning I was charmed, nodding my head as if I understood, or was in the process of trying to understand, gullible and believing. Immediate kindness and attention is something we all have a weakness for. But upon leaving the farm, and actually visiting the surround farms I realized that the whole thing was something of a Potemkin experience, lied to, bullshitted to, convinced of something that was otherwise, rimmed with false information...a Glengarry Glenross situation. I was sold something that was not quite.... Exactly what each of us hates about the 'world' and 'humanity', the elusiveness of all the dark themes, each thing that each of us hides....all this was intensified at that farm. In short, the uncomfortable feeling of being in the echo of corruption.
And years later I find myself at Ferme Morgan in the dead of Quebec winter. Chickens pecking at my boots, stepping in duck crap, and petting boars. I began to think that all these animals, guinea fowl, ducks, cows, would become meatcycles as cold as it was. No. You notice how animals huddle, create a space, and leaning against a cow I realized how warm it was, how comforting. They did not have to be confined, as some would have you believe. We just showed up in Weir, along an icy road and were invited to go wander where we wanted. No one followed us, no one explaining what was there. I then understood the modern importance of what transparency means. It is not what someone says, not the print, not the advertising, but the open backroom, the figures, the silence of truth. Back at the 'boutique' we talked to Joel, one of the 10 new owners of Ferme Morgan.
Ferme Morgan was the 1000 acre project of John Bastian, a German businessman who had a vision of an organic farm. Certified organic 300 acres of farmland and 700 acres of forest. A good balance. Duck, guinea fowl, chickens, cows, wild boar, veggies. Pretty incredible. And then the sale. I cannot explain his real reasons for transferring, but suffice it to say that 22 months into it, the 10 new owners of various ages, experiences and backgrounds run the farm now and care for its original vision. Most live on it, work on it, including even an organic bakery. It almost sounds ideal, monastic, and self sufficient. But there are, I am told, the realities of no real government subsidies for organic farming (that all conventional farms get--read consumer taxes that pay anyway to have lower prices, a white lie?). Joel explains that the reasons are the heavy lobbies behind the government that block recognizing organic as something legitimate. I nod. Lobby of chemical fertilizers giants, lobby of....the lobby of the great Potemkin global village giants who insist on selling us something not quite what it is....and visiting ferme Morgan was just that reminder that there still exist people who are honest enough to be transparent. Would it really be crazy to say that 85% of the world, of us, of humans have something to hide, and would not like transparent policy?...... and yet we all demand it of others...while thinking up ways of closing the deal. (note: being certified organic costs about 1300$ to 1500$ a year depending on the products you sell and the size of your farm, so the excuse is already rather limp not to be so...) And as I have always said, to have the assurance of an organization which closely follows the rules is the closest thing that Quebec and Canada for the moment have to an AOC. Ferme Morgan, a great place that Renard Artisan Bistro is proud to know and support.
January 7, 2012
Jan 7th, 2012. St-Tite, minus the Rodeo
I am almost certain that not only will we see in the average Quebec town a Notre Dame street, a church, a makeshift post office, a huge cross at some intersection, and a sign for poutine, but also a microbrewery. That may take a little time, but I swear it's coming. St-Tite is a relative new comer with a solid repertoire of 10 or so beers which rotate seasonally.
The town of Saint-Tite is now mostly known for its insane Rodeo which hosts about 700,000 people in 10 days. Quite something for a small town of around 4000. It is said that this festival was pushed in the late sixties to promote the leather industry, of which Saint-Tite is an important producer. Who knows. But now through the long stretch of forest past Shawinigan, soon a million will pass....
Saint-Tite (Titus), was originally the companion of Saint-Paul. Died in the year 107. And with so many Saint towns in Quebec, who knows why Tite was chosen.
Saint-Tite is known to me for its microbrewery A La Fut. In serious need of beer for Renard Artisan Bistro, with a somewhat crappy snow storm out, my kind of yoga. It is in their brewing room in the beginning of snow storm January that I find myself learning about the beauty of making beer. The smell and warmth of malted barley is strong in the room. Right above my head is a vat of their stout boiling (for 1.30 hours approx.), to which Mathieu, one of the 6 owners of this Co-op ads a mere handful of hops which controls the foam. After this process he explains they then centrifuge the mass to rid of all coagulated solids (much as clarification of a beef stock), then the liquid is chilled and fermented. As passion usual carries, there are may other details and steps that are explained, but after my long drive through the snow storm from Montreal, hunger was distracting me, as to be expected.
