Exploring Quebec’s Culinary Identity with Chef Hughes

Which recipe from the book do you think best represents Quebec’s culinary identity, and why?

My book is a home cookbook for every occasion: from when you’re entertaining, Tuesday night dinners with the kids, weekend lazy recipes, and more.

Québec has a cultural heritage and a community that has made its food so special, which is reflected a lot in my cooking.

I can’t pinpoint just one specific recipe that would represent Quebec from the book, but rather the whole Cabane à Sucre section. It includes about 20 recipes that are all a representation of the Quebecois heritage. After all, Quebec is the biggest producer of maple syrup in the world! These recipes bring back memories of me as a kid, going to a cabane à sucre. Now with my kids, we make our own maple syrup every year in small batches.

How does your approach to home cooking differ from what we might find in your restaurant?

Home cooking is a completely different type of cooking I would say. In a restaurant you would do all your mise en place – you would get everything prepared during the day including chopping everything, pre-cooking everything, making sure everything is ready for service.

I enjoy bringing that professional aspect of cooking to my home life. I find it gives me the best chance to get the best meal on the table with two kids and a crazy busy life!

Home cooking is more about putting all the flavours in and letting them come together. It becomes a different kind of pleasure, you can listen to music, you can taste a little more, and take your time.

Do you have any tips who want to start cooking at home?

I always tell people this and they always think I’m crazy, but most of the time my dinner starts when I wake up. So, I wake up at 7 A.M., I help the kids get ready and I open the fridge to look at what can be done. If the salad can be washed, if I can peel the carrots while I make the kids’ breakfast. These are all things that take a few minutes in the morning but can make a huge difference.

When you’ve spent 10 minutes of your morning organizing, when you get home to make dinner, it makes your life so much easier and that’s when you start to have fun with cooking, and when you can get creative.

How do you see the culinary scene in Quebec evolving, and how does your cookbook contribute to that growth?

There has been a huge cultural shift in the last 15 to 20 years. Quebec is finally having an actual cultural identity, instead of being a mini-France. A lot of our cultural food in real Quebec homes is cuisine du marché, meaning a lot of hearty dishes.

Quebec has a rich culture and history, but in terms of the culinary and restaurant scene, it was very much influenced back in the day by France and French technique. Now, you are seeing creative, young, independent restaurants with true Quebec identity of food but still use French techniques. This shift really speaks to Quebec, our products, our produce, our aesthetics, and our cultural identity.

I started cooking professionally 30 years ago. Now the talent, the pallet, and the way chefs these days are cooking – they are pushing the envelope, not only in food, but of technique and flavour too while staying in a humble and simple.

What is your favourite meal to cook with your family?

I love inspiring my kids with simple fun and easy recipes. From my new cookbook, we like to make fresh pasta, it sounds complicated but it’s actually really easy, and ends up being like playdough, that you can eat! We won’t do it every week, but whenever we do, it’s fun and the result is delicious.

I love inspiring my kids with simple little things like that to prepare them once they leave home and are living on their own. I think that is probably one of the most important things, to be able to you know how to cook quality food and cook at home without having to always buy frozen food or ordering.  

Do you have a favourite meal to cook when you are on the road that is quick and easy?

I do travel a lot for work, I do a TV show that takes me all over Canada, and now in the US. I always try to get inspired by where I am at when I am cooking. And if I am eating somewhere, I try to go with the most authentic local restaurant.

The most important thing for me is when I travel is to get immersed in that culture, and try the food. Or cook food with specific ingredients. For example, I was recently in New Brunswick – we went fishing and I was able to cook with ingredients that were locally sourced and caught myself.

My best advice would be to try and find a local and authentic place. It doesn’t have to be fancy, most of the time they’re not. It is all about authenticity and local flavour and ingredients.