Quebec Cuisine - Contemporary Cuisine

Contemporary Cuisine

Contemporary Quebec cuisine is characterized by an innovative use of all things native to the land which are then prepared following all contemporary trends of the world. Although France and Ireland have had the biggest impacts on contemporary Quebec cuisine, many other national and regional cuisines have also left their mark, due to more recent immigration.

Examples of contemporary Quebec cuisine include pommes persillade (cubed potatoes fried and topped with persillade as a garnish), poutine (French fries topped with gravy and cheese curds), Le Riopelle de l'Isle cheese, and whippet cookies. Pizza-ghetti is a Quebec combination dish served in fast food and family restaurants. The Jewish community of Montreal has contributed Montreal-style bagels and smoked meat which is similar to pastrami. Barbecue is also popular in the Montreal area, usually utilizing baking, grilling, or grill-braising (combining a direct dry heat grill with a broth-filled pot for moist heat) techniques; there are many barbecue-steakhouse restaurants throughout the city, and the style of this region combines influences from the American Deep South (particularly from the Louisiana area and Kansas City) with Canadian aboriginal, Irish, Central European, and Mediterranean influences, particularly French, German, and Greek (see Regional variations of barbecue for more information).

Martin Picard is one of the area's renowned chefs.