To be expected, although a pub menu, most of the ingredients are local, even organic. A goal the brewery would one day like to reach also, although even if much of their grains come from Mauricie, some organic, some not, there are some from England as well as Czechoslovakia. This being more a problem of internal politics and stability in product, than a complete lack of it. Those with persistence and will! (and a little money) will bridge this gap...
I fortified myself with a beer sampler....
Blonde de St-Tite pale ale. Fruity, light with very little bitterness. nice malted side. 100% Quebec grain.
La British. Brune aux noix. A little smoky, dominant cereal taste and smell, lightly bitter, nutty, toasted hazelnut finish.
Cuvee IPA Houblonee 2. floral, grapefruit. Lots of hops! Nice and bitter.
La Bete Noire. Stout a l'avoine. A dose of coffee, chocolat, flirtatious, smooth, graceful. Amazing. But they tell me it will be some time to perfect the Stout in a bottle. A very complex thing, much to do with the frothy head....soon to come.
It is great to taste something which inspires....
Tasty, serious and positioning themselves in the artisanal beer sales in Quebec, which account in total for only 6% provincial beer sales. "In New York state artisanal beers accounts for 30% of beer sales." I am told. And when the Rodeo hits Saint-Tite Molson and the big boys take over completely....but hopefully not for much longer, as A La Fut now holds a much more interesting alternative.
The town of Saint-Tite is now mostly known for its insane Rodeo which hosts about 700,000 people in 10 days. Quite something for a small town of around 4000. It is said that this festival was pushed in the late sixties to promote the leather industry, of which Saint-Tite is an important producer. Who knows. But now through the long stretch of forest past Shawinigan, soon a million will pass....
Saint-Tite (Titus), was originally the companion of Saint-Paul. Died in the year 107. And with so many Saint towns in Quebec, who knows why Tite was chosen.
Saint-Tite is known to me for its microbrewery A La Fut. In serious need of beer for Renard Artisan Bistro, with a somewhat crappy snow storm out, my kind of yoga. It is in their brewing room in the beginning of snow storm January that I find myself learning about the beauty of making beer. The smell and warmth of malted barley is strong in the room. Right above my head is a vat of their stout boiling (for 1.30 hours approx.), to which Mathieu, one of the 6 owners of this Co-op ads a mere handful of hops which controls the foam. After this process he explains they then centrifuge the mass to rid of all coagulated solids (much as clarification of a beef stock), then the liquid is chilled and fermented. As passion usual carries, there are may other details and steps that are explained, but after my long drive through the snow storm from Montreal, hunger was distracting me, as to be expected.
To be expected, although a pub menu, most of the ingredients are local, even organic. A goal the brewery would one day like to reach also, although even if much of their grains come from Mauricie, some organic, some not, there are some from England as well as Czechoslovakia. This being more a problem of internal politics and stability in product, than a complete lack of it. Those with persistence and will! (and a little money) will bridge this gap...
I fortified myself with a beer sampler....
Blonde de St-Tite pale ale. Fruity, light with very little bitterness. nice malted side. 100% Quebec grain.
La British. Brune aux noix. A little smoky, dominant cereal taste and smell, lightly bitter, nutty, toasted hazelnut finish.
Cuvee IPA Houblonee 2. floral, grapefruit. Lots of hops! Nice and bitter.
La Bete Noire. Stout a l'avoine. A dose of coffee, chocolat, flirtatious, smooth, graceful. Amazing. But they tell me it will be some time to perfect the Stout in a bottle. A very complex thing, much to do with the frothy head....soon to come.
It is great to taste something which inspires....
Tasty, serious and positioning themselves in the artisanal beer sales in Quebec, which account in total for only 6% provincial beer sales. "In New York state artisanal beers accounts for 30% of beer sales." I am told. And when the Rodeo hits Saint-Tite Molson and the big boys take over completely....but hopefully not for much longer, as A La Fut now holds a much more interesting alternative.
November 21, 2011
nature's last colourful burst before snow's reign
really fine autumn weather. But near the end of October with the nights frosting, freezing, most pumpkins are done for, done in, finished. They are not the last veggie to appear before winter's enveloping being, but we definitely know that it is close.
I stood in a field overlooking carving pumpkins, delicatas, hubbards all laying low in the otherwise empty fields, hundreds of these brightly coloured balls which not only was enigmatically disturbing but was almost haunting, like you could really here them whispering some weird shit. At le Courgerie, their season will consist of approximately 400 varieties, including the approximately 100 decorative kinds, which are even more bizarre.
I could not help thinking how a single small place in what seems the middle of nowhere is doing with so many varieties. I found myself with a wheelbarrow, no direction, and plenty of squash and pumpkins. Almost all of which I have never cooked before...delicata (told to stuff with sausage), hubbard (good for fries), pink banana (gnocchi), sweet dumpling (dessert), Jarrahdale....that is where the imagination kicks in.
