Are you curious to see how it goes in a restaurant kitchen? Or, to know how a food service works in an institution? You will be happy to learn that you are not the only ones! It is also mysterious for the chefs and cooks of these two backgrounds. How do we know? Thanks to the Aliments du Québec au menu program, we interact every day with professionals from nearly 700 restaurants and 250 institutions. Yes, this recognition program, developed by Aliments du Québec, is intended for establishments that promote Quebec products on their menu.

The Restaurant component, developed in collaboration with the Association Restauration Québec (ARQ), and which brings together establishments ranging from bistros to chains from across the province, is probably the best known to consumers. You have no doubt already noticed the Aliments du Québec logo on the menu in the windows or on the menus of certain establishments.

The Institution component, which was developed in collaboration with Équiterre, with the support of the Ministère de l'Agriculture, des Pêcheries et de l'Alimentation du Québec (MAPAQ), deserves some attention. First of all, the word institution includes:

– Educational childcare services (daycare centers and CPEs);
– Educational establishments of all levels ;
– Workplaces (cafeterias);
– Health centers (hospitals and CHSLDs);
– Summer camps;
– Non-profit organizations or organizations promoting healthy lifestyles;
- And more.

This program was born out of a desire to offer fresh, local products outside the home, and is part of a provincial initiative to increase the percentage of local food in our institutions and to achieve food self-sufficiency.

Now that you know more about the program, let's go back to the chefs and cooks! In an attempt to demystify everyone's universe, the Aliments du Québec au menu team has imagined visits between cooks and chefs from different backgrounds to experience the reality of the other. This is how the idea of ??the mini-series “We swapped our kitchens!” was born. which features various cooks from the institutional and restaurant sectors who are all members of the Society of Chefs, Cooks and Pastry Chefs of Quebec (SCCPQ). And, we don't want to sell the punch, they have a lot more in common than they initially imagined! Over the next few weeks, we invite you to follow their meetings rich in discoveries through the three video capsules shot for the occasion.

Over the course of the interviews, you will discover that they are all driven by the same passion for their profession. They are thrilled to introduce us to local products and producers and, interestingly, they are surprised to see the place given to Quebec foods in their respective kitchens. However, thanks to the Aliments du Québec program on the menu, like them, hundreds of institutions and restaurants across the province have made a commitment to put local food on our plates, wherever we are: home, daycare, restaurant, work or school...

The mini-series “We swapped our kitchens! was produced in partnership with Aliments du Québec, the Association Restauration Québec (ARQ), Équiterre, the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food of Quebec (MAPAQ) and the Society of Chefs, Cooks and Pastry Chefs of Quebec (SCCPQ).

SOURCE: Aliments du Québec