Toronto's Distillery District has unveiled its latest unique addition--A Taste of Quebec--to the arts and culture centre. Stirring up fresh flavour is what this District is all about. With an array of shops, galleries, boutiques and dining options-everything you need in Toronto is a walk away.

Sylvain Landry and Joanne Thompson (of Thompson Landry Art Gallery) are the co-owners and developers of the Mill Street venture, an exclusively Quebec style boutique offering only the finest products and expert advise on French cuisine. Fresh and authentic oils, flour and products such as rabbit, emu, port belly and a variety of wild meats are all used in this boutique tasting experience.

The approximately 2000-square-foot space plays host to a day and night transformation-where during the day the warmly wooded and earth toned building will prepare and sell specialty artisan cheeses such as "cows cheese", original maple syrup infused with rum and cranberry flavour, specialty jellies, and a fresh selection of gourmet bread. By nightfall the space recreates a true "tasting salon" where instead of bringing Rousseau and Locke back to engage in philosophical conversation, one of Toronto's finest, Chef J.P. Chalet, is the one doing the enlightening.

Chalet is one of three specialty chefs that guide guests through the cooking process, indulging onlookers with lectures, wine tasting, private cooking tutorials and intimate dinners. J.P. Chalet, along with Chefs Jennifer Decorte and Peter Tsang bring Quebec to your plate. The food is prepared, fresh and right in front of guests to bring the open concept kitchen to you. The gourmet kitchen, equipped with an induction stove and top of the line cooking material, provides all you foodies with the opportunity to learn first hand what is being prepared and what you are eating!

"Every food lover will find their own taste, just by having the personal experience with the chef," explains Landry.

"It will be more about learning and tasting, where the chef will explain what wines to pair with each meal, how to taste and look for specific ingredients while enjoying a gourmet meal," Thompson furthers.

Some of the pairings (such as smoked eel) may at first glance pose one to think otherwise-but with the expertise and talent exhibited by Chalet and Co., guests will experience something like nothing else-a daring new dining event. Chalet will also have his own line of products that will be sold during store hours.

Tucked in with surrounding shops- the medieval looking brick walls, dim lighting, Mennonite oak antique floors and fawn hinted walls preserve a historical space. The scattering of black sheer finished fixtures and subtle minimalist paintings create a contemporary yet localized familiarity.

"We want to make this a place where you can take your coat off and stay a while," says Thompson.

Both Thompson and Landry see the boutique as not just a place to dine and go, but a place of longevity. The "tasting salon" is just one of three phases-where the second phase will incorporate a lower level that has a kiln room, which has never been accessed before. Thompson and Landry hope to have this dry bar up and running by 2009. The third phase has the two go-getters' delving into a barrel vault that lies below the lower level. This vault is expected to hold approximately seventy people-making the intimacy of dining even more close-knit.

Whether you're a foodie, an eager chef-to-be, an enthused diner or a beloved Quebecor, A Taste of Quebec can promise an original menu with a flavourful charm.

55 Mill Street
Toronto, ON
416-364-4955