Exploratory Expeditions of Montreal s Most Unique Food Businesses For the SIAL Canada Created by Round Table Tours *All Prices include transportation costs, food and drink tastings. What the client consumes beyond the offer is at their expense.
Montreal the Chocolate All the Way $250 +tx April 13th, 9:15am - 2:30pm Limited to 12 spots Montreal has a new found love of chocolate. This renewed interest is expressed through the bean-to-bar movement and origin chocolate confection. This tour begins with a bean-to-bar production site where you can see how bars are produced from the bean on a small scale. We will then eat a light Central American meal learning about chocolate s history, pre and during colonial years. We will learn about the industrial revolution of chocolate and the recent return to bean-to-bar and fair-trade that has largely emerged in North America at a bean-to-bar boutique. We will learn about the relationships and values of this approach and how to taste single origin chocolate which classes in complexity with tasting wine, tea or coffee. We will finish at a chocolatier s and look at the confection side of chocolate from one of Montreal s most passionate chocolatiers! Light savoury meal made with chocolate, tasting of bean-to-bar chocolate, a traditional Mexican style of drinking chocolate, a chocolate infusion and the tasting of confection chocolates. We will get a walk-through of beanto-bar chocolate production and confection chocolate seeing the equipment with the owners Hear the personal stories of the owners as well as the evolution of their business. Learn about how to taste chocolate, the bean-to-bar movement and the history of chocolate. Plus: Transportation, Bag, Bottle of water, Competent guide, and
Montreal: Self-Sustaining City $330 +tx April 13th, 1:45pm - 7:30pm Limited to 14 spots Despite the challenges of a northern climate, Montreal has some of the world s finest examples of urban food production. This tour will look at how rooftop space can better be used for urban agriculture, how food and energy can be maximized and recycled, limiting waste around food and its production, and how technology and logistics can help with the production and distribution of local products to local consumers. We will also see the reality of chefs and restaurants that prioritize local, even urban products: locally fished, farmed and foraged foods. Get the chance to taste Quebec at its best in your plate. Don t miss learning about these amazing organizations including Alveole that has more than 500 bee hives around the city and is educating in schools, corporations, community organizations and in people s homes about bees and urban beekeeping; Lufa Sustainable Farming that does rooftop greenhouse hydroponic production and was the first of its kind in the world and distributes the products of hundreds of local farmers and artisans through their online grocery store and basket program; Moisson Montreal that recuperates food that would often be destined for the dumpster to the tune of 13 million kilos annually or 61 M$ worth and redistributes it through some 250 organizations and food banks. We will finish off at Manitoba Restaurant, which is specialized in the most local of local products, even producing their own honey on site. We will take a load off to eat and digest the things we saw, people we met and have some time to discuss over a meal. Visit of Moisson Montréal s ecologically renovated building and distribution centre. Visit of Lufa farms: high-tech roof-top commercial greenhouse, distribution centre and an explanation of their online basket grocery store. Visit of Alvéole s headquarters and honey house and presentation about what they do. Three course meal at Manitoba with one alcoholic or non-alcoholic beverage included. Meet the owners of each establishment and hear their personal stories as well as the evolution of their business. Plus: Transportation between each site, Water bottle, Bag, Business cards of the destinations, Competent guide, and
Montreal Wine, Cheese and Charcuterie $350 + tx April 13th, 2:45pm - 7:30pm Limited to 10 spots This tour explores the finer things in life: wine, cheese and charcuterie. We will begin by visiting the cheese shop Hamel who revolutionized the importation, storing, the sale of cheese and employee training around cheese. Meet the owner and Maitre affineur and learn about what makes Hamel so special and unique after 50 years! Next we will visit the production kitchen of La Réserve du Comptoir that specializes in making artisanal charcuterie. We will learn about their process, production and business model then move to their restaurant Le Comptoir Charcuteries et Vins to meet the chef and owner Ségué Lepage and stay for a meal of their charcuteries and fine collection of wines and finish off the perfect day around the table! Tasting of high-quality and complex cheese and charcuterie as well as a meal and two local wines. Visit of La Réserve du Comptoir, meal at Le Comptoir Charcuteries et Vins and Fromagerie Hamel. Meet the owners of each establishment and hear their personal stories as well as the evolution of their business. Learn about the production, business model of each place. Plus: Transportation, Bag, Water bottle, Competent guide, and