Pascale's father had the farm, which was dairy, and she moved it towards specializing in pumpkins. 1999. Pierre, her husband, originally in human resources wanted to have an escargotiere. Fat chance, because Canada's laws are extremely strict on importing live snails. They consolidated. They had about 15 varieties and a big portion of their market in the United States. Then september 11th hit. Borders shut down. They were no longer able, as many others, to move their produce. The result were enormous mountains of oranges, yellows and blue balls...People driving by their farm were suddenly attracted by the surreal landscape, stopping with their children and began buying trunk loads of pumpkins. An idea was born. Pascale and Pierre began traveling the world obtaining seed varietals with the intention of having an outdoor, living, natural museum of squash and pumpkins without having to call it that, but one long conversation with them, and it can get as intense as the MoMa.
Overlooking a field of brightly coloured squash and pumpkins randomly scattered amidst otherwise greyish, brown cultivated landscapes have got to be some of the most surreal things in this northern nature. Incredible to see, these last eerie colourful burst of nature before our great white months.
I stood in a field overlooking carving pumpkins, delicatas, hubbards all laying low in the otherwise empty fields, hundreds of these brightly coloured balls which not only was enigmatically disturbing but was almost haunting, like you could really here them whispering some weird shit. At le Courgerie, their season will consist of approximately 400 varieties, including the approximately 100 decorative kinds, which are even more bizarre.
I could not help thinking how a single small place in what seems the middle of nowhere is doing with so many varieties. I found myself with a wheelbarrow, no direction, and plenty of squash and pumpkins. Almost all of which I have never cooked before...delicata (told to stuff with sausage), hubbard (good for fries), pink banana (gnocchi), sweet dumpling (dessert), Jarrahdale....that is where the imagination kicks in.
Pascale's father had the farm, which was dairy, and she moved it towards specializing in pumpkins. 1999. Pierre, her husband, originally in human resources wanted to have an escargotiere. Fat chance, because Canada's laws are extremely strict on importing live snails. They consolidated. They had about 15 varieties and a big portion of their market in the United States. Then september 11th hit. Borders shut down. They were no longer able, as many others, to move their produce. The result were enormous mountains of oranges, yellows and blue balls...People driving by their farm were suddenly attracted by the surreal landscape, stopping with their children and began buying trunk loads of pumpkins. An idea was born. Pascale and Pierre began traveling the world obtaining seed varietals with the intention of having an outdoor, living, natural museum of squash and pumpkins without having to call it that, but one long conversation with them, and it can get as intense as the MoMa.
Overlooking a field of brightly coloured squash and pumpkins randomly scattered amidst otherwise greyish, brown cultivated landscapes have got to be some of the most surreal things in this northern nature. Incredible to see, these last eerie colourful burst of nature before our great white months.
October 5, 2011
dominus mycomarvelous...the pine mushroom-matsutake.
One thing is for certain, when we see the appearance of the pine mushroom, here in the north anyway, we know autumn is in us. And yet, as abundant as the pine mushroom is, it has little place in the Western canon of cuisine. It's odour with not fill a room like the white truffles I once experienced at Arpege in Paris, but it will subtly draw colourful scents around those close by.
Although abundant in the Northern countries, there is very little mention of it in lower Europe (traditional Europe), taking a non existent place after truffles, chanterelles, porcinis etc...It is in asia where the mushroom is almost worshiped for its intense flavour, and well, with the Japanese in particular for its supposed sexual enhancing properties. Wikipedia will not mention this but the matsutake has, as far as ordinary parlance goes, a grading system which ranges from 1 to 5. Number 1, small, whose head...well let us just say it, it looks like a penis and that is why it is revered by some Japanese-although it is the least flavourful. Go figure. Numbers 3 to 5 are indeed larger looking more like a generic mushroom (portobello etc...) but whose perfume is incredibly strong, and I must admit intoxicating, somewhere between pine and the sweat of an incredible lover, if you know what I mean. These mushrooms in Japan can sometimes fetch up to 2000 dollars a kilo, but here in Quebec they go from 35$ to 100$ depending on the abundance and of course who you are buying from.
Although many people are still hooked on the Euro centered worship of morels, girolles etc where recipes abound in the bibles of Ducasse and the Larousse (where there is no mention of the pine mushroom)...I cannot help to admit that after having cooked over 50 varieties from Quebec this year, that the king of mushrooms is the matsutake, Quebec's truffle of sorts, the North's gift to the great cannon of mushrooms.
