8 lucky people get to enjoy a one-of-a-kind experience in the Eastern Townships

To display the gourmet side of the Eastern Townships, we recently invited a group of eight people to enjoy a unique outdoor experience. The lucky chosen few got together on a Wednesday night at the Missisquoi Museum in Stanbridge East, with no idea of what was about to happen. After being given a tour of the museum, they agreed to be blindfolded while they were being led to an unknown destination. As they walked, Pascal Gemme, a violinist, played a waltz.

Once they reached the destination they were allowed to take off the blindfolds, and their eyes suddenly beheld a huge banquet table. The table, laden with food, was located in the park overlooking the Missisquoi Museum’s old mill, which is one of the nicest picnic areas in the Eastern Townships. The table was decorated with some magnificent floral arrangements, inspired by the great Flemish masters. The floral arrangements were done by Dominique Houle, a prominent florist who has a shop in Dunham. And the surprise was just beginning, as chef Ugo Vincent Mariotti of the Auberge & Spa West Brome presented the menu for this special evening.

The guests delighted in local-flavour antipasti, followed by cucumber gazpacho, sour cream and Espelette pepper and crispy guinea fowl. This was followed by the main course, a rack of wild boar from the area.

All of the dishes were accompanied by a pairing with a wine from Brome-Missisquoi’s Wine Route, including those from the Léon Courville, Vigneron and Vignoble de l’Orpailleur vineyards.

Here is the video that was done to record this unique experience.