Enjoying a Traditional Harvest Meal at the Érablière du Cap Maple Syrup Farm, QUEBEC, Canada

Today was a great day as our schedule was jammed pack. We started with an excellent breakfast buffet at the Double Tree Hilton. When we compared the buffet breakfast between hotels in North America and Europe, the buffet breakfasts at the hotels in Europe always made us feel satisfied with a wide variety fresh food items from which to choose where the North American breakfasts tend to be less elaborate. That was why we were pleasantly surprised by the breakfast buffet at the Hilton this morning! I was happy to find many fresh fruit and salad items included this morning as I would prefer to eat like a vegetarian as much as possible. Later on I talked to our tour guide who told me that her tour company made a specail arrangement with the hotel asking them to prepare a special buffet breakfast for our group which explained why ours was so good.

Our first stop was a maple syrup farm about 30 minute drive from Quebec City called Érablière du Cap. We were welcome by the daughter of this farm owner, a 14th generation of her French decent family who has been continuing the family run maple syrup extraction and making business. What a feat! After her introduction and explanation of her family business, we were shown a short movie about the maple syrup production.

  After the movie, we were seated in a traditional log house style dining hall and served a traditional Quebec harvest meal. We learned that in the early years, it was not possible for one farm family to harvest all they had planted during the spring. Therefore during harvest season, many people from the farm community would come and help out in the harvest.

After the harvest, the family would express their thanks and appreciation to those who had lent a hand in the harvesting work by inviting them to a meal specially prepared for them. The harvest meal which we were served consisted of pea soup, cabbage salad, sausages, tourtiere/ meat pie, baked eggs, dried pork shreds, smoked ham, pork and beans, and dessert. It was my first time eating a traditional Quebec harvest meal and it was quite a feast!

  We enjoyed our visit to the Erabliere du Cap farm on this tour. Unlike many sugar shacks operating only during the spring tapping season, this farm offers traditional Quebec harvest meals year-round for groups and tour visitors.

After lunch, we were allowed time to roam in the maple forest where the sugar saps could be collected each spring. Pictures, explanations and real tools used in the past on the farm were displayed to inform visitors of the process of maple syrup production.

  It was an educational and fun day for us all! Two thumbs up!

  RT, Erabliere du Cap, Quebec, Canada, 082026