Although abundant in the Northern countries, there is very little mention of it in lower Europe (traditional Europe), taking a non existent place after truffles, chanterelles, porcinis etc...It is in asia where the mushroom is almost worshiped for its intense flavour, and well, with the Japanese in particular for its supposed sexual enhancing properties. Wikipedia will not mention this but the matsutake has, as far as ordinary parlance goes, a grading system which ranges from 1 to 5. Number 1, small, whose head...well let us just say it, it looks like a penis and that is why it is revered by some Japanese-although it is the least flavourful. Go figure. Numbers 3 to 5 are indeed larger looking more like a generic mushroom (portobello etc...) but whose perfume is incredibly strong, and I must admit intoxicating, somewhere between pine and the sweat of an incredible lover, if you know what I mean. These mushrooms in Japan can sometimes fetch up to 2000 dollars a kilo, but here in Quebec they go from 35$ to 100$ depending on the abundance and of course who you are buying from.
Although many people are still hooked on the Euro centered worship of morels, girolles etc where recipes abound in the bibles of Ducasse and the Larousse (where there is no mention of the pine mushroom)...I cannot help to admit that after having cooked over 50 varieties from Quebec this year, that the king of mushrooms is the matsutake, Quebec's truffle of sorts, the North's gift to the great cannon of mushrooms.
September 26, 2011
if we hate beak cutting, then why horn burning....
Kid goat, amazing meat. Sylvie Lesvesque, an amazing woman. We met at her farm in 2009 at Les Elevages du Sud in St-Denis Kamouraska. What is most important to me was, as we see in this photo, as cute and almost religious as they are, that they have horns. Most producers of goats burn the horns off when they are young. I once watched the process and wondered if it was really necessary. I am always told it is because the animals are aggressive and tend to hurt each other; a lot of punctures, and wounds and deaths. I began thinking of this logic when applied to tail docking in pigs and beak cutting in chickens. Deduction? Space. Because every farm I have visited who do not burn their goat`s horns have told me that there is perhaps one incident every decade. And looking around their herds, I realized that they do strike, they do hit, that that is their nature, but the difference was indeed a lot of space. If we ask for ethics in pigs and chickens, then it is for one and for all....
September 5, 2011
the godfather of apple ice cider
There are a few people who have a lasting, long term, perhaps incalculable effect on the way we see, taste and think about life. I have to admit that one of those people to me is Christian Barthomeuf. This is the godfather of apple ice cider, his approach is thought out, distinct, unusual and beyond a doubt concerned. This is not simply about good cheer, but aligning our lives in accordance with the principals of honesty, goodness and respect. Now certified organic, Clos Saragnat is the first apple ice cider with this appelation.
When Christian began making apple ice cider there was no classification for it. The Régie kept putting it in a cidre doux classification. Thanks to the efforts of a woman from Québec city, who fought and fought for the appelation of apple ice cider, it was finally granted. And also granted recently was the Governor General award in Celebration of the Nation`s Table for Creativity and Innovation.....A true honour to serve these products at Renard Artisan Bistro....
here is the presentation,
When Christian Barthomeuf first got the idea in 1989 to use ice winemaking techniques to create the first ice cider in Québec, his neighbours said he was an eccentric. Little did they know that, just 10 years later, this exceptional product would be one of the great agri-food success stories in Quebec and Canada, garnering worldwide recognition. Today, Mr. Barthomeuf is one of the pillars of this flourishing young industry. His world is based on simple production thechniques and meticulous observation of natural cycles. in helping apple growers to produce high-quality ice cider, Mr. Barthomeuf has also helped to raisethe profile of their challenging vocation, while yielding significant added value for their orchards. That assistance has saved many family businesses from certain financial ruin. This visionary has devoted considerable efforts to preserve heritage apple varieties, which he now grows organically in his Clos Saragnat vineyard, where he also produces straw wine and ice wine.
amazing! Gives me goosebumps! Congrats to one of the true artisans of Canada!
When Christian began making apple ice cider there was no classification for it. The Régie kept putting it in a cidre doux classification. Thanks to the efforts of a woman from Québec city, who fought and fought for the appelation of apple ice cider, it was finally granted. And also granted recently was the Governor General award in Celebration of the Nation`s Table for Creativity and Innovation.....A true honour to serve these products at Renard Artisan Bistro....
here is the presentation,
When Christian Barthomeuf first got the idea in 1989 to use ice winemaking techniques to create the first ice cider in Québec, his neighbours said he was an eccentric. Little did they know that, just 10 years later, this exceptional product would be one of the great agri-food success stories in Quebec and Canada, garnering worldwide recognition. Today, Mr. Barthomeuf is one of the pillars of this flourishing young industry. His world is based on simple production thechniques and meticulous observation of natural cycles. in helping apple growers to produce high-quality ice cider, Mr. Barthomeuf has also helped to raisethe profile of their challenging vocation, while yielding significant added value for their orchards. That assistance has saved many family businesses from certain financial ruin. This visionary has devoted considerable efforts to preserve heritage apple varieties, which he now grows organically in his Clos Saragnat vineyard, where he also produces straw wine and ice wine.
amazing! Gives me goosebumps! Congrats to one of the true artisans of Canada!
