Proximity: more than one flavour in the bag!

Take a bite, close your eyes and instantly see the verdant panoramas of our extraordinary territory. Take another bite, and smile as you recall the antics of the goats in the field of a visited farm, or the jokes Louis tells behind his market stall. The next bite, it's the incomparable freshness of strawberries or fennel that hits your taste buds with a full whip of gourmet bliss. Cooking and enjoying food produced close to home means treating yourself to meals that not only have travelled little, but also have the taste of our landscapes and seasons, the pride of our people with their impressive know-how, and the charm of the links that have been forged with inspiring farmers and artisans.

In short, our meals become memorable thanks to the irresistible taste for meaning that proximity brings. The geographical proximity measured in “food miles” that we're trying to reduce. But also the emotional closeness we seek to foster.

Emotional closeness to nature, its biodiversity and ecosystems, which offer what's needed, when cared for, to nourish the soil and communities.

Emotional closeness to farmers, the passionate, passionate people who inhabit, vitalize and protect the land by cultivating it with respect, giving us access to quality, locally-produced food.

Romantic, you say? Absolutely!
Forging ties and developing affection for local food is no small thing. We protect what we love, and we love what we know. When we develop close ties with our food (by taking an interest in where it comes from, how it's grown, when it's plentiful, the people who produced it, how it's cooked...), we love it more and take care of it more, which can rhyme with a desire to waste less of it as much as with a desire to protect and team up with those who feed us: farmers and Mother Nature. Touching hearts mobilizes people.

Teaming up. Cooperate. To be a partner. Having a role. If the crisis has awakened or stimulated a desire in a growing number of people to move forward on the tasty path of proximity, it's time to fill our toolbox with tips and tricks to get us there. Starting with the simple one of letting the seasons inspire our menus.

“Eat close” is a vision of food that's healthy for us, for the environment and for the community. Taking the time to learn, source and cook is down-to-earth, humble, and motivated by love and gratitude. It's playing a concrete role in the green, proud and supportive food system we want to see develop. A food system that remembers and looks forward. A food system that nourishes body and soul, in freshness and meaning, for all.

Happy start to the big local harvest season and bon appétit!

Julie Aubé is a nutritionist with a passion for Quebec flavours, sustainable agriculture and agrotourism. As the organizer of the Prenez le champ! events, she plays the role of matchmaker, bringing curious gourmets together with local producers. A trainer and speaker, she regularly contributes to magazines and websites, in addition to maintaining her own website. In 2016, she published the book Prenez le champ! with Éditions de l'Homme, and this summer she has just released, with the same publisher, her second book, Mangez local! full of techniques and recipes for localizing your diet over the months. A small guide with big hopes of equipping and inspiring you to follow the rhythm of the seasons on the menu. 
Photo credit: Ariel Tarr / Mangez local!