Lesley C

Quebec cheese, such a lovely product and such a lousy situation. I spoke with Luc Mailloux (arguably the country's top cheese maker) this fall about why he stopped making cheese. Basically, he's protesting the milk quotas. But he also told me some pretty frightening things about some of the cheesemakers. Suffice it to say, many of them (especially in the outer regions -- hint hint) do not want to rock the boat because they are getting huge subsidies from the gvmt. Many cheesemakers are working illegally (as in lying) to stay within their legal milk quota. I could go on and on but it's just Mailloux's take on things and anyone who knows him is aware how extreme his opinions can be. I didn't say wrong, mind you. Basically the industry is in a mess because of the dairy bureau (Producteurs de Lait du Quebec) and the lack of government regulations. If they had it their way, mozzarella and industrial cheddar would be the only cheese in this Province. Mailloux is working with the government to create real A.O.C type appellations instead of all this generic cow’s milk cheese. Ever notice as time goes on how similar all these products have become? There's a long way to go, and I was hoping to hear some good news soon on this. No word yet. Meanwhile, buy the Lait D'Antan. If we don't support this producer, he could easily go under, again a victim of the milk quotas. More to come, when I can see the light.

A great book by the MSL outfit, IMO. Great banana bread, and boy, a book that can re-sell me on an old classic like that is a winner.

Well, one would assume hid did that interview over the phone.

ckk, as I said before I think the story is a good one -- I would even go so far as to say an important one -- and I'm for Mr.Batali. I just don't think the reviewer should be writing this kind of piece. (oops, sneakeater posted at the same time I did)

This hit me because I was once asked to write a profile of a new restaurant opening, and as a critic, I refused. It just seemed wrong for me to give so much space to one outfit over another when I was supposed to be looking at all the restaurants on a level playing ground. I have, however, written shorter newsy pieces about restaurant openings. But when you get into the big blowout features, it looks like you're rooting for them, instead of being the neutral force I think readers expect of a critic.

Halfway through reading that story in the Times today, I wondered whether the restaurant critic should have been the one to write up that story, a first-person story no less. It's a major conflict of interest if you ask me. Why is he already showing such favouritism to the place? Is he willing to give other restaurants he reviews such exposure? OK, I understand there's a great story here. But IMO, Bruni is the last person on the staff who should be writing about this. Write a blurb in a news piece about several openings this month, fine, two hundreds words, OK. But a huge article with pictures and a ton of quotes? Weird. Those Times reporters sure have their favourites. For Hesser it's Vongerichten. And for Bruni it's obviously Batali. That wasn't an article about Batali's new restaurant, it was an ode to his empire. By another staffer, hey, great. Who doesn’t admire Mr. Orange Clogs? But the critic? He should have kept his opinions for the review.

Thanks to everyone. I made the cake with 3 teaspoons baking powder (12g) and it looked lovely. But about 5 minutes after it came out of the oven, the bloody thing fell. When I sliced it later, the base of the cake looked quite compact and gummy, which makes me think it needed more time in the oven. I already had upped the baking time from 45 minutes to 55, but now I'm thinking 65. Also, these cakes are so weighed down with ingredients (this recipe had sauteed zucchini, goat's cheese cubes, herbs and grated gruyere, that I'm not too surprised it can't maintain the lift). Tasted good though.

Urg, this is what I was afraid of. The difference between 2 1/2 and 4 teaspoons is significant. God, French recipes are the worst. When will French cookbook writers get their act together?

Zucchini and goat's cheese

Calling all French bakers: I have a recipe for a savoury aperitif cake that calls for 1 sachet de levure. I'm assuming it's levure chimique (baking powder) but I'm not quite sure of the equivalent in teaspoons or grams. I found a web site that said it was 4 teaspoons. Can any one confirm or correct this? Thanks

Yes, very true. Another thing I have always found interesting about Montreal is that today almost all of our top chefs are homegrown. For years you had to be from France to make it here, but now few of our top chefs are European. And look at all the up-and-comers, who are all Quebecois kids who trained at the local hotel school, apprenticed in France and came back to Montreal to work in our top restaurants. They are not heading to New York or Toronto, as so many people believe, but staying because they find the local scene challenging and stimulating. And they can even set up shop here and make a go at owning their own restaurants. So the future looks bright as well.

