Stops On The Gastronomic Trail In Charlevoix:
Quebec’s Area Of Fine Foodsby Habeeb SalloumIn the past I had travelled to Charlevoix, some one and a half hours drive east of Quebec City, but in the ensuing years had always yearned to return to this region, noted for its fine foods. A rich farming and tourist area with an enticing mountain and river landscape, inviting fiords, islands, lakes, parks and wilderness, it contains within its borders charming villages and rustic farms. As well the many tourist establishments such as art galleries, museums, quaint inns and restaurants combine to dazzle and delight visitors. Above all this region with some 30,000 inhabitants is noted for its organic foods offered locally to the some 800,000 annual tourists by its hospitable inhabitants.  This day I had returned and was planning to indulge in savouring as much as possible the region’s food. Thinking of the many calories that I would consume, I was awakened from my dreams when our vehicle stopped in Baie St-Paul, a village of some 4,000 at the Restaurant/bar and microbrewery Le Saint Pub serving a whole series of in-house beers along with excellent meals.
 At the entrance, the owner, Frederick Tremblay and his charming wife Caroline ushered us in. After being warmly greeted we toured the microbrewery attached to the restaurant.
 Both Frederick and Caroline are proud of their establishment working in total harmony at creating new types of beers some of which have become well known. Business is expanding and they are now in the process of building a new brewery. In the words of Frederick, “I have always loved beer and I have been experimenting with beer-making since I was in my teens. The brewing of beer is what I love most.”
 As luck would have it, he married Caroline, a woman that had the same love for beer. In 1998 they opened their brewery/restaurant/bar serving their own brands – increasing year after year. At any one time they have four or five of their brands on tap. After sampling a number of brands while nibbling on excellent appetizers and other foods all prepared from mostly the region’s organic produce, we all agreed that Dominus Luplus a champagne-like beer that Frederick had created for festive occasions was the best.
 Walking across the street we stopped at Chocolaterie Cynthia famous for its handmade hand-produced Belgium-type chocolates made, in the main, from local ingredients such as fresh blueberries, maple syrup and cherries. For chocolate lovers and for those who yearn for excellent chocolate-dipped ice cream, it is a sweet paradise much visited by tourists.
 After sampling some of the chocolates we left for Laiterie Charlevoix, a cheese establishment that has preserved the personal aspect of processing cheese. A successful family business, the Laiterie illustrates to visitors first hand how milk is turned to cheese. According to John Labbé, one of the owners, “We have our family secrets on how to create our specialized cheeses and our brands are finding an ever-increasing demand.”
 We toured the museum dedicating the Labbé family’s history in cheese making then viewed the process of cheese making from the windows as we sampled some of the Laiterie’s specialities such as Vieux Charlevoix and Gruyère before we left for L’Auberge la Muse our abode for the night.
 Located in the heart of Baie-Saint-Paul this tiny 14 room Victorian abode oozes a friendly atmosphere made possible by its pleasant owners Evelyne Trmblay and Robert Arsenault. In its gourmet restaurant we dined on some of the finest dishes in the region made possible by its excellent chef Hank Suzuki who has a passion for preparing dishes from prime local ingredients with an exotic Japanese touch. The gracious and charming Evelyne who had lived for some time in Japan had learned to appreciate Japanese food and now her chef is imparting bits of Japanese cooking to visitors dining in this little gem of an inn in tourist-friendly Charlevoix.
 The saying that ‘staying in one of Charlevoix’s quaint inns hid amid the beauty of nature is like drinking all evening without a morning hangover’ is truly exemplified by this quaint inn.
 Continuing on our gastronomic trail, our first stop next morning was Maison d’Affinage Maurice Dufour the second cheese maker in Charlevoix. Here they store and age some of Laiterie Charlevoix’s cheeses and produce five types of their own, among these: Tomme D’Elles’, and Deo Gratias, made from sheep’s milk; and the award winning Le Migneron, the most widely sold cheese in Charlevoix.
 After an explanation of cheese making from an enthusiastic employee we sampled and then bought some of the cheeses before driving to La Ferme Basque – a small farm, operated by Jean-Jacques Etcheberrigary who hails from the Basque area in France and his pleasant wife Isabelle Mihura. They operate an organic farm with foie gras as their main product.
Jean-Jacques who also works as a manager at the nearby Le Manoir Richelieu luxury hotel is a happy man who treats his animals well raising his ducks naturally. Yet, he force-feeds them to produce the foie gras. However, he said that unlike other producers he does not hurt his ducks, which produce about 500 grams each of foie gras. In his words, “One must think like animals, not man. Look what man has done in this world!” He continued while his wife served us neat looking samples of foie gras, “Look how appetizing the foie gras looks! We start eating food with our eyes. Food must be made appealing.”  A few minutes drive back to town we entered the Restaurant Orange Bistro where we dined on fine regional Charlevoix cuisine. I ordered the meal of the day, a tasty lamb dish, at the cost of $11. As we walked out we all agreed that the food was fabulous and the service better still.
Sated and happy we drove for 15 minutes to Chocolaterie du Village – the second hand making chocolate establishment in Charlevoix. Soon we were listening to Yves Huppe relating the story of his shop that produces some 40 types of Belgium-style handmade chocolates. Made with natural ingredients, his chocolates have been a hit since he began his business in 2004. Yves attributes his success to his customers, saying as he handed us sample chocolates, “My customers – 50% tourists – tell me if they like my new creations and after that I will continue or discontinue making them.”  A short distance away we stopped at Les Jardins du Centre, a farm/store featuring a wide variety of fruits and vegetables, organic and locally grown. A family enterprise for more than 200 years, the farm is noted above all for its maple sugar shack. Here, during maple sugar time in spring, guided tours are available to groups who want to indulge in Quebec’s famous maple sugar treat, maple toffee on the snow, which takes part around a 200-year old home and barn. As I relished my toffee on the snow, I had a storybook historic feeling of living in the past. It was exciting!
 To cap off our gastronomic tour, that evening we attended La Fete des Saveur, hosted by La Table Agrotouristique de Charlevoix – a fundraising event held annually. Late into the evening we gorged ourselves on course after course prepared by a collection of some 2-dozen volunteer chefs and sous-chefs from the restaurants in the region. It was a world of culinary delights prepared, in the main, from the organic ingredients found in the area.
 That night, resting at the nearby elegant L’Auberge des 3 Canards, I reflected on our two-day gastronomic journey through the picturesque tourist region of Charlevoix and I felt contentment. The food establishments in that region had offered us some of top foods found in Quebec – Canada’s province of culinary excellence.
IF YOU GOEstablishments Visited During the Gastronomic Tour: Micro-Brewery ‘Le Saint Pub, 2 Racine St., Baie-Saint-Paul. Tel: 418-240-2332. Chocolaterie Cynthia, 66-3 Saint-Jean-Baptiste St., Baie-Saint-Paul. Tel: 418-435-6060. Maison d’Affinage Maurice Dufour, 1339 boulevard Mgr-De Laval Route 138, Baie-Saint-Paul. Tel: 418-435-5692. La Ferme Basque, 813 rue Saint-Edouard, Coeur Village, Saint-Urban. Tel: 418-639-2246. Restaurant Orange Bistro, 29 rue Ambroise-Fafard, Baie-Saint-Paul. Tel: 418-635-1651. Chocolaterie du Village, 194 du Village, Les Eboulements. Tel: 418-635-1651. Les Jardins du Centre, 91 rang Centre, Les Eboulements. Tel: 418-635-2387. Two Good Places to Stay and Dine in Charlevoix: SEQ CHAPTER \h \r 1Auberge La Muse, 39, Saint-Jean-Baptiste St., Baie-Saint-Paul, Charlevoix, Québec
G3Z 1M3. Tel: (418) 435-6839 / 1 800 841-6839. Fax: (418) 435-6289. E-mail: lamuse@lamuse.com Website: www.lamuse.com Auberge des 3 Canards, 115, Côte Bellevue, La Malbaie ( Pointe-au-Pic ) Québec G5A 1Y2. Tel: 418 665-3761 / 1 800 461-3761. Fax: 418-665-4727. Email: info@auberge3canards.com Website: http://www.auberge3canards.com Tidbits about Charlevoix: Designated a world biosphere by UNESCO in 1989, Charlevoix owes its breathtaking landscape to a crater formed some 350 million years ago when a 15 billion ton meteorite smashed into the earth. The 56 km (35 mi) wide crater whose outline can be seen clearly from outer space is one of the few inhabited on earth. It forms today the heart of the Charlevoix region. One painter who now calls Charlevoix home is Juan Cristobal – a Chilean who fled to Canada after the overthrow of Allende by a CIA organized coup. His wife, two brothers and mother, also painters in their own right, have enriched the region with their works. In their three studios, they have given the Quebec art scene a [ boost – Chile’s loss has been Charlevoix’s gain. While in Charlevoix do not miss: Maison du Bootlegger, located at La Malbaie (Sainte-Agns) and built in 1860, it gives one a peek into the underworld of clandestine activities during the Prohibition. It is now a tourist restaurant featuring fine food, entertainment, guided tours discovering a maze of fake walls and hidden corridors and bars. See website: www.maisondubootlegger.com For Further Information. Contact:Tourisme Québec: for complete tourist information Québec, call: (514) 873-2015 or toll free: 1-877-363-7777, or visit web the site: www.bonjourquebec.com or http://www.bonjourquebec.com/ca-en/charlevoix0.html | 