Foodie Finds – Laurie Raphael in Quebec City
Laurie Raphael in Quebec City
Travel Tips for Quebec, City, Quebec, Canada
Recommended by Viv and Jill – WAVEJourney
Foodie Finds – Laurie Raphael in Quebec City
It’s not often that one meets a celebrity chef. Even less often that one is invited to visit a celebrity chef’s restaurant by the celebrity chef himself. Well that’s exactly what happened to us as we toured the Old Port Farmers Market in Quebec City when our guide, Michelle, spotted Chef Daniel Vezina and promptly introduced us. During our brief encounter the charming and charismatic Daniel invited us to dine at Laurie Raphael – his restaurant named for his two children.
Fast forward two days and we find ourselves being entertained by the innovative dinner menu at Laurie Raphael Restaurant with chef Raphael (Daniel’s son) in charge of the kitchen for the evening.
Laurie Raphael Features Contemporary and Innovative Fine Dining
Created by designer Jean-Pierre Viau, the restaurant’s interior provides a contemporary setting in which even the smallest details are thoughtfully showcased. This fine dining establishment provides an opportunity to experience cutting-edge Quebecois cuisine using fresh, locally sourced, artisan, and regional foods from the province.
About Chef Daniel Vézina:
- His restaurant is named after his two his two children, Laurie and Raphaël
- Daniel personally offers private cooking classes
- He is one of Quebec’s most well known celebrity chefs
- The author of two cookbooks
- He has always honored the ingredients of Quebec City and its neighboring regions
- Daniel is committed to using primarily local sustainable foods
Amuse Bouche at Laurie Raphael
Our dining experience started with a palette pleasing amuse bouche with compliments of the chef – maple syrup cotton candy, pickled rhubarb with diced terrine of foie gras.
Laurie Raphael Features Contemporary and Innovative Fine Dining
Then came the assortment of complimentary breads – plain, olive oil and sundried tomato, Parmesan cheese and rosemary – all very good and fresh with Quebec butter.
Iberico Ham Cannelloni Starter
Jill’s starter was the Iberian Ham Cannelloni. The cannelloni was stuffed with “bouton de culotte” goat cheese, house green olives and fresh basil vegetable pickles, black olive paste and syrah pudding $20.
Main Course of Seared Maine Scallops at Laurie Raphael
For her main course, Jill chose the Seared Maine Scallops with cauliflower purée, maltaise espuma and “King” mushroom, with a blood orange reduction $46 (consisting of 2 scallops, 3 cauliflower florets, 1 king mushroom). Although the flavors were excellent, Jill felt that presentation was lacking (there wasn’t much color difference between the ingredients), and the portion size was too small for both the price and being a main course.
The Carrot Dessert at Laurie Raphael
For dessert Jill loved THE Carrot: Carrot cake, cinnamon pudding, raw carrots, cocoa crumble, vanilla and cheese cream, raisin sauce and carrot sorbet $15. In fact, this was Jill’s favorite of all three dishes she tried.
Viv decided to leave her dining experience in the chef Raphael’s capable hands and went with the Chef Chef Menu – “Take a culinary leap into the unknown. The dishes on the Chef Chef Menu are improvised, impulsively decided at the last minute. It’s the chef’s favourite menu and the ideal choice for those who want to take a culinary leap and try new flavours and experiences. Three course dinner: $60”
Welks and Iberico Soup
Viv started the Chef Chef with soup – featuring a light fish broth with welks, morels, delicate young asparagus and Iberico ham.
Main Course of Lamb with Fiddleheads at Laurie Raphael
For the main course, Viv dined on lamb with fiddlehead ferns and morel – a good size portion of succulent lamb and delicious fiddlehead ferns.
Chef Chef Pre-Dessert Dessert at Laurie Raphael
Next came the pre-dessert dessert – just enough to get the tastebuds jazzed up for the final course.
Local Quebec Strawberries Dessert
Finally, a dessert of strawberries completed the Chef Chef dining experience – sweet and decadent red and white strawberries.
Dinner at Laurie Raphael is the perfect venue for those seeking an innovative fine dining experience featuring sustainable local and regional Quebec foods.
If You Go:
- Laurie Raphael
- Address: 117 rue Dalhousie, Quebec City, QC, G1K 9C8
- Tel: 418-692-4555
Note: In Quebec City You May Also Enjoy Dining at Le Clocher Penche Bistrot or Louis Hebert.
