Made in Quebec: A Culinary Journey
Canada’s culinary treasure revealed in recipes, stories and photographs.
Made In Quebec: A Culinary Journey, by Julian Armstrong, published in October, 2014, by Harper Collins Canada, Toronto
The book, from a food journalist who has called Quebec home for more than 50 years, offers a taste of today’s cuisine in every part of Quebec, the 135 recipes divided into the four seasons, and the text describing Quebec’s love affair with food throughout history. The focus of the book is the fresh, new style of regional cuisine enjoyed in restaurants and homes from Montreal to Gaspé, Saguenay to the Eastern Townships, Abitibi to Charlevoix. Included are stories about the food producers and the newly developed foods, the traditional dishes such as pâté chinois, tourtière, soupe aux pois and tarte au sirop d’érable, and the development of Quebec wine and beer.
Julian has persuaded almost 100 chefs and cooks to part with their recipes for their specialties, and Montreal food specialist Michelle Gélinas has tested each recipe to make sure it will work in the home kitchen. Gordon Beck’s evocative photographs of his beloved Quebec and Ryan Szulc’s fine food photographs make the book beautiful. It’s a book to read and to savour, to cook from and to learn from.
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“ Son jugement sur la gastronomie québécoise est juste et sans équivoque. Elle montre avec son ouvrage combine elle affectionne les artisans, les chefs et tous ceux qui ont contribué, comme elle, à faire grandir le Quebec gourmand. Une livre magnifique…”
-Philippe Mollé, Le Devoir
“an incredible authority on Quebec cooking…she explores all facets of the food-fixated province…Armstrong’s recipes, thoroughly tested, are spot-on and easy to make…This is your armchair travel guide to Quebec…”
– Lucy Waverman, The Globe and Mail
“Long before we debated about ‘Canadian’ cuisine there was Quebec. No one knows this better than Julian Armstrong.”
– Bonnie Stern, National Post
“The lavishly illustrated book brims with Armstrong’s abundant love for the ingredients and deeply rooted dishes from throughout her province. It includes scores of recipes from Quebec’s chefs and producers…from traditional favourites such as Saguenay tourtière and maple syrup pie to more contemporary fare such as scallops with miso ‘the Nobu way.’”
– Peter Hum, Ottawa Citizen
“It’s clear Julian Armstrong simply adores writing about the culinary scene in her adopted province of Quebec. She has parlayed her enthusiasm into ‘Made in Quebec: A Culinary Journey,’ a book that is…the culmination of her own journey exploring the passions of farmers, purveyors, chefs and home cooks… she trailed after a fiddlehead forager, visited sugar shacks, cheesemakers, bakers, fish plants and all kinds of farms, observing the raising of luscious strawberries, frisky lambs, deer and asparagus. Quebec cooks believe in keeping their food traditions alive but aren’t afraid to tweak traditional recipes, she says.”
– Lois Abraham, Canadian Press (Huffington Post)
“Made In Quebec sera le cadeau parfait à apporter à votre cousine de Vancouver, votre oncle de New York ou n’importe quel cuisinier aimant la bonne bouffe généreuse et savoureuse.”
– Antoine Gélinas, Bouchées Doubles blog
“Long-time food writer for the Montreal Gazette, Julian Armstrong has learned how to make salt cod in traditional Gaspé style on the Bay of Chaleur, watched the spectacular cranberry harvest on the south shore of the St. Lawrence River, and tasted a revived fresh farm cheese called Le Paillasson on Île-d’Orléans…Made in Quebec: A Culinary Journey, showcases both traditional and new recipes from chefs and cooks. ‘The main thing about Quebec (cuisine) is that there is great respect for the traditions of the past. The love of the early recipes (is still present) in family cooking,’ Armstrong says.”
– Laura Brehaut, Postmedia News
“Ce livre-là…est une declaration d’amour au Québec…goûtant à tout et rapportant 135 recettes de chefs et cuisiniers, testées par Michelle Gélinas, proposes par saisons…Rien n’a été oublié…”
– Nicole Charest, Vin et gastronomie, Petit journal gourmand
“Avec son flair, elle a vite dépisté les chefs qui, depuis nombreuse années, s’attachent à préserver nos plats traditionnels ou à les moderniser par les techniques plus avancées et des saveurs au gout du jour…l’auteure observe la nouvelle passion de ces chefs pour les produits de proximité et pour leur fraîcheur…L’auteur y rattache des portraits de ces homes et de ces femmes chefs, de ces agricultures et producteurs qui ont façonné le visage culinaire de la province.”
– Rollande Desbois, La gastronomie avec Rollande Desbois, Réseau d’information des ainés du Québec
“Divided into seasonal chapters, each page of this book is to be savoured for its delicious content and outstanding photography. Armstrong weaves a colourful quilt of cheese makers, mushroom foragers, great chefs and farmers, salt cod fishermen, fruit scientists and growers to name but a few. Dozens more are highlighted, all playing an immeasurable role within Quebec’s culinary culture. With her extensive knowledge of Quebecois food, she delves into the history of some of the province’s most iconic eats like poutineand pâté chinois and goes beyond the obvious to unearth delicious tidbits and shed a new outlook on products and dishes that have become part of our everyday lives. I was mesmerized and couldn’t put the book down and I am sure you will be just as fascinated.
– Mayssam, Will Travel for Food Blog
“Her affection runs deep for such places in the province and for the people she has met and the food she has tasted at their tables, and her boundless enthusiasm for her work has endured in a career spanning more than half a century. Armstrong, 82, is a reporter’s reporter, thorough and curious and enterprising. She’s also lots of fun.”
-Susan Schwartz, the Montreal Gazette (With video interview)