Updated January 3, 2020.
When the mercury drops, do you suddenly channel your inner bear and eat as though you’re about to hibernate for a few months? If so, you’ll probably want to make sure you have some tasty supplies. Take a few of these road trips and you can restock your larder with locally made treats while exploring the region. Heck, if you toss some snowshoes or skis in the car, you can even work off some of those calories. It’s a win-win.
Cheese in St. Albert, Gatineau and Montebello
Ever wondered how cheese is made? You can stroll along an observation corridor above the factory floor at the St. Albert Cheese Co-op (150 St. Paul Street, St. Albert, Ontario). When you’re done, the huge cheese shop awaits. If you like poutine, pick up a bag of squeaky-fresh curds.
Photo by Laura Byrne Paquet.
On the Quebec side of the river, you’ll find a mind-boggling array of hundreds of cheeses—many of them made in la belle province—at La Trappe à Fromage (multiple Outaouais locations, including 200, rue Bellehumeur in Gatineau). Look for the store’s own Colby, Monterey Jack and aged cheddars.
Cheese, glorious cheese in Montebello! Photo by Dave Finn.
From there, you could drive another 50 minutes or so east to check out cheesemaker Fromagerie Montebello (687-A, rue Notre-Dame, Montebello, Quebec). The star here is the Rebellion 1837 blue cheese, which has racked up awards galore, but several other varieties are available, too.
Chocolate in Montebello, Almonte, Perth and Brockville
While you’re in the village, leave time to check out ChocoMotive, an economusée (industry/craft museum) housed in a former train station. As well as a wide range of truffles, you can get a superbly creamy hot chocolate (502, rue Notre-Dame, Montebello, Quebec). If you can’t make it to Montebello, the chocolate maker also has a shop at 495, avenue de Buckingham in Gatineau.
ChocoMotive photo by Laura Byrne Paquet.
If you love chocolate, here are a few more day trip recommendations. In Almonte, Erica and Drew Gilmour at Hummingbird Chocolate (9 Houston Drive, Almonte, Ontario) use sustainable, ethically sourced cacao to make award-winning bars of dark chocolate. Tours are available on Saturdays, but they’re popular, so you need to reserve in advance (details are on the store’s website).
Photo by Laura Byrne Paquet.
About 40 minutes from Almonte, you can see chocolate maker Heather McKeen handcrafting creative truffles from Belgian Callebaut chocolate at Perth Chocolate Works (17 Wilson Street East, Perth, Ontario). You can also shop for goodies such as s’mores chocolate bark and chocolate cream cheese cupcakes.
One of the flavours at O’Mally Kourt Fudgery in Brockville. Photo by Laura Byrne Paquet.
And if you like fudge, check out the rich-but-not-too-sweet squares at O’Mally Kourt Fudgery in Brockville (55 King Street West, Brockville, Ontario). The salted caramel would be my recommendation, but the top seller is the chewy praline.
Mustard in Merrickville
Mmmm….Mrs. McGarrigle’s Merrickville mustards. Photo by Laura Byrne Paquet.
In my household, we are suckers for any sort of bottled sauce. Memories of Everywhere? That’s our fridge. Some of my favourite mustards come from Mrs. McGarrigle’s (311 St. Lawrence Street, Merrickville, Ontario). I’m partial to the chipotle-lime variety, but other flavours include lemon-dill, honey-tarragon and cranberry-port. The 3,000-square-foot shop, housed in what was once a 19th-century general store, also sells other packaged foods, kitchenware, linens and décor items.
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