Geography
Gourmet delights
Our best shotsBon appétit!
In Québec, we eat well. The recipe? A successful blend of influences! First we took a solid base of French cooking, then we added a generous helping of knowledge gleaned from the Aboriginals and different cultural communities, we mixed it all together and voilà! The result is modern Québec cuisine, enhanced by the use of quality regional products. A new generation of inspired chefs invites you to sample its menus—some of which are among the continent’s finest.
Québecers have always held food and drink in high esteem. Discover a culinary tradition that’s unique in North America—one that features fine produce, local beers, ciders and wines, and some 100 varieties of cheese. Lobster caught in the Îles-de-la-Madeleine, farmed game, apples, blueberries and numerous maple products are just some of the local products that are the pride of Québec.
Flavours from the past...
The first inhabitants of Québec—for the most part peasant farmers—prepared hearty meals to help them face the harshness of everyday life. A style of home cooking, based on the French tradition, developed over the centuries and featured local fish, game, fruits and vegetables. Tourtière, cipaille (a layered meat pie), baked beans, roast pork, cretons (a kind of pork pâté), sugar pie and buckwheat pancakes are just a few examples of these traditional dishes. While some of these remain everyday fare, others are served on special occasions like big family dinners during the Holiday Season. In the spring, these country dishes are happily indulged in at Québec’s sugar shacks.... and the present
Traditional recipes are adapted to reflect today’s tastes by chefs at major restaurants, which also offer a large selection of fine Québec products, such as foie gras, magret de canard (duck cutlet), caviar de corrégone and ice wine. These regional products give Québec cooking its own identity, much to the delight of gourmets!Looking for something exotic? You’ll find ethnic cuisine from the four corners of the world in Québec’s large cities, where you can sample sushi, Portuguese tapas, Thai dishes, Lebanese specialties … and much more! The rich mosaic of international flavours offered in restaurants bears witness to the diversity of cultures that make up Québec today.
Regional cuisine
Wherever you’re headed in Québec, you’ll be enchanted by our local specialties. In the Montérégie, where orchards make up 30% of the territory, a wide variety of ciders are made that have been honoured at international competitions. In the Bas-Saint-Laurent region, locals have mastered the art of smoking salmon, trout, sturgeon and eel in the style of their ancestors. On the Îles-de-la-Madeleine, you can sample pot-en-pot, a tasty mixture of fish or seafood and potatoes baked in a crust. The Saguenay—Lac-Saint-Jean is renowned for its tourtière (meat and pork pie) and soupe aux gourganes (broad bean soup). The cheeses produced in Charlevoix boast their own unique personality and, in the Gaspésie, the salmon pie is like none other. On the North Shore, most of the dishes feature fish and shellfish from local waters, such as northern shrimp, snow crab and scallops. In the Mauricie region, meat from locally raised bison and ostrich is a delicacy. The culinary delights continue, from region to region!Gourmet banquets, multi-ethnic finds, country meals, dishes from the past … In Québec, there’s something for all tastes!
