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With a history of good food developed over three centuries, the cooking of Quebec is as traditional as tourtière and as innovative as the latest nouvelle cuisine. In today's Quebec, la cuisine is a delicious blend of old and new. The traditional home cooking of old Quebec is still in style, especially for festive occasions. Tourtière and bûche de Noël (Yule log) still appear on Christmas tables; ragoût de boulettes (stew of meatballs and pigs' feet) and caribou (a popular drink of red wine and spirits) still warm body and soul during the Quebec Winter Carnival; maple syrup time brings rich sugar pies and tire sur la neige (snow taffy). This hearty fare co-exists with the haute cuisine of classic French restaurants and an influx of other cuisines. The regional cooking of Quebec varies somewhat according to the products grown locally (the blueberry specialties of the Lac St. Jean region, the special fish chowders of the Gaspé) and the origins of the first settlers there. The traditional foods are sometimes very French, sometimes very English (west of Montreal) and often a bit of both plus old influences from New England. Today, young chefs of Quebec are gaining world-wide attention with their innovative cooking styles. The focus is on seasonal, regional ingredients tastefully prepared and presented with artistic flair. Quebec-grown products - from maple syrup and blueberries to snow crab, chantrelles, lamb, veal and baby vegetables - are being treated with elegant simplicity. And alongside all this sophistication, the best "street food" in the country remains as irresistible as ever. Montreal bagels and smoked meat taste as delectably "Quebec" as old fashioned pea soup.
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