August 22, 2011
From finance to artisanal cheese-Hughes Ouellet's new path
Cheese saved another life. By the train tracks in Farham, tucked away of the main street is the tiny fromagerie of Hughes Ouellet. Driving into the parking lot it seemed like a certain thought we may all have and never pursue. Hughes did. And if there is any trade other than being a chef that I would love to do it would be a cheesemaker.
Headed for a life of finance, Hughes talks about leaving it with little regret. He is not the first I have met with this sort of change of heart in Québec, and I imagine far from being the last. He got his diploma from ITA, and developed the recipe of his first cheese in his basement, Zephyr. The first meule came out in 2005. He sources the milk for his cheese from a farm in Cowansville. The farm was never named, and in fact my questions were not met with many answers, but a little research leads to Pierre Janecek, président or once president of the section des frontières of the UPA. I don't know what to think in fact. It is hard to think of an artisan like Jean Morin fighting the UPA and on the other end another artisanal cheese in support of it. This is the difficult political situation in Québec, and more and more one needs to recognize these differences, no matter how blurred. It is even more confusing when simply looking for good products, even more difficult when these cheeses are so good...
Zephyr-more or less 6 months, raw milk, croute lavé, pate ferme. Mushrooms, butter and hazelnuts.
el nino-semi ferme, termisé, herbal taste with toast, and brown butter.
Sirocco-a morbier style cheese.
brise des vignerons- a fresh mushroom smell, as well as the taste with light taste of butter. Something between a camembert and a brie. best eaten when very fresh.
rafale-a new cheese being developed, intensely aromatic the likes of roblochon....soon to come.
We must always remind ourselves that quality, all the time, goes deeper than simple taste. Taste is a sort of charm, but the real quality rests firmly in the range of conscience from which it is born. From taking to giving, we can only hope that more and more people have the same revelation and the conscience to lend support and stability to our whimsical and oscillating world of taste.....
Headed for a life of finance, Hughes talks about leaving it with little regret. He is not the first I have met with this sort of change of heart in Québec, and I imagine far from being the last. He got his diploma from ITA, and developed the recipe of his first cheese in his basement, Zephyr. The first meule came out in 2005. He sources the milk for his cheese from a farm in Cowansville. The farm was never named, and in fact my questions were not met with many answers, but a little research leads to Pierre Janecek, président or once president of the section des frontières of the UPA. I don't know what to think in fact. It is hard to think of an artisan like Jean Morin fighting the UPA and on the other end another artisanal cheese in support of it. This is the difficult political situation in Québec, and more and more one needs to recognize these differences, no matter how blurred. It is even more confusing when simply looking for good products, even more difficult when these cheeses are so good...
Zephyr-more or less 6 months, raw milk, croute lavé, pate ferme. Mushrooms, butter and hazelnuts.
el nino-semi ferme, termisé, herbal taste with toast, and brown butter.
Sirocco-a morbier style cheese.
brise des vignerons- a fresh mushroom smell, as well as the taste with light taste of butter. Something between a camembert and a brie. best eaten when very fresh.
rafale-a new cheese being developed, intensely aromatic the likes of roblochon....soon to come.
We must always remind ourselves that quality, all the time, goes deeper than simple taste. Taste is a sort of charm, but the real quality rests firmly in the range of conscience from which it is born. From taking to giving, we can only hope that more and more people have the same revelation and the conscience to lend support and stability to our whimsical and oscillating world of taste.....
August 8, 2011
the majestic magical sunflowers
Standing in the field of sunflowers in Upton Quebec I felt like I was being watched. Those big bright freaky heads gently swaying as if ready to say something. This was not LSD, just something about sunflowers...
Christian Champigny, owner of la ferme Champy, was traveling down from Madrid into Portugal. Along the way they passed a field of sunflowers and was awestruck by the intense beauty of it. A decision was made. He would move away from corn, soya, and cereals and concentrate more on sunflowers, especially oil. His farm was certified organic in 1996, and the first bottle of first cold pressed oil came out in 2000. 500 liters. Today? 10,000 liters. They press their oil about every 3 weeks, so one can be assured to have intense, fresh oil every time. With this option, and a fierce local movement, olive oil, although incredible, has become less necessary in our kitchen.
