In recent years, we are seeing what we could call an intensification of buying local food. While some restaurateurs had from the outset fostered relationships with local producers, others try to adapt to customer tastes. However, there are some disadvantages as recalled Myriam Larouche, business owner At the Edge of fields:
"Be prepared, as a conservator, to have shortages because it's not the right season, because the producer does not necessarily always products that are equal, which are uniform. It is ready to make lots of compromises. So there is an interest, but when it comes time to put it into practice, it is not always obvious. "
For the producer, it must be prepared to sell its product at an affordable price for the restaurateur. In order to deal with few intermediaries and get the maximum economic impact on production, some producers are diversifying their activities. In the case of In Oree fields, the company, which started as a family farm in 1925, was incorporated in 2000 It is since 2008 that offers a rustic table and showcases her lamb.
"Initially, it was very difficult to start with a product such as lamb, says Ms. Larouche. It is a niche product. It's not everyone who loves the outset, so there was a lot of education to do. I would say the first 3-4 years, there has been much debate to emphasize our point to put lamb on the menu and ensure that our customers appreciate that product. "
Since last year, she noticed a change in demand and it could even add the lamb in the lunch menu. Education to customers has paid off.
For other producers, creating a snack or restaurant is the logical step of a long tradition. For 18 years, the Fish Lauzier Kamouraska sells seafood and offers a bistro since 2010.
"We, we're a family of fishermen, says Bernard Lauzier, then we are in the field of fish processing because it's our job at the base. "
Finally, depending on the product, it may be more advantageous to promote the conversion rather than restoration. For example, the Verger Le Gros Pierre, which exists since 1980 in Compton, installed a juice press in 1986 artisanal Subsequently, during the 1990s, a kitchen designed to produce pies, jam and pastries. It was not until 2006 that a pancake is added to the facility.
"We wanted people to come on site and they can do a picnic, so we made a snack for the pancake people know the products of the region, says Gaetan Gilbert, co-owner. The goal is to put on the plate everything around us. "
For some producers, restoration will not only develop its own products but also those of neighboring farms. This collaboration establishes new links for assistance.
In conclusion, there is much work to educate consumers and restaurateurs to local foods. According to Gilbert, it is consumers who are ahead of the restorers. Recently, the Union of Agricultural Producers announced on his Facebook page that 170,000 people visited one or more of the 107 farms at its twelfth open house, proving the blow constantly renewed interest from consumers to producers premises. As mentioned several times some players in this case, we are on a roll.
