Île d’Orléans – The Garden of Quebec, Canada

Given the fact that I hadn’t made it to Quebec City on any of my previous trips to Canada, I was pretty excited to get there this year and even more excited to discover the food basket of the region and some of the first ever farmlands in North America on the picturesque Île d’Orléans.  So you can imagine my disappointment when the fug of the head cold I generally manage to succumb to a week or so after a long-haul flight descended on my first day there.  I imagine my charming host for the day, Michelle Demers, was also less than thrilled to have to sit in a car with me and my soggy tissues for eight hours straight, but she was far too polite to show it as we spent a leisurely day exploring some of her favourite food producers on the island.

Île d’Orléans is located in the magnificent St Lawrence river, a 15 minute drive east of Quebec. It is relatively small, being about 34 kms long and 8kms long at it’s widest point, and contains six separate villages. Known by the indigenous people as “Minigo” which means “the enchanted island”, the island was one of the first settled by the French who set up a permanent community in 1650. With rich, fertile soil, a seemingly-endless supply of desirable, tasty fish species and edible widlfowl  and such close proximity to the city, the abundant agricultural capacity of the island was obvious.

This has made it the perfect food bowl for Quebec, a heritage now protected by the Agricultural Land Preservation Act which reserves 90 percent of the island’s land area for agricultural purposes. It’s a popular spot for locals and tourists to explore the rich historic heritage and natural beauty, which is just what we did. We visited farms, wineries, bakeries, jam makers and orchards – so many that I lost count – but these few will give you just an idea of how diverse the comestible production on this island really is.

Our first stop on the island was at Cassis Monna & Filles, a very popular (two busloads of tourists while I was there) boutique producer of luscious blackcurrant products including a sublime Crème de Cassis that earned the 1995 Gold Medal Award at the prestigious European contest in Ljubljana, Slovenia. Established by Bernard Monna who migrated from his native France in the 1970’s and now run by his daughters, the property grows blackcurrants on 5 hectares of land and produces over 30,000 bottles of product per year. Blackcurrant products are hard to come by in Australia and I  found the cassis to be simply ambrosial, making me curse the fact of limited luggage allowances.

The island oozes history and charm, with gorgeousness (is that a word?) around every corner and while Isle de Bacchus, the very first winery on the island, may be short on viticultural antiquity having only been established 25 years ago, it makes up for it in the age of the buildings which are incredibly well preserved. Their multi-award winning range of red, white and rose wines are well worth trying.

Cheese making on the island dates back to the first home-made efforts of the settlers in 1635 and the first ever cheese made in North America was in the style of Le Paillasson de L’ile d’Orléans a semi-firm cheese which is served hot, from a frying pan. This cheese had disappeared from production over 40 years ago and has recently been resurrected. Served by staff in period costumes in a building constructed using 17th century building techniques, you could almost forget the modern world just outside the door.

Cider makers Cidrerie Bilodeau cultivate six acres of apples on the island and produce a staggering range of products from them. Forget about the normal selection of just sweet or dry cider – they have a range of ciders flavoured with maple syrup, strawberries, raspberries and blackcurrants as well as a sparkling “methode champenoise” style and a silky, sweet ice cider. If cider isn’t your thing then you may be tempted by their apple butters, jellies, syrups, mustards and juices. I know I was.

I discovered they have a very sophisticated take on fast food on Île d’Orléans when we stopped for lunch at La Roulotte du Coin, a modest roadside diner that serves very fancy food.  The stand is only open during the summer months, but they also produce a range of rilletes and patés which is available in Quebec stores. I can probably think of better ways to lunch than sitting in the autumn sun, surrounded by gentle geese and feasting on poutine with paté, duck fat fries, confit duck burgers and fois gras sausages – but I just can’t think of them right now.

While in Quebec, Lambs’ Ears and Honey was a guest of the Canadian Tourism Commission and Quebec City Tourism.

 

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