Funny, that a plant that is native to the Americas, will almost always conjure images of Italy and Spain. I do remember one of the saddest things that I ever saw was a field of lackluster, wilted sunflowers while traveling through Tuscany, but now standing in the field in Upton, I realized that my association has been altered, back to the new world by the hard and passionate work of Christian Champigny. Grazie.
Christian Champigny, owner of la ferme Champy, was traveling down from Madrid into Portugal. Along the way they passed a field of sunflowers and was awestruck by the intense beauty of it. A decision was made. He would move away from corn, soya, and cereals and concentrate more on sunflowers, especially oil. His farm was certified organic in 1996, and the first bottle of first cold pressed oil came out in 2000. 500 liters. Today? 10,000 liters. They press their oil about every 3 weeks, so one can be assured to have intense, fresh oil every time. With this option, and a fierce local movement, olive oil, although incredible, has become less necessary in our kitchen.
Funny, that a plant that is native to the Americas, will almost always conjure images of Italy and Spain. I do remember one of the saddest things that I ever saw was a field of lackluster, wilted sunflowers while traveling through Tuscany, but now standing in the field in Upton, I realized that my association has been altered, back to the new world by the hard and passionate work of Christian Champigny. Grazie.
July 30, 2011
On importing poverty...
walking into Dessureault's fromagerie with another family we hear him tell us "Our cheese is not tested on animals." We all wondered, why would cheese be tested on say a pigeon anyway? Then laughter. That is Guy, owner of Domaine Féodal, a mixture of pied a terre, humour like political caricature and a few life lessons.
Cendré des Près-light, creamy butter taste with a maple wood ash in the center lending a slight complexity to this light bloomed cheese.
Noble. Cows milk, cream, lightly herbal, mushrooms, with very little bitter accents due we are told to the low use of rennet in the initial process.
Guillaume Tell. Guy`s unique mark. 15 days maceration in ice cider from Ace du Vignoble De Lavoie for at least fifteen days. Each meule absorbs at least 200ml. Although I was never a fan of these treatments, I have to admit that the end product is something so distinct and powerful that it is impossible to ignore this unique incredible cheese.
As always the conversation veers afar while we are talking about the price of Québec and France cheese. We tell him that at Renard artisan bistro we serve only Québec cheese, even if many French varieties are ofter cheaper. The reason that they are cheaper he tells us is that French cheese have major government subsidies to compete on the international market. Something to ponder. We wondered about this new fact. We tasted more of his cheese, with glee, and he mentions that along with Walmart, all we are really doing, if we really thought about it, is importing poverty, we nod chewing such delicious cheese, thinking, about what it is that we are really doing.....
Cendré des Près-light, creamy butter taste with a maple wood ash in the center lending a slight complexity to this light bloomed cheese.
Noble. Cows milk, cream, lightly herbal, mushrooms, with very little bitter accents due we are told to the low use of rennet in the initial process.
Guillaume Tell. Guy`s unique mark. 15 days maceration in ice cider from Ace du Vignoble De Lavoie for at least fifteen days. Each meule absorbs at least 200ml. Although I was never a fan of these treatments, I have to admit that the end product is something so distinct and powerful that it is impossible to ignore this unique incredible cheese.
As always the conversation veers afar while we are talking about the price of Québec and France cheese. We tell him that at Renard artisan bistro we serve only Québec cheese, even if many French varieties are ofter cheaper. The reason that they are cheaper he tells us is that French cheese have major government subsidies to compete on the international market. Something to ponder. We wondered about this new fact. We tasted more of his cheese, with glee, and he mentions that along with Walmart, all we are really doing, if we really thought about it, is importing poverty, we nod chewing such delicious cheese, thinking, about what it is that we are really doing.....
July 25, 2011
fresh and fermented-Québec sangria!
It may not be moose hunting but there is something satisfying about picking one's own raspberries (or anything come to think of it). We drove up rang St-Jacques to La Ferme Perron, were given cute little cardboard boxes and then pointed in the berry patch's direction. Roasting in this freaky July weather. Here is the trick. Don't squeal and pick the first little red things you see. Move into the patch, further, resisting the urge, hold off a little more and then....it should feel soft between your fingers and release easily. Any resistance is no good. Leave it, or taste it, still a little sour. Basically don't do what everyone else does. The nicer ones are always further off.
Two years ago I visited La Vallée de la Framboise, in the Matapédien vallée. They make tasty refreshing alcools using raspberries, currants etc...Renard artisan bistro still orders from them for our Québec sangria. We really have no recipe, but it goes something like this
blend fresh raspberries and pass them
le Matapédien raspberry wine
soda
a few shots of Le Brochu (raspberry and cassis liqueur)
fresh raspberries
fresh lemon balm leaves
ice
you see where this is going, dosages according to your whims and will.
