Le Champlain @ Le Château Frontenac, Québec City

Le Château Frontenac has been one of the jewels of the Fairmont Hotel family (formerly Canadian Pacific)  since it was first opened in 1893. It was designed to be, in founder Sir William Van Horne’s words, “the most talked about hotel on this continent”. Sitting on the north shore of the St. Lawrence, its majestic towers still grace tourism guides and attract visitors from around the world.  Nestled in the heart of Old Quebec, this unique heritage urban resort  has breathtaking views of the St.Lawrence River and is surrounded by the Old fortified City, designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site

Culinary excellence is also part of its tradition and the Champlain dining room is where you’ll experience it first hand.  Chef Stéphane Modat, one of Canada’s rising stars, has taken the culinary offerings to a whole new level.  Not only has he been dubbed Best Chef of the Year 2017 by the Québec Society of Chefs and Pastry Chefs, he is an experienced hunter and fisherman.  He dives deeply into the forests and onto the tundra of the north, harvesting game and fish for both his table but also as fodder for his writing.  He has held cooking courses on the shore of Hudson Bay in Inukjuak in support of youth hockey and has helped Raymond’s chef Jeremy Charles raise funds for the neo-natal unit in St. John’s Children’s Hospital.

All of which is to say that he cooks with his head and his heart!  Having such massive purchasing power, it has helped to build a huge network of local producers from spectacular Highland beef to a huge array of maple products.  A whole refrigerated, glassed in room showcases wheels of Québec cheeses, products that simply did not exist 20 years ago. His seared Marieville foie gras served on a berry-smeared plate with maple glazed almonds and cedar powder took me back to the days when I wrote a book titled Flavours of Canada in which preparing Le Château Frontenac’s became the centrefold.  It was exquisite…paired perfectly with a small glass of Ontario ice wine.  The red deer tartar with daisy buds, wild mushroom mousse and Monna et Filles blackcurrant ketchup is below left.

Contactez Le Champlain au numéro ci-dessous, afin de faire votre Journée des terroirs réservation.

Contact Le Champlain at the number below to reserve a Food Day Canada table

Le Château Frontenac
1 rue des Carrières
Québec City
Quebec  G1R 4P5

T: 418 692 3861