He took the time, nevertheless, on saturday the 8th of may in “Le Journal de Montréal” to analyse and rank 6 pestos made in Quebec. His criteria was highs, but he was not out to “destroy” anyone. A few competitors lost a couple feathers though.

Le Grand’s Garden pesto ranked first with 17 points on 20. The lowest was 3 on 20. You think it made our day? You bet it did! He was judging taste, color, texture and freshness. In all fairness most pestos did ok, and that’s good for the industry. Pestso is growing in sales and usage and overall quality is improving.

We won’t sit on our laurels, you dont do that to such a fine herb, but what great motivation for us to be ranked by such a fine palate…

Tatiana, Erika and my self on the beach at the Food Network 2010 Food & Wine Festival, sampling away!

Every Febuary the Food Network organizes a very popular event in Miami Beach, right on the sand and under a big tent (thank God!). The South Beach Food & Wine Festival.

20 000 people in 3 days tasted wine and discovered new and interesting  food companies like… Le Grand!

Hundreds of wines and many hors d’oeuvres are being sampled and the (happy!) crowd goes from table to table in search of the best food under the sun.

Celebrity Chefs from Anthony Bourdain* to Paula Dean gave masterclasses to enthusiastic gourmets. When I got to Bourdain’s event it was a full house, people were already lining up to get an autograph. I watched from the side this unusual Chef joking and cooking with a young french colleague. A masterclass of suave magnetism and relaxed attitude.

As for Le Gand’s sauces it was the perfect opportunity to have our products tested and tasted by Floridians since we are now available in The Fresh Markets and some Whole Foods.

If I say that the reception was great I probably sound biased, but a man tasting a sample was so enamored with the Spicy Tapenade that he proposed to film the reactions of  the people and post them on this blog… Well just picture hundreds of enthusiastic new fans and you get the idea… It is nevertheless important and stimulating for us to get first hand feed back and a little bit of sunshine in this unusually cold winter, according to the locals… oh yeah? Please come to Montreal for an unuasually mild winter and you will miraculously stop shivering back on your beautiful South Florida!

INGREDIENTS for 4

• 1 trout filet
• 5 slices of camembert or brie cheese
• 3 tbsp (45ml) of Le Grand’s Lemon Confit Sauce
• 1 or 2 green onions sliced
• 1 tbsp (15ml) of Dijon mustard
• 1 tbsp (15ml) of lemon juice
• Pepper to taste

PREPARATION

• Lay the trout (skin side) on an oiled aluminum sheet and place it on a heat resisting plate
• In a bowl mix the Lemon Sauce & the mustard, spread on trout, lay the cheese on top
• Heat up the oven to 350F, put in the fish
• Cook between 6 to 12 mins
• Remove from the oven and add the lemon juice
• Let it cool 5 minutes and serve!

Between May 29th until June 11th, New-Yorkers are invited to sample a variety of foods from Quebec. Liberté  yogurt, Savoura tomatoes to name a few, and… of course Le Grand’s products !

This excellent initiative came out of a collaboration between Jonathan Becker, Quebec Governement’s Commercial Attaché in New-York, and Food Emporium, which owns and operates 18 high-end fine food stores.

New-York is above all a city of incredibly resourceful people. Driving, parking, getting around, finding a place in the sun in the Big Apple requires quite a mix of assertiveness and patience. I love that high-octane environment, it jump-starts my heart!

Le Grand’s products have been available in a few New-York stores since 2005, and we have had to make frequent trips here in a sustained effort to stay in the game, and now we are poised to expand.

True, New-Yorkers balked initially when we switched from glass jars to the new package, a year ago. Discerning palates here tend to seek out the look of artisan foods, and our new package is definitely modern. However, as they discover that our pestos, tapenades and aromatic sauces are just as vibrant and keep their natural flavours longer, they’re coming back to them.

Knowing our products are appreciated in New-York gives us a great feeling, here at Maison Le Grand, and we like to think that in our own way we help build a bridge between Montreal and New-York.

Instead of a bullet train between our two cities, why not have a bridge, a cultural bridge ? Yes I know, it’s already there! Actually, we are jumping onto a running train!