Two years ago I visited La Vallée de la Framboise, in the Matapédien vallée. They make tasty refreshing alcools using raspberries, currants etc...Renard artisan bistro still orders from them for our Québec sangria. We really have no recipe, but it goes something like this
blend fresh raspberries and pass them
le Matapédien raspberry wine
soda
a few shots of Le Brochu (raspberry and cassis liqueur)
fresh raspberries
fresh lemon balm leaves
ice
you see where this is going, dosages according to your whims and will.
July 19, 2011
vineyards in the North, oddity in the system
Recently I have been witnessing some weird shit. One of the ingredients written on the side of a box of salt was..sugar. Or something like low sodium chicken stock! Every classic text for chicken stock will teach you that there should never be...sodium. Imitation crab? Banks? Just a few things recently that are odd and unnecessary. I found myself at Domaine Les Brome. A québecois winery. Some people say that a québecois winery should not exist, that it is in fact abnormal, an oddity in the system. We stood upon a tiny hill overlooking the vineyard and beyond a vast expanse of lakewater beckoning. Everything looked, well, pretty normal.
Inside we are told about the wide variety of cépages they grow...Vidal, Geisenheim, Seyval Blanc, Seyval noir, Riesling, Chardonnay, St-Pépin, Maréchal Foch, De Chaunac, Pinot noir, Baco noir et Cabernet Franc. Impressive. And the wine?
vidal 2008 with its faint hints of litchee, white flowers and honey, and slightly peppery is fast becoming the Quebec grape varietal.
Cuvée Charlotte, a mix of Geisenheim, Seyval and Chardonnay, lemony, slightly woody, mineral. The freshness of acidic pears, pretty good with raw scallops.
Riesling, half which is aged in oak, 2009, very light, pears on the nose, honey but maybe still a little young. Too light.
Rosé péché...of hybrids of Seyval Noir and Maréchal Foch, saignée with its nose of cassis and strawberry with a dry snap to the taste we saw this perfectly with smoked duck.
Rosé Détente...fruity, easy. Think, a well made wine cooler.
There are so many more that we tasted. Baco. De Chaunac etc...But we agreed that the better ones to serve at Renard artisan bistro were the rosés which had that freshness of the season, short as it is in hand. The industry is still young, searching, creative, crazy...which is what the creative process is about but not necessarily for those who find comfort in a bottle of France or Italy, although having drank in many a bottega.....
I began wondering if it is really strange for Québec to attempt to have vineyards. Ok, let us get over the initial elitist attitude and we accept that there will never be amazing Québec wines. Granted, most of us can perhaps agree on that. Once we also rid ourselves of a sort of 'global' mercantile approach we can maybe witness the birth of something different, more like a great expressive folk song as opposed to a universally acclaimed play, both intense nevertheless. I mean imagine Finland with vineyards.....and yet....some things are really even stranger if you pay attention.
Inside we are told about the wide variety of cépages they grow...Vidal, Geisenheim, Seyval Blanc, Seyval noir, Riesling, Chardonnay, St-Pépin, Maréchal Foch, De Chaunac, Pinot noir, Baco noir et Cabernet Franc. Impressive. And the wine?
vidal 2008 with its faint hints of litchee, white flowers and honey, and slightly peppery is fast becoming the Quebec grape varietal.
Cuvée Charlotte, a mix of Geisenheim, Seyval and Chardonnay, lemony, slightly woody, mineral. The freshness of acidic pears, pretty good with raw scallops.
Riesling, half which is aged in oak, 2009, very light, pears on the nose, honey but maybe still a little young. Too light.
Rosé péché...of hybrids of Seyval Noir and Maréchal Foch, saignée with its nose of cassis and strawberry with a dry snap to the taste we saw this perfectly with smoked duck.
Rosé Détente...fruity, easy. Think, a well made wine cooler.
There are so many more that we tasted. Baco. De Chaunac etc...But we agreed that the better ones to serve at Renard artisan bistro were the rosés which had that freshness of the season, short as it is in hand. The industry is still young, searching, creative, crazy...which is what the creative process is about but not necessarily for those who find comfort in a bottle of France or Italy, although having drank in many a bottega.....
I began wondering if it is really strange for Québec to attempt to have vineyards. Ok, let us get over the initial elitist attitude and we accept that there will never be amazing Québec wines. Granted, most of us can perhaps agree on that. Once we also rid ourselves of a sort of 'global' mercantile approach we can maybe witness the birth of something different, more like a great expressive folk song as opposed to a universally acclaimed play, both intense nevertheless. I mean imagine Finland with vineyards.....and yet....some things are really even stranger if you pay attention.
