Martinique Gourmande is a 14-year-old culinary festival that began in Montreal when one savvy intern at the Martinique Committee of Tourism in Canada floated the idea of bringing a taste of Martinique to chilli northerners.
From it's humble beginning with four participating restaurants, the pre-pandemic festival grew to host 70,000 festival-goers at Montreal's Complexe Desjardins and saw some 50+ restaurants take part.
This year you can discover Martinique, the island of flowers, through it's cuisine at a brunch filled with music hosted on October 3, 2021 at non-profit restaurant Robin des Bois in Montreal’s Park Lafontaine, with the support of Tablée des chefs, a Montreal-based charity. The event will contribute several thousand dishes to the Food Banks of Quebec.
If you can't make it to Montreal, you are in luck because dynamic chef Jérémie Jean-Baptist is hosting live cooking classes on Saturday September 25 and on September 28, 2021. The demonstrations will be in French. A total of four cooking demonstration featuring experts from both Quebec and Martinique will take place on Facebook as follows:
Saturday, September 25 at 11 a.m.
A colourful and joyful cooking workshop with Jérémie Jean-Baptiste, independent chef and spokesperson for Martinique Gourmande and Amine Ouadahi (pictured on the left) from Tastet will cook with you the recipe of solidarity: Creole chicken fricassée with sweet potato purée.
Tuesday, September 28 at 5:30 p.m.
Céline Dorion from the Plus-Que-Parfait restaurant in Fort-de-France, Martinique, along with Jérémie Jean-Baptiste will cook a recipe with vegetable accras and its Colombo mayonnaise, a delicious recipe that will delight your taste buds.
Thursday, September 30 at 5:30 p.m.
Virtual aperitif and mixology demo with the Great Agricultural Rums of Martinique. Aurélie Coppet-La Loca, a mixologist from Martinique, live from Sainte-Luce in Martinique, and Fanny Gauthier mixologist from the Groupe Ateliers & Saveurs will show viewers their secrets. A presentation of Trois Rivières rums, partner sponsor of Martinique Gourmande.
Sunday, October 3 at 10 a.m.
Learn how to make Martinique-style gnocchi in this cooking workshop for children and their parents. Matthieu Jolly from the restaurant Ajoupa2Gros in Case-Pilote in Martinique and Karine Desserre-Pezé from C'est Moi le Chef! prepare sweet potato gnocchi with coconut milk.
To participate in any of the above classes, simply go to the Facebook page Rencontrez la Martinique.
For more delicious recipes from Martinique visit Recipes Archive – Martinique Gourmande!
If the Martinique culinary festival has you thinking about travelling, check out the Martinique Gourmande website. One lucky person can a trip for two to Club Med in Martinique. No participation or puchase necessary, everyone has a chance to win!
The prize includes 2 round-trip plane tickets from Montreal to Fort-de-France, offered by Air Canada as well as an all-inclusive week-long stay at Club Med Les Boucaniers. To participate, visit the Martinique Gourmande website and register online. The contest runs until October 22, 2021.