INGREDIENTS serves 4

• 200g (7oz) fusilli pasta, cooked
• 10 cherry tomatoes
• 5 tablespoons (75ml) plain yogurt
• 3 tablespoons (45ml) Le Grand’s 4 nuts and Cheese Pesto or Le Grand’s Garden Pesto
• 1 bunch chives or 2 scallions, minced
• 12 pitted and halved kalamata olives
• 2 teaspoons (10ml) capers
• Romano or Parmesan cheese, freshly grated, to sprinkle on top
• Salt and pepper

PREPARATION

• Combine the Pesto, yogurt, capers, olives and chives in a bowl.
• Delicately add this to the cherry tomatoes and drained pasta.
• Season with salt, pepper to taste, and top with cheese (optional)

YES! It is spring, a beautiful day, yet the night will be cool, a little too cool… So here is a salad with some protein, not too much, just enough to feel replenished after that exhausting spinning class…
SERVES 4

• 10 cherry tomatoes
• 6 small new potatoes, cooked and quartered
• 1 red pepper, finely chopped
• 1 yellow or orange pepper, finely chopped
• 1/2 spanish onion, finely chopped
• 5 hard-boiled eggs
• 1 english cucumber, chopped
• 2 cups spinach (baby maybe…)
• A few chopped olives,
• Feta cheese, crumbled

VINAIGRETTE

• 3 tablespoons (45ml) Le Grand’s Pink Peppercorn Aromatic Sauce or Le Grand’s Garden Pesto
• 3 tablespoons (45 ml) olive oil
• 2 tablespoons (30 ml) tamari sauce
• 2 tablespoons (30 ml) wine vinegar
• A little water to make the sauce creamy if you use the Pink peppercorn Aromatic Sauce because it is quite thick!
• Salt & pepper to taste

PREPARATION

• Make the vinaigrette by whisking together all the ingredients
• Combine all the other ingredients in a bowl
• Add the vinaigrette, toss gently and sprinkle with Feta cheese…

Expo West! The biggest natural food show in North America just had it’s biggest attendance ever!

Can we say that when the stock market collapses and all the virtual wealth vanishes into thin air, we humans tend to stick to reassuring, concrete, solid, and tangible things like foooood?  You bet!

I am not sure this was the year for big novelty though… I searched the web for live comments, people queried were all pretty vague about what was “hot” now. Nothing especially new in sight, but things like vitamin water and other useless and crowded categories are on their way out…

People are looking for reassuring yet progressive products.

Because  the show is hosted  in California – lets not forget it’s the birth place of everything “new and cool” for the last 40 years- there is quite a progressive mindset.

I noticed  the increasing presence  of green/ eco-responsible/low carbon footprint/recyclable reusable new products.

Food wise, organic is a bit passé if it commands highs prices…

Natural yes, that’s a growing market.

In a nutshell? America wants to hit route 66 in a hybrid pick-up!

As for us, Maison Le Grand had a great show! We had a steady stream of curious “clients” intrigued by our daring packaging. Once they tasted the reaction was positive, of course people had their preferences, but as a whole it was a very successful endeavor! Buyers, brokers, distributors, store owners, media, whole families all stopped by our kiosk in 3 day constant procession. Tatiana lost her voice, but not her spirit!

It was one gigantic fair, now we let the dust settle and begin gold-digging through piles of business cards…

Shabu-Shabu house is not a tourist trap, does not need more customers and is not service oriented, but when you finally sit at their counter you feel protected and cared for. A true paradox…
There is only one thing on the menu. Beef, cut as thinly as possible and raw vegetables. In front of you boiling water. You dip your meat in the water for a few seconds or more then two sauces are prepared and you go on and make your little meal at your rhythm. I ate like a king, the meat is actually cut frozen, so they can slice it that thin. It is so red it looks fake, but the taste is not!

I did not feel heavy and told the owner Maruyama on the way out that he gave us a Zen lesson of patience… for free! We will be back.

Its hard at this time of year to leave for California, but when duty calls… 

We will (Tatiana) visit the Whole Foods stores to make sure everyone is happy, promote our products, talk about this blog and get a fresh and needed dose of vitamine D! 

And then we will attend the Expo West Food Show: the biggest natural and organic show on this side of the planet! We will keep you posted on the latest crazes, dont worry…