July 5, 2011
beyond the simple pleasures de la table
The door of the Sainte-Marie-Reine-des Coeurs boutique opens wide and a sister dressed in the white habit grabs my two hands and tells me how happy that we made it. I smiled, overwhelmed by such a greeting. Then she hesitates, telling me that my accent is not so very French. No. Are you not the father of sister .... Everyone looks at me. We laugh. I tell her that we are here to buy pottery. She invites us in with a warm welcome that I am almost envious of.
As we look through the boutique sister Lux Bruna (light + St Bruno) tells us about the order which began in the 1951 in France based on Pope Pius XII the dogma of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary, but they only came to Québec in 1993. The story ended there and she wanted to know all about Renard Artisan Bistro. It seemed strange describing this to her, in a place that seemed to be beyond the pleasures of the table. I picked up a plate of pure stoneware and she asked me what I would serve on it. Elk heart. She smiles. Beauty, she tells me, can be translated into objects and are there to remind us of good things. When they make the pottery they are in a constant act of prayer. I have to admit that there is something very powerful about their collection, and do not doubt that in large part it is because they are passionate, dedicated and trying. As for the simple pleasures of the table, I think that such plates and bowls are an amazing addition and is an honour to serve food on them.
As we look through the boutique sister Lux Bruna (light + St Bruno) tells us about the order which began in the 1951 in France based on Pope Pius XII the dogma of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary, but they only came to Québec in 1993. The story ended there and she wanted to know all about Renard Artisan Bistro. It seemed strange describing this to her, in a place that seemed to be beyond the pleasures of the table. I picked up a plate of pure stoneware and she asked me what I would serve on it. Elk heart. She smiles. Beauty, she tells me, can be translated into objects and are there to remind us of good things. When they make the pottery they are in a constant act of prayer. I have to admit that there is something very powerful about their collection, and do not doubt that in large part it is because they are passionate, dedicated and trying. As for the simple pleasures of the table, I think that such plates and bowls are an amazing addition and is an honour to serve food on them.
June 28, 2011
all these beautiful warm tiny bodies in my hands
As we were picking our stawberries for Renard Artisan Bistro I began wondering about all this local movement, actually I also wondering about every movement; from the head to ass movement (note to North Americans the Chinese are way ahead of any of us), vegans, molecular, organics etc...With the 30 degree sun beautifully roasting us pickers I also thought of hunters, gatherers, survivalism and the paleolithic diet movement. A simple act of picking my own strawberries was beginning to become challenging.
Being local food wise in Quebec in a way is easy, but I started recognizing the restrictions, like wine, like olive oil, quinoa....many things I love, but not so 'pure' to a locavore. like a pork chop to a vegan. Or, for instance, another question came to me, do I buy something from BC or New York? Or yet, is it absolute quality or giving credence and support to an emerging artisan? I do remember one thing though; last year I was in a market and someone bought the Cali strawberries over the Quebec ones because they were 50 cents cheaper. Someone told me that the prices are deliberately dropped in order to compete with the local varieties. Encouraging the local spirit or are we getting ripped off, every person's thought precisely. Everyone in the world is trying to justify their 50 cents worth, but I think at least the choice should be obvious, with so many good strawberries available in Quebec, the choice of quality wins hands down. If anything, have you ever known the variety of strawberry that you are eating? Likely not, because we are never told. But for the first time I found out that I was making dessert with Chambly and Jewel strawberries, and somewhat satisfied, I suppose that was my 50 cents worth.
Being local food wise in Quebec in a way is easy, but I started recognizing the restrictions, like wine, like olive oil, quinoa....many things I love, but not so 'pure' to a locavore. like a pork chop to a vegan. Or, for instance, another question came to me, do I buy something from BC or New York? Or yet, is it absolute quality or giving credence and support to an emerging artisan? I do remember one thing though; last year I was in a market and someone bought the Cali strawberries over the Quebec ones because they were 50 cents cheaper. Someone told me that the prices are deliberately dropped in order to compete with the local varieties. Encouraging the local spirit or are we getting ripped off, every person's thought precisely. Everyone in the world is trying to justify their 50 cents worth, but I think at least the choice should be obvious, with so many good strawberries available in Quebec, the choice of quality wins hands down. If anything, have you ever known the variety of strawberry that you are eating? Likely not, because we are never told. But for the first time I found out that I was making dessert with Chambly and Jewel strawberries, and somewhat satisfied, I suppose that was my 50 cents worth.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)