TopFive in Five: #5 Gift Certificates

This is the last installment of my five-week series of holiday gift ideas.

Down to the wire? Saving your shopping until the last minute? Or simply not sure what to get someone? Consider a gift certificate. I don't believe that gift certificates are always impersonal. In fact, I'll take a thoughtful gift certificate over another set of measuring cups any day. The key is to match the gift certificate to the person. Here are some choices that you may not have thought of.

1. Appetite for Books
Have a cook on your list but not sure what cookbook she already has? Consider a gift certificate to this unique book store in Montreal that focuses exclusively of cooking and food-related books. You'll be supporting locally-owned business and sending a foodie to cookbook heaven. Bonus: They also offer cooking classes!

2. A Cooking Lesson at Académie Culinaire
What cook doesn't want to learn new tricks? Académie Culinaire in Old Montreal is the mainstay of cooking classes in Montreal, but they can be quite pricey. For something more budget-friendly, or for the more adventurous or vegetarian cook, consider the workshops offered by Crudessence, a raw food restaurant in the Plateau that uses mostly organic ingredients, or Karen's Kitchen, a mostly macrobiotic, vegan cooking school in the West Island.

3. Dinner at DNA
Many restaurants will give you a gift certificate if you ask for one. To help you decide on the amount of the certificate, take a look at the menu and choose an amount that will allow the receiver and a guest to enjoy at least two courses, including tax. (If the certificate is for a vegetarian, Bonny's on Nôtre Dame would be my top choice.)

4. Ares Kitchen
The emporium of kitchen and baking supplies! When I was looking for baking trays and cake molds that weren't made in China, this was the only store that offered a selection. You can buy gift certificates online or at any of the three locations in Montreal (2355-A Trans Canada Highway, Pointe-Claire; or 1501 Blvd des Promenades, St-Hubert; or 1550 Blvd Le Corbusier #501, Laval).

5. The Conscience Verte Rebate Guide
This is a book with discount coupons for many green business around Montreal, including some food stores, restaurants and cafés like Crudessence, Bonny's, ChuChai, and Cantine. It's perfect for someone who delights in discovering new restos, shops and green businesses. At $20, it is also a great deal.

Certification for Local Products?

Wow. Ottawa, you inspire me. Not only do you have fabulous, reasonably-priced, local-food restaurants, but I just found out about your 'certified local' program. This is how the Ottawa-based food blog, FoodiePrints, describes it:

In Ottawa, we have several farmer's markets whose vendors proudly sport Savour Ottawa posters (http://www.savourottawa.ca/). These posters denote that the producer or retailer has been certified via an audit by a third-party organization to produce local products or sell goods that are made from local products. Further, many of the locally-owned restaurants have already diversified their supply chains, pairing themselves with local farms. Some have even taken to growing their on produce in personal gardens. Many have even partnered with our local sustainable fin-fish and shell-fish supply.

What a fabulous idea! Wouldn't it be great if Montreal had something similar? The closest we get is the "Aliments de Quebec" logo that I'm noticing in supermarkets these days. While it is a valuable initiative, Quebec is a pretty big place. The label also isn't applicable to restaurants, which doesn't help me to choose establishments that are promoting local products and economies. I'd love to see the label expanded to include the tourism region of the producer (i.e., Aliments de Quebec - Montéregie) and a poster program for our local restaurants.

A Taste of Farm Life

Ever wondered how your food grows or what a dairy farm looks like? Well you can get a peak this weekend at the Open House on Quebec Farms organized by the Union des Producteurs Agricoles (UPA) of Québec. Over 100 farms will open their doors to over 30,000 people between 10am and 4pm this Sunday, September 13th.

This is a great activity for adults and kids alike. Many of the participating farms have activities planned for all ages, as well as demonstrations, guided tours, product tastings, and even door prizes. So pack a light picnic, grab the kids or some friends, and hit the road for the day in a country.

Close to Montreal, a sample Eastern Townships itinerary may include a visit to the pork and dairy producer Ferme DGR Thibault in Saint-Valérian, the goat farm la Chèvrerie des Acacias and the orchard Val Caudalies in Dunham, and the produce farm (pumpkin, corn strawberries) La Roi de la Fraise in Saint-Paul d'Abbotsford. A trip in the Lanaudière region may include a duck farm (Ferme L'Oie d'or) in Saint-Gabriel-de-Brandon, and a bison farm (La Terre des bisons), potato farm (Les fermes Rivest Bourgeois inc.), and apiary (Les ruchers du troubadour) in Rawdon.

The UPA website for the open house event offers a variety of tools for planning your day out. You can browse farms by region or by type of farm. You can also consult a master google map of all participating farms. Enjoy!

L'Origine in Old Montreal Disappoints

I'd really like to say that I enjoyed dining at Bistro L'Origine recently, but the truth is I didn't; neither did my dining partner. We both expected more. Located in front of the science centre in Old Montreal, L'Origine has been open since 2005 and bills itself as using local, organic or fair-trade ingredients in its menu which is inspired by Montreal's cultural heritage. You can see why I really wanted to like this place! Alas, it was not to be.

