You will need to have an open mind to read this article to the end. Not that the subject is terrifying but it requires a good dose of openness because we are going to talk about forest gastronomy and a new menu based on insects prepared by chef Daniel Vézina.

First, gourmet establishments in the Mauricie region have been participating for six years in the MYCO competition, which forces chefs to include wild mushrooms in their recipes as well as other forest edibles.

This year, presented for the first time without sanitary measures since 2020, the competition required chefs to prepare a dessert incorporating a mushroom. Of course, most of them were at their first experience with forest edibles, far from their comfort zone. Fortunately, they discovered a new experience and acquired new knowledge.

The winner of the 2022 edition is the chef of Le Castel restaurant, Dominic Lapointe, who designed a perfect but simple dessert that expressed all the flavors of the forest with an amalgam of texture worthy of a great dessert! Rémy Couture from CRémy patisserie judged the final dish.

Insects

In another vein, but still in the area outside of many people's comfort zone, popular chef Daniel Vézina has teamed up with the Montreal Insectarium to create a menu based on edible insects!

The EntomoMiam is a gourmet box intended to introduce discerning palates to entomophilous gastronomy. The objective is to offer a first contact to people so that they adapt their mentality and discover the benefits that this food has on the environment and the circular economy.

With all the food waste and pressure we put on our planet, insects are part of the solution to the food of the future. There are already several producers of mealworms or crickets in Quebec and this is just the beginning.

But what about the taste? Vézina wanted to develop a menu that would taste good, of course, in order to convince people of all the possible options with insects, otherwise the majority would keep their minds closed.

He himself was surprised to find a taste of roasted hazelnuts and nothing gooey or viscous. He also reminds us that insects have a high protein content and excellent nutritional value.

You will therefore be able to taste almonds roasted with grasshopper salt flavored with lime, tapenade of dried tomatoes with mealworms and sea bacon, potato chips with seaweed and mealworms, shortbread biscuits with pecans, crickets and mushrooms.

Finally, note that his restaurant in Quebec, the Laurie Raphaël, recently distinguished itself by receiving one of the highest culinary distinctions in North America: the Five Diamonds from the CAA / AAA guide. Remember that La Tanière3, which we talked about recently, also received this distinction. Only in Quebec can we find Five Diamond restaurants throughout the province.