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Quebec's L'Eau A La Bouche Offers Food to Savor

© Eve Carr

With its vast range of outdoor activities, Québec’s Laurentian Mountain region is a popular destination for winter sports enthusiasts. But, for gourmets, one of the main attractions of this area is an elegant country hotel-restaurant (and member of the prestigious Relais & Chateaux chain) called L’Eau A La Bouche, which roughly translates to “mouth watering.”

Tucked away in the mountains and forests of Sainte-Adèle, about 45 minutes from Montréal, this quaint little hotel of 25 rooms (some with fireplaces or balconies) lets you relax -- at any time of year -- in a land of tranquility. While it is small enough to be intimate, with three meeting rooms, this hotel-restaurant is ideal for business functions as well. And, in addition to all of the winter activities in the area, L’Eau A La Bouche offers a heated outdoor pool, as well as nearby golf, tennis, sailing, horseback riding and summer theater.

The inn and region are perfect for a relaxing, change-of-pace vacation. But, be warned, once you stay here and then savor the imaginative cuisine of Anne Desjardins and her kitchen brigade, you may not want to ever leave.

Here your taste buds will truly be pampered with delicacies such as Wild Mushroom Tart with Tomato Fondue and Goat Cheese; Warm Salad of Quail Breast, with an Emulsion of Virgin Olive Oil and Citrus Fruits; as well as Warm Dark Chocolate Fondant with Blood Orange.

And, since you are in Québec, you’ll certainly want to enjoy the Pain Doré (French toast) au Sirop d’erable (Maple syrup) for breakfast. Relax in this elegant country setting and treat your taste buds to this stylish, yet surprisingly unpretentious cuisine, and you’ll see why L’Eau A La Bouche has received numerous gold medal awards at the Laurentians/Québec Tourism Grand Prix, as well as numerous Four-Diamond-ratings from the Canadian Automobile Association. Plus, for the second year, it has been rated #1 for the top Tables Award for the Montréal Area by Gourmet Magazine.

Since 1979, Anne Desjardins has been pampering local residents and visitors with her cuisine, while her husband and business partner, Pierre Audette, has been overseeing operations at the front of the house to meet their exacting standards. But the ironic thing is that, although they have achieved such outstanding success in hospitality and cuisine for almost two decades, both hold degrees in geography.

“Gastronomy is not so far from geography,” says Anne. “It’s about the earth and people and what they do with what they have. Part of the pleasure of cooking is about sharing – good products and produce, good food, good recipes and good work with our family, friends or clients.”