We started our meal with drinks. Disappointingly, most of the wines and beers were imports, I settled on a cocktail and my friend on the only local beer on tap on the menu. My Gingermania --a blend of gin, 7-up, ginger and other spices--was delicious and refreshing, however my friend had less luck. His pint of Chambly Blanche beer was served warm. Very warm. Not exactly refreshing on a hot summer's day.

The food was equally erratic. My soup of the day, maple-lentil, was delicious and an interesting blend of flavours. The market-fresh salad was also very good, and the plates of nachos and charcuterie we saw floating by headed to other tables looked fabulous. Our main courses, however, were both disappointing. I chose the Table d'Hote: a chicken in a tomato sauce served over couscous. It was quite tasty, but very ordinary. The server also couldn't confirm if the chicken was organic or not, which is odd in a restaurant billing promoting itself on sustainable principles.

My partner fared less well with his choice, roast beef and portabello mushroom on a bun with caramelized onions. It was simply horrible. On the menu, the combination sounded intriguing, but the caramelized onion was so sweet, and there was so much of it, that it just overwhelmed any other flavours. (Yes, that is all onions you see in the photo!) There was also only a single thin slice of roast beef in the sandwich. I'm not sure that we would have tasted it even without the onion disaster.

We arrived at 5pm. At this time the bistro had live entertainment. It was simply a singer and a guitar player, which would normally be fine, but it was so loud through the speakers that we could barely have a conversation. We were both relieved when the duo took a break. The subsequent 'chill' music provided by the dj was a much better match to the atmosphere.

On the plus side, our waitress was very nice and friendly; the prices are quite reasonable for Old Montreal; many of the local suppliers are mentionned by name on the menu; and the overall ambiance is perfectly suited to a terrace on the Quai. If I'm looking for a quick nacho nibble and a drink with friends while soaking in the sun in the Old Port, I'd probably go back. But I'd ask for a glass of ice alongside my drinks, and give the main courses a miss.

Saveurs et Tentations at the Old Port

If you're looking to explore local or organic food around Montreal this weekend, you may be spoiled for choice. In addition the Fete Bio Paysanne at the TOHU (previous post), the new Saveurs et Tentations kicked off on Wednesday at the Quai Jacques-Quartier in the old port. The event mostly showcases local food producers and agri-business, but also includes imported artisanal products. Over 80 exhibitors from different regions of Quebec are represented, including a lot of local microbreweries, cidreries and wine-makers. Yes, samples are available. When I was there earlier this week, some producers were giving free tiny tasting samples, whereas others were offering more substantial tasting portions that you could purchase using tickets. Some gems I found are Le Grimoire Microbrasserie (Granby), La Vallee de la Frambroise (raspberry wines and liqueurs; Val-Brillant), Les Viande Biologiques de Charlevoix, Les Delices de L'Ile D'Orleans and a really good absinthe stout from Brasserie de Montreal (Griffintown).

In addition to food to buy and taste, the festival also has free presentations, workshops and cooking demonstrations, as well as more substantial cooking classes ($50).When I was there earlier this week I took in an excellent presentation on the history of cider and wine-making in Quebec (it repeats Saturday at 5pm) and on on culinary tourism in Montreal. I'm hoping later this weekend to get out to one of the interactive workshops on Quebec farming presented by Quebec farmers and the UPA. Slow Food Vancouver, Slow Food Nova Scotia and Slow Food Prince Edward County also have presentations planned, giving the event a much broader scope than simply Quebec.

Saveurs et Tentations runs until Sunday at 6pm. Admission is free. If you're planning on going, I recommend public transit. You can access Quai Jacques-Cartier by walking south from Champ de Mars metro or Place D'Armes metro.

Seasonal Community Markets in the Southwest

I recently discovered that Montreal's SouthWest and Verdun districts will soon be getting small seasonal community markets. The project aims to bring fresh, affordable and local produce to this region of Montreal which has been criticised as not having affordable access to nutritious food. Most residents in the area live below the poverty line. The markets are supported by the Groupe Sud-Ouest en sécurité alimentaire (SOSA) and the Conférence regionale des elus (CRE).

The markets kick off this weekend in Cote-St-Paul and Verdun. The market in Little Burgundy will start in August and the one in Saint Henri gets underway in September.

Cote-St-Paul
Eglise St-Paul, 1690 de L'Eglise
Saturdays, 9h-14h
July 25, August 1, 22, September 5, 19, October 3

Verdun
Parc du souvenir (metro Verdun)
Sundays 9h-14h
July 26, August 2, 3, 16, 23, 30, September 6

Little Burgundy
Yolande Breton Community Centre, 1845 St-Jacque
Saturdays 9h-13h
August 1, 15, 19, September 19, October 3, 17

Saint Henri
Ecole St-Zotique, 4841 Av Palm
Fridays 5h-19h
September 4, 11, 18, 25, October 2, 9