Wow, that does sound like the best job on the planet. Thanks. As for Quebec City restaurants, interesting topic. Quebec City was giving “cuisine du terroir” a real go five years ago. We were seeing Ile d'Orleans strawberries, Charlevoix veal, Carignan foie gras, and Luc Mailloux's cheeses on all the top menus. And this was at a time in Montreal that only Normand Laprise was going in that direction and most everyone else was caught up in fusion. But now, five years later, “cuisine du terroir” is yesterday’s news in Quebec (and maybe everywhere?). Innovation seems to be where it’s at, and that was best epitomized by a meal I had at L'Utopie, where diner was just adventurous enough (without being stupid or feeling like a rip-off of someone else's work) and the wine pairings brought a three-dimensional aspect to the meal that I had never experienced before (so many wine pairings just don't work). What I wrote in my story for the Montreal Gazette was: “Chef Stephane Modat, formerly of L’Initiale and Le Jardin des Sens, created a faultless meal on the night I dined there; I know of nothing in Montreal right now that can top it.” So I wasn’t saying Quebec has Montreal beat. But I did say, “While Montreal’s top chefs seem reticent to break out of market cuisine mode or ethnic-accented fusion cooking, Quebec City’s best are exploring food as entertainment.” Montreal chefs just aren’t going in that direction. You don’t really miss it around here until you see it done properly by fellows like this. I hope your horrible Quebec City meal wasn’t at L’Utopie. But I have a feeling I know just where that happened.

Hello Ms. Reichl, I’ve just finished reading all these fascinating posts and so many questions have already been answered. However, reading about you having to go off for a tasting made me wonder about your day. Can you give us a bit of a breakdown about what your day at Gourmet entails? For instance, if I won some great contest along the lines of “Be Gourmet Editor for a Day!” what exactly would I be doing? And inquiring minds have to know: is it really the best job in the world? If not, what could be better?

Oh yes, delicious for snacking, especially that crazy-delicious new milk chocolate. I had a sample and ate the whole thing in about 15 minutes. You can also chop them up and make chocolate chip cookies with them. Metro 5 Saisons was selling the Valrhona pistoles a while back in a large size but it looks like the Valrhona line has greatly diminished at 5 ever since Qualifirst gave up on Valrhona.

Yes, but they lose their flavour and absorb humidity more quickly. That's why Valrhona avoided the "pistoles" format for years, and only sold the ganache chocolate pistoles vacuum-packed. If it's for keeping long term, blocks are best.

Semisweet/bittersweet chocolate lasts forever. Milk and white chocolate last 6 months. After that the milk powder may go rancid. I would recommend buying the full 3 k. The price is fair and if well stocked it will last for ages. Just don't refrigerate or freeze it. Humidity is the enemy of chocolate.

Well, I'm not all that surprised. The woman who ran it was lovely, but I found their prices outrageous. I remember seeing a Le Creuset pot there for $300 that i had picked up at Costco the day before for $100. And, come to think of it, the Costco Creuset came with a bonus free fry pan.

Is La Cucina still there?

I hear there's also going to be a new cookbook shop opening on Sherbrooke W.

OK, i know what you're talking about. But you mean Yannick on Bernard, right?

Gendron?

The success of Gibbys can be summed up in three words: free valet parking. Otherwise, I recently reviewed Moishes and the steak was excellent. I haven't had better in Montreal. Then again, the steak at Joe Beef is also pretty wicked.

Er, sorry. My top restaurant list only includes the restaurants I reviewed that year. For instance, I can't mention Toque! because I last dined there in 2004. I do not have the budget to dine out all year long as I wish (or the time, come to think of it) so I can only base my best of 2005 on the 52 restaurants reviewed in 2005. Hope that makes sense.

I do a list of top picks every year in my column just around x-mas, but it does not include Quebec City, and it's only of the restaurant I ate at this year. The next week we do a list of top dishes. It's best to run these kinds of stories over the holidays becuase many restaurants are closed.

They were #3.