La Grande Table is a new festival that explores Québec’s culinary identity. Inspired by the past, the event seeks to explore regional cuisine by bringing together specialists from the world of food to create moments to exchange and share expertise. This culinary festival encompasses the local (MRC de La Mitis and environs), regional (Gaspésie and the Lower St. Lawrence) and the province of Québec as a whole. It brings together leaders from the food sector (market gardeners, farms, producers, restaurateurs, chefs, associations of the food’s culinary offerings) that are working in synergy to develop the region. The first edition of the Festival will be held from September 16 to 18 at Les Jardins de Métis. A Program for Every Taste Presentations and Master Classes | Friday, September 16 and Saturday, September 17 Presentation on new trends and innovation in the world of food. They are led by leaders in the fields of food production. The subjects broached explore the three pillars of the region’s landscape: the St. Lawrence, the fields and the forest. Master classes are moments where a select few can work with experienced chefs. The small group (6 participants maximum) environment offers a unique opportunity to hone your skills. Recipes, favourite products, culinary approach and much more. For the Complete Program: lagrandetable.tv
5 à 7 – Producers and Microbreweries | Friday September 16, 5 pm The first day ends with a 5 à 7 with the region’s producers and microbrewers from the Lower St. Lawrence and Gaspésie regions. Beer tasting, culinary delights from the Lower St. Lawrence, the field and the forest, followed by a festive celebration. An amazing opportunity to network! Concours de chefs and Web Broadcast | Saturday, September 17, 9 am to 11.30 am Five chefs participate in a culinary competition live in the kitchens of Estevan Lodge. This friendly competition offers five unknown products from the region’s larder: seaweed, shoreline plants, foraged produce from the forest floor, camelina oil, gluten free flour, etc. The chefs will each produce a main course including these products and will present the fruit of their efforts to a jury comprising members of the public (reservations limited to 20 people, $40 per person). During the competition, the public will watch the chefs at work on screens in Estevan Lodge. Also on view will be short clips of the producers preparing the produce used during the competition. You will have an opportunity to follow the chefs live on the web via lagrandetable.tv. Banquet des Origines | Saturday September 17, 6.30 pm, Estevan Lodge, $150 (Dinner, wine, taxes and service) Le Banquet des Origines explores the three culinary influences that has shaped our cuisine: the First Nations, French cuisine and English cuisine. The chefs bring together their expertise to create a rich menu of Québec’s culinary identify. Each plate will illustrate the influences and the mixing of these three intertwined traditions. The Chefs: Guillaume Cantin on French cuisine (winner of the first edition Les Chefs), Pierre-Olivier Ferry on English cuisine (Chef, Jardins de Métis) and Steven Larocque, a Micmac from the Gesgapegiag Reserve, on First Nations cuisine. The co-animators of the evening are Michel Lambert, historian and founder of the Cuisine patrimoniale du Québec and Alexander Reford, historian and director of Les Jardins de Métis. They will enliven the evening with their anecdotes and true stories from the wonderful world of cuisine. Espace Famille | Saturday, September 17, from 10 am to 4 pm The Espace Famille is an area dedicated entirely to children. Movies for kids on culinary themes will be presented in collaboration with the Carrousel international du film de Rimouski. Exploramer and the Fourchette Bleue program will bring their inflated submarine where children will be able to immerse themselves in the underwater world of the St. Lawrence. Chef Annie Lavoie will offer culinary workshops for children from ages 5 to 12 to explore the five senses. Marché des Producteurs | Saturday September 17, from 12 noon to 5 pm Between two presentations, meet the producers and farmers of the Lower St. Lawrence and Gaspésie regions. Tastings are scheduled at 1.45 pm, 3 pm and 4.15 pm. Landscape interventions and Lunch Architect Pierre Thibault and his workshop have built three GRANDE TABLES, oversized tables that have been designed especially for the event. These installations will be integrated at three venues on site in line with the three themes, the St. Lawrence, agriculture and the forest. Purchase a picnic lunch at the Café Pavot bleu or the Café Jardin and enjoy these amusing installations. La Grande Table Round Table | Sunday, September 18, from 10 am to 12 noon, $25 The Festival will end with the Grande Table Round Table on Sunday morning. Around a brunch, participants are invited to join in a round table with three panelists on the subject of culinary identify. A manifesto will be written by author Stéphanie Pelletier during the round table. Panelists: Sabrina Doyon, professor in anthropology at the Université Laval; Colombe Saint-Pierre, chef;Priscilla Plamondon, journalist and master’s student at the Université du Québec à Chicoutimi, whose thesis is entitled Histoire de la gastronomie québécoise : l’émergence d’une identité culinaire. To Consult the Program and Admission Fees: lagrandetable.tv Purchase your tickets on line or reserve admission to master classes, the jury of the competition of the chefs, the banquet and Sunday Brunch – limited places available! Daily admission is available at the gate. Free for children 13 and under for access to the site and to the Espace famille. Organizing Committee | La Grande Table is made possible with the help of many organizations from the Lower St. Lawrence and Gaspésie regions: Les Jardins de Métis / Festival international de jardins, Gaspésie Gourmande, Saveurs du Bas-Saint-Laurent, Fourchette Bleue, Coop Alina, Triango, Cuisine patrimoniale. Partners | The inaugural edition of La Grande Table is made possible with the help of many partners: Partenaire Chef cuisinier : MRC de La Mitis Partenaires Cuisiniers : Ministère de l’Économie, de la Science et de l’Innovation par le biais de la démarche ACCORD – Gaspésie-Îles-de-la-Madeleine, Tourisme Gaspésie, SOPER Partenaire Aide-cuisinier : Pôle d’économie sociale Bas-Saint-Laurent, Pascal Bérubé, député de Matane-Matapédia, Rémi Massé, député de Avignon – La Mitis – Matane – Matapédia, Harold Lebel, député de Rimouski, Atelier Pierre Thibault, CLAC, Carrousel international du film de Rimouski Partenaires de service : Thermomix, Després Laporte, Microbec