28TH ANNUAL ACS CONFERENCE & COMPETITION

Cheese & Fromage: Common Cultures Province QUEBEC PROVINCE

l Location and Geography

¢ Quebec is a province in , North America , bordered on the Southeast by the United States and , on it's Southwest by , on it's West and North by Hudson Bay, and on it's Northeast by Newfoundland. It has an area of 1 700 000 sq.km, and is three times as large as . Population density is low, at 4.7 inhabitants per square kilometre. Northern Québec is sparsely populated with approximately 35 000 inhabitants. Approximately 3/4 of the Quebec population live near the shores of the Saint Lawrence River.

¢ Québec has more than 1 million lakes and waterways. The Saint Lawrence River, one of the most beautiful stretches of water in North America, crosses Québec from west to east, for 1000 km. It then flows into the Atlantic.

¢ Population of 7 900 000 on a territory the size of France. Quebec province represent 24% of the Canadian population.

POPULATION

¢ 82% of the population were born and raise with French speaking and 95% of the population speak fluently French

¢ Anglophone represent 8% of the population and and autochones 10%

¢ Near 50% of the population lives in the Greater area. CULTURE

Because of our French Heritage, we were closer to France and countries than the rest of the North American. The Quebec market then, was more into cheddar and fresh . Throughout times, there was request for style cheese, washed rind cheese and others specialities from Europe. Some entrepreneurs saw the opportunity and decide to fly in some of those from these countries to fulfill the needs. Then, a few cheese masters and French entrepreneurs brought their knowledge and expertise into Canada to start producing those cheeses in Quebec. In 1887, the OKA monks produced the first washed rind cheese in Quebec on a larger scale. The OKA cheese remains and is sold across Canada. If you look back up 20 years ago, Quebecers were the leaders in eating Brie style and washed rind cheeses in Canada. EVOLUTION OF THE CHEESE IN THE PROVINCE

Although we have a strong European heritage, Quebec is also well known for their aged cheddar, that is considered among the best in the world and have been chosen and exported to England for more than a century. However, during production of cheddar, some cheese makers started to produce a cheese curds. The cheese was very good when it came out of the vat and eaten warm. Some entrepreneurs saw again the opportunity and started to sell the cheese curds fresh of the day at their front counters. This cheese became so popular that it is now sold across Quebec in most of the majors retail stores and sold fresh of the day. INVENTION OF THE

¢ Poutine Historic ¢ The first poutine was invented in Quebec, and there are many, unconfirmed claims to have invented the poutine which date from the late 50s through the 1970s in the area, about 1 hour away from Montreal. ¢ The earliest date associated with its invention is 1957, which is when restaurateur Fernand LaChance of Warwick claims that a take-out customer at his restaurant, requested , cheese in a bag, to which the restaurateur responded: "ça va faire une maudite poutine (That's going to make a dawn mess). ¢ In his 2005 obituary, CTV.ca quoted Eddy Lanaisse as that original customer: I wanted fries, but I saw cheese curds on the counter. I asked Fernand to mix them together. LaChance's restaurant eventually closed, and so there exists no present day monument to this earliest claim. ¢ Adding sauce to the cheese to curds/fries mixture was a later innovation. The owner of restaurant Roy le Jucep, Jean-Paul Roy, also claims the title of "The Inventor of Poutine", dating his claim in 1964. Jucep's claim stems from having made a sauce, which he was slathering on fries sold in his restaurant. He also sold bags of cheddar cheese curds - which are sold widely in the region, bought as a handy, portable snack - which he noticed customers were adding to his fries and sauce. Soon after, he made the combination a regular menu item. ¢ The cheese used in a classic poutine is not simply cheddar, but cheddar cheese curds, which come in finger-tipped sized chunks, not unlike that you'll find in cottage cheese. ¢ Like burritos, poutine are found with a wide range of styles, both in high-end and fast food restaurants, as well as at home. POUTINE AS A MEAL

¢ Simple comparisons around the city of Montreal town make it appear that the classic sauce is a chicken-based velouté, which should not be confused with a "gravy", the important difference being that stock is used as the base in a velouté, while milk or cream is used in gravy. Today, delicious are made with a wide range of sauces, including marinara, black mole, and Parisienne (or, German) sauce. ¢ Poutine now and then: Poutine as a fast food meal, started locally. In 1980, Fromage Cote Inc decides to expand more and started to develop the Montreal area. The development Poutine was among the strategy. Poutine was sold then by small independent chip stands, small local restaurant chain. Poutine became a well known menu across the Quebec province ¢ In 1992, because of the success of Poutine with the independent restaurant or local chain, a major Canadian chain leaded the fast food industry and approved the addition of the Poutine on their Quebec menu. In 1993, due to the success in the Quebec province, this chain approved a test in , . The results were so conclusive, that they made the decision to add the Poutine, as a permanent menu across Canada. ¢ Since then, most of the major fast food chains across Canada have decided to follow the trend and have been offering Poutine on their menu also. ¢ In 2005, we estimated the sales of Poutine across Canada, at well over 50 000 000 Poutines per year alone, which represent then over $ 150 000 000.00 sales per year. ¢ We understand that Poutine is starting in USA in specific market and is growing. Some restaurants in Asia are also offering on the menu. ¢ Due to globalization, people are traveling more and more, and in Canada the Poutine is getting more awareness from travelers Worldwide.

OTHER POPULAR FINE CHEESES

Here are some of the fine cheeses popular in the Quebec province: o Bloomy rind soft cheese: Brie, , o Mix rind soft cheese: Roubine de Noyan, St-Damase o Washed rind soft cheese: Fleurmier, Curé Labelle o Semi ferm washed rind: OKA, , o Semi ferm washed rind Morbier style, Douanier cheese with ash: o Mix rind semi firm cheese: Empereur o Firm washed rind cheese: Blackburn, Louis d’Or o Goat cheese (lactic) o Bloomy rind soft Goat cheese o Sheep milk cheese MAJOR RETAILERS

REGIONAL RETAILLERS

¢ Fruiterie 440 – 5 locations

¢ Jardin Mobile – 20 locations

¢ Marché Végétarien – 9 locations

¢ Marché Adonis – 3 locations

¢ Mourelatos – 4 locations

¢ Avril Supermarché Santé – 3 locations

¢ Tau – 3 locations

¢ Cavalarro CHEESE BOUTIQUES

¢ Fromagerie Hamel

¢ Fromagerie Atwater

¢ Yannick Fromagerie – 4 locations

¢ Fromagerie des Nations – 3 locations

¢ Les 5 Saisons

¢ Marché Jean Talon

¢ Maitre Corbeau

¢ Maitre Affineur

¢ Fromagerie Taschereau