Food Worth a Drive in Quebec: Cheese Routes and Sugar

Food worth a drive in Quebec starts with cheese and ends with maple. The province makes a long list of artisan cheeses, along with cider houses in the Eastern Townships, Charlevoix lamb and sugar shacks. Pick a region and a season, plan three or four stops a day and bring a cooler.

Download maps, since cell service can be patchy in rural areas, and carry water. Taste cheese in order, from fresh to aged and from mild to strong, and ask the producers how to serve what you buy.

What makes food worth a drive in Quebec?

Quebec has a strong food identity, shaped by French traditions, local ingredients and a recent boom in artisan production. Its farmers and cheesemakers have built a culture of tasting that visitors can follow. A road trip here is a chance to meet the people who make what you eat.

The province is large, so choose a region. Charlevoix, northeast of Quebec City, and the Eastern Townships, southeast of Montreal, are the most celebrated for food. Centre-du-Quebec also has a cheese circuit.

What is the Quebec cheese route?

The Quebec cheese route is not a single road. Cheese circuits run through many regions, with Charlevoix and the Eastern Townships among the best known, and Centre-du-Quebec has its own trail with several stops. The province's cheese boom is recent, and it grew as people wanted higher quality food, with European cheesemakers bringing their craft.

Plan a route of three or four stops a day, and bring a cooler. Ask the cheesemakers what is aged, what is fresh and what they would eat that day.

What is Eastern Townships food like?

Eastern Townships food draws on rolling farmland, orchards and vineyards near the Vermont border. The Abbaye de Saint-Benoit-du-Lac makes a blue cheese called Ermite, sold at the abbey shop, and a visit to the abbey is a quiet pleasure.

Cider houses, vineyards and bistros are also part of the region. A day here might include a cheese tasting, a lunch at an inn and a glass of cider.

Which Charlevoix restaurants are worth a stop?

Charlevoix restaurants make good use of the region's lamb, cheese, vegetables and fish. The Charlevoix cheese route starts in Baie-Saint-Paul and includes stops at several cheese makers. The Route des Saveurs de Charlevoix groups producers and restaurants.

Charlevoix is a scenic drive along the river, with villages and lookouts. Book dinner in advance in summer and fall, since the region is popular.

What is the Quebec sugar shack tradition?

The sugar season is a much-loved tradition in Quebec cooking. In March, families visit a sugar shack, a cabane a sucre, where maple sap is boiled into syrup. A meal there typically includes eggs, baked beans, ham, bacon and potatoes, all covered in maple syrup, plus pancakes and a pie.

Book ahead, since sugar shacks fill in the season. The experience is lively, with long tables and sometimes music. Dress for mud and cold.

How do you plan the drive?

Pick a region and a season. Fall brings colour and harvest, spring brings sugar, summer brings farm stands and festivals. Winter is quiet but cosy. Allow time for slow roads, and check the opening days of small cheese shops, which often close on Mondays.

Download maps, since cell service can be patchy in rural areas, and carry water. Speak a little French when you greet people. It goes a long way.

What should you buy?

Buy cheese, maple syrup and maple products, cider and preserves. Ask for samples. Choose cheese wrapped for travel, and keep it cool in the car. A bottle of syrup is a good souvenir, and a small box of maple candy is a gift.

Ask the producers how to serve what you buy. Many offer tips for pairings, and some will pack items for flights.

How do you make the most of a cheese stop?

A cheese stop is a conversation. Ask the maker what the animals ate, how long the cheese was aged and what to serve with it. Most creameries are small family businesses, and the person at the counter is often the person who made the wheel you are tasting.

Taste in order, from fresh to aged, and from mild to strong. Cleanse your palate with bread or water between samples. Buy a small piece of two or three cheeses rather than a large block of one, so that you can compare at home.

Keep the cheese cool in the car, and eat the softest ones first. A picnic of cheese, bread, cider and fruit eaten at a lookout is one of the best meals of the trip, and the countryside provides the table.

What else should you eat around Quebec?

For a city plan, read the best brunch in Quebec City page. The Quebec regional foods guide explains the dishes, and the Montreal public markets guide covers where to shop. The Canada guides page lists more cities.

Cheese roads are made for notes. Download the Mosey app, rate each cheese and each meal by its flavour and its welcome, and build a Quebec list that records the stops you want to revisit.