The First Nations Hotel-Museum is celebrating its 15th anniversary and the restaurant is offering a five-course gourmet meal for US$55. A great opportunity to discover or rediscover the local cuisine.
• Also read: Quebec, gourmet city: Greek gastronomy at its finest in mezzé
• Also read: Quebec City, Gourmet City: Discover this restaurant where sushi is outstanding
Since taking over the helm of La Traite in March 2022, Michelin-starred chef Marc de Passorio has been working to popularize this terroir.
File photo, Stevens LeBlanc
Marc de Passorio, chef at La Traite restaurant in Wendake.
“We work for the First Nations and we are 100% inspired by them,” emphasizes the native of Corsica, who is now well established in Quebec.
Whenever this globetrotter has a day off, he drives out in his trailer to explore Quebec’s diverse Aboriginal communities.
“I do a lot of research and development. I dive in, sometimes a day, two or three in the woods, often with moms in their 70s and 80s who know it by heart. I learn a lot and then bring it back to the restaurant,” says the man who has worked to popularize regional terroirs in all parts of the world.
His thirst for knowledge and desire to learn more about Quebec’s 55 Aboriginal communities convinced him to make the leap to La Traite.
Always connected to nature, he recognizes the strong bond that binds First Nations people to Mother Earth.
success memories
On the occasion of the 15th anniversary, he followed the advice of his catering director Pierre-Luc Xavier and reviewed the first menus.
With his brigade, the chef has created a simple and accessible gastronomic offer that revisits these success stories. It’s on sale Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday nights through June 27 for $55.
I fell in love with the Cold Smoked Salmon Candy Appetizer, made right at the Oushata Artisanal Smokehouse in Wendake. A sour sauce with pear and coriander went wonderfully with it.
Photo Marianne White
Maple salmon sweet, one of the five courses of the gastronomic menu for the 15th anniversary of the restaurant La Traite.
I loved the sequence: a scallop on a mesclun salad of herbs and corn, followed by a wild mushroom soup.
Photo Marianne White
A corn and scallop salad, one of the five courses on the 15th anniversary gastronomic menu at La Traite restaurant.
Then the Piece de Resistance, a medallion of roast venison served with carrots in maple syrup. This very lean and mild-tasting venison comes into its own.
Photo Marianne White
The piece of deer, one of the five services of the gastronomic menu for the 15th anniversary of the restaurant La Traite.
The sugar cake – much less sweet than we are used to – completes this meal with enjoyment.
Photo Marianne White
The sugar cake, one of the five services of the gastronomic menu for the 15th anniversary of the La Traite restaurant
stars in the eyes
We feel all the work of the chef – twice awarded in the Michelin Guide in 2009 and 2015 – in the careful presentation of the dishes and the desire to anchor this culinary culture in the modern age.
“Me, today the stars, I want them to shine in the eyes of everyone who works with me in the kitchen, that’s enough for me,” confides the chef, who is happy to share his know-how with his team made up of 80% of the indigenous people .
Despite having changed the dinner menu four times in the past year, Mr. de Passorio fails to settle on one star dish: lobster. This is cooked in a Boreal Gin and cold-smoked with birch wood. It is served under a bell that is removed at the table to allow the flavors to escape.
Photo Marion Garnier
Lobster from La Traite restaurant
With such creations, it is the chef’s goal to turn the restaurant, which is currently being modernized and expanded, into a culinary highlight that should not be missed.
“We don’t want to be the best restaurant in the world. More of a place where you eat things you can’t eat anywhere else,” he concludes.
trade
5, meeting place
To consult the special menu it is Here