The gatherers from the Natashquan company roam through the Minganie to produce original recipes based on wild plants, pleasing both the taste buds and the body.
The journey begins with the reading of labels from the De baies et de sève food range, consisting of jellies, butters, vinegars of northern berries, Labrador tea, balsam fir jelly and syrup, and coastal vegetation. "The flavors of the region are tinted by the territory" between sea and boreal forest, salt marshes and peat bogs, explains owner Annick Latreille. For nearly a decade, she has been exploring these environments with the soul of a patient and environmentally responsible explorer. When she comes into contact with a plant, recipe ideas immediately come to mind, like the marriage of sea spinach and sea parsley for shore pesto. "I am a food lover who enjoys cooking and experimenting."
A love affair with Minganie
Annick Latreille discovered Natashquan about twelve years ago while leading a reading camp for students. The literature teacher and writer for the Ministry of Education was struck by "an incredible love affair with the land." She then spent a summer running between Kegaska and Baie-Johan-Beetz to inventory bioresources and began harvesting. "During that period of life, everything seemed magical to me as I walked on the rich and dazzling ground of Minganie."
With the impactful encounter with Claudie Gagné, from Les Jardins de la mer in Kamouraska, who harvests shoreline plants, the idea took shape in Annick Latreille's mind, and she founded her company in Natashquan in 2013. Two years later, she added to her food products a body range composed of seaweed, among others, whose mineral properties are interesting for cosmetics: soaps, tonic treatments, exfoliants and hair care, skin butters. She developed partnerships with restaurateurs, including Café L'Échouerie in Natashquan, Distillerie Puyjalon in Havre-Saint-Pierre, and restaurant Chez Mathilde in Tadoussac.
Preserving taste above all
"To have peace of mind," Annick Latreille trained at the Institut de technologie agroalimentaire in Saint-Hyacinthe to acquire a good foundation for all product preservation procedures. Since seaside plants do not tolerate heat treatments, she vacuum-seals them and freezes them in small batches. She avoids drying plants to retain their fragrance. After the short harvesting season, she creates recipes and conducts numerous tests throughout the year.
The rosehip butter is an example of this process. This robust and wild seaside rose bush is "composed of 80% seeds, but its puree is magnificent." The recipe takes hours to remove residues and filter, before "a light cooking with homemade apple juice, a hint of organic sugar, and a little butter at the end." Annick Latreille ensures to "let the taste of the fruit take precedence. The rosehip butter is best enjoyed with eyes closed."
Written by: Christine Gilliet (Mots et marées)
Listen to the podcast and follow us on these platforms:
