Boreal cuisine

A terroir with unique flavors

The boreal forest, the Saint Lawrence River, the tundras of the Far North, and millennia-old Indigenous cultures: all sources of inspiration for a contemporary Quebec gastronomy with originality unmatched in North America.

Quebec boreal cuisine was born from a meeting: that of French traditions inherited from 17th-century settlers with the culinary knowledge of Indigenous peoples who had occupied this territory for millennia before their arrival. Fiddleheads, wild berries, white birch, conifers, forest mushrooms, game, and cold-water fish: these ingredients, often ignored for decades, are returning to the center of the contemporary Quebec table.

In Quebec City, a generation of visionary chefs has made this cuisine a gastronomic movement that goes far beyond the province's borders. From starred restaurants to neighborhood bistros, including specialized gourmet grocery stores, boreal cuisine is now everywhere in the national capital.

Chez Boulay

The reference boreal bistro

Founded by Chef Jean-Luc Boulay, Chez Boulay Bistro Boréal is the ambassador of Quebec Nordic cuisine worldwide. Its table, in Haute-Ville, is an invitation to discover the most unique flavors of the territory.

Sagamité

First Nations Cuisine

The Sagamité restaurant, in the Wendake neighborhood just a few kilometers from Old Quebec, offers an immersion into First Nations gastronomy with rare authenticity and generosity.

The Sagamité restaurant takes its name from a traditional corn porridge consumed by the Wendat for millennia. Set in a space evoking the Indigenous longhouse, it offers dishes inspired by First Nations culinary traditions: bison meat, moose haunch, smoked salmon prepared using ancestral methods, homemade bannock, and Three Sisters squash. A meal at Sagamité is a history lesson, a gastronomic discovery, and an act of cultural recognition.

The Huron-Wendat village in Wendake is less than twenty minutes from Old Quebec. An ideal excursion for those wishing to understand the deep roots of Quebec culture, whose Indigenous culinary traditions have been an integral part long before European colonization.

Épices de Cru

World Spices Serving the North

The Épices de Cru shop, founded by Ethné and Philippe de Vienne at the Old Port Market, has become one of the most respected addresses in the fine spice world internationally.

Cheeses and charcuteries

The ultimate boreal platter

The cheeses of Charlevoix and the Bio Charcuteries of Charlevoix represent Quebec artisanal excellence in livestock and processing.

The Charlevoix region, two hours from Quebec City, produces some of the best artisanal cheeses and charcuteries in Canada. The Charcuteries Bio de Charlevoix, pasture-raised in the Massif mountains, create sausages, rillettes, and pâtés of exceptional finesse. The aged cheeses from the Fromageries de Charlevoix, with washed and bloomy rinds developed on the windy heights of the region, have become national references.

At Carrera Café, we have chosen Charcuteries Bio de Charlevoix and Fromages du Québec for our boards, in line with our commitment to local artisanal producers. Every bite of our Carrera board is an introduction to the best of Quebec terroir, a flavorful bridge between boreal tradition and the Italian table we love.

Boreal ingredients

The repertoire of a unique cuisine

From pine mushrooms to sea buckthorn berries, including lichen, birch syrup, and wild plants: the boreal forest is a pantry with endless possibilities for exploring chefs.

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  Fiddleheads: Harvested in spring for only two weeks, fiddleheads are one of the most iconic ingredients of Quebec spring cuisine. Their delicate flavor, between asparagus and green bean with a forest earthy touch, makes them a delicacy highly appreciated by northern chefs.
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  Wild forest mushrooms: Chanterelles, boletes, morels, black trumpets: the Quebec forest offers a remarkable mycological diversity exploited by foragers and chefs for centuries. The markets of Quebec, including the Old Port Market, offer these forest treasures according to the season.
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  Maple syrup and derivatives: The sugar maple is Quebec’s symbolic tree, and its products, from syrup to taffy, including butter and maple sugar, are versatile ingredients used throughout all seasons of Quebec cuisine, from breakfast to dessert, including marinades and sauces.
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  Wild berries: Wild blueberries from Lac-Saint-Jean, cranberries, serviceberries, forest hazelnuts: Quebec wild berries offer concentrated aromas and tart notes that enrich desserts, sauces, and drinks in contemporary northern cuisine.

Carrera Café

Espresso meets the north

Italian coffee and northern terroir: two gastronomic cultures that respect and complement each other, united by the same demand for quality and authenticity.

At Carrera Café, we claim a dual identity: that of a high-end Italian coffee bar and that of a place rooted in its Quebec territory. Our boards of Organic Charlevoix Charcuterie and Quebec Cheeses confirm it: we believe the best local flavors deserve the same attention and highlighting as the finest coffee roasts.

After a dinner at Chez Boulay or an evening at Sagamité, returning to Old Quebec for an espresso digestif at Carrera Café is the perfect end to a gastronomic day marked by coherence and quality. Two philosophies, one conviction: the best food deserves the best coffee.