Afternoon Tea in Montreal $300 +tx April 14th, 1:30pm - 7:00pm Limited to 10 spots Montreal has an extremely diverse tea culture unique tea product offer. Drinkers of tea since the earliest days even before the British rule, the tradition continues to evolve. We will contrast different approaches to tea from a Montrealbased Chinese tea company focused on the function, to one of the top five tea importers of the world focused on origin that runs their own tea somellier courses, to the French presence in Montreal and their perfuming technique. After the boutiques we will move on to a tea-based mixology bar and finish with an ode to the classic tea room in Montreal s hip Mile End for the next generation of tea drinkers for tea and bites. This day is jam-packed! You will learn about tea from the production, retailing, tasting, historical and mixology side! Montreal is the headquarters of Davids Tea and we will look at how their branding impacted the other companies, but we will see up close: My Cup of Tea, Camellia Sinensis, Kusmi, Cardinal Tea Room and Mayfair a Victorian-styled mixology bar with alcoholic tea-based cocktails. This excursion includes the tasting of diverse teas, meeting the owners of the respective organizations as well as some eating at two of the stops, Afternoon Tea style. Finger sandwiches and other bites and desserts that add up to a meal. One tea-based cocktail. Tasting of tea at all locations plus explanations from tea experts. Learning about the different aspects and approaches to tea. Business cards of the organizations and privileged time with the owners. Plus: Transportation, Water bottle, Bag, Competent guide, and
Micro-Brewery, Micro-Distillery and Mixology Exploration $320 + tx April 14th, 1:30pm - 6:30pm Limited to 10 spots Montreal is an English and French hybrid and generally more of a beer city...but that is changing and micro-distilling is on the rise! The winner of the national mixology contest Made With Love resides in Montreal and you will be able to meet him on the tour! You will also see Quebec s first and only micro-distillery that isn t mashing but truly distilling and learn about the reality of distilling and the sale of hard alcohol in Quebec and the gamble for pure love that is distilling in Quebec. We will then visit a gluten-free micro-brewery who are in a class of their own and have built a name in just a few short years of breakneck expansion. Then we will visit the first brewing co-op in the world and see how it works when many micro-brewers share a space and the financial risk as well as leveraging together. The brewing co-op also focuses on brewing education and offers courses. Finally, we will wrap-up in a Victorian-style mixology bar that makes tea-based cocktails. This allows us time to smooze and eat some afternoon tea finger bites and sip a carefully constructed cocktail made with surprising ingredients. Visit of Cirka micro-distilleries. Visit of Glutenberg who makes gluten-free beer. Ma Brasserie: the world s first microbrewing co-op. Mayfair a mixology bar with teabased cocktails for cocktails and High Tea snacks. Business cards of the organizations and privileged time with the owners Owners personal stories as well as the evolution of their business. Plus: Transportation, Water bottle, Bag, Competent guide, and
Product Discovery Activity for Retailers, Chefs and Distributors $315 + tx April 15th, 10:00am - 3:00pm Limited to 60 spots Come and discover some of the most unique terroir and local products as well as the other end of the spectrum: ethnic food products. This activity will take place in an intimate setting with 16 handpicked cutting edge food producers and distributors. This activity focuses more on non-perishables but there will be some cheeses and charcuteries available. These businesses are here to find retailers and get their products out. On top of tasting their product you will be able to get a feel for who the people behind the products are and any necessary information. This will be held in the Mile End at La Centrale Culinaire the first co-working culinary space in Quebec. Don t miss the chance to be on the cutting-edge of Quebec s most exciting products as well as making connections for Middle Eastern, Latino, Carribean and Asian Products. Examples of products: Quebec Seaweed, Spicy Haitian Peanut Butter, Asian Organic, Mexican Products, Camelina oil, sea buckthorn products, insect protein products, Korean Products, Persian Products, Mexican Products. These can change between now and April 15th!!