Chantal Véchambre - Bouquet Garni

The Farmers Market is the perfect place to sample a variety of wonderful food offerings from the world brought to us via some of the finest “at home” chefs in our area. Chantal Véchambre is such a chef – and a chef extraordinaire is she! Her table at the Marché Moncton Market is laden with bounty from her kitchen in the form of traditional recipes from the county regions of France. A complete menu of snacks, appetizers, main dishes, desserts, and condiments includes her special Parisian baquette with ham, cheese, salad, and unsalted butter seasoned with a French vinaigrette; delicious crepes rolled with bechamel sauce; vegetables, garlic and parsley; creamy soups with vegetables; delicious stews of pork, chicken, or beef with bacon, onions, bread and eggs in chicken stock; sumptuous quiches in salmon, goat cheese or spinach; and a variety of tempting desserts such as creme caramel in ramequin; clafoutis with fresh cherries or blueberries when in season; and mouth-watering banana chocolate bread and tarts. Condiments include Chantal’s own blend of herbs such as “herbes de provence,” sea salt from Brittany in France and “court bouillon mix” which is a combination of grey salt and dried vegetables. A special this summer is Chantal’s creation of “Special BBQ” salt with red, green, and white peppers perfect for rubbing into meat and fish on the outdoor grill. Watch for the fall creation of “Bouquet Garni” which is a tasty mix of herbs traditionally used in France for soups and stews, and be sure to sample Chantal’s “quatre-epices mix of cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and pepper which is so essential to sweet or savoury French food. All of Chantal’s dishes are prepared in a healthy way using only the finest ingredients that are fresh, contain no preservatives, and are prepared in a slow cooking method to retain the optimum in flavour. The result is an authentic taste of France in classic recipes lovingly created with the freshest ingredients often purchased from local farmers and producers.

Chantal Véchambre comes to us from France! Born near Toulouse in the southwestern region of France, she grew up watching her mother and grandmother prepare food with many “tricks of the trade” she employs to this day. An avid collector of recipes and books on French regional cooking, she now boasts a library of over 400 books that have made the life-changing trek from France to Moncton with her. After almost 30 years in Paris, Chantal now makes Moncton her home! Well qualified with two French diplomas in general cuisine and in pastry as a chocolatier, confectioner, and glacerie, Chantal has also had an extensive experience in the fields of marketing, sales, training, and running her own company of gourmet products in France. Since arriving in Moncton, Chantal has continued her entrepreneurial bent, working as a chocolatier and finding employment in fine area restaurants. The urge to be her own boss has led her to provide a number of services in the city, including catering, chef at home, cooking classes, consulting and team building, and, of course, her booth at the Marché Moncton Market! To date, Chantal has taught cooking classes at various area restaurants, at the Thomas Williams House for the Alliance Française and at the Centre Ste Anne in Fredericton. Chantal has also catered events for private individuals and for corporations including the Consul de France, and she has organized the Gala of Alliance Française for 2007 at the Capitol Theatre. A keen follower of the history of food, Chantal has also worked last year on the review of historic recipes at the Louisbourg Fortress for Parks Canada.

Chantal’s goals are to provide cooking classes in people’s homes for groups of family and friends. She is intent on maintaining her catering business and would love to open a B & B where she can have a tearoom, teach cooking classes, and conduct seminars in nutrition and gourmet foods. Watch for a fall schedule of Chantal’s various activities and contact her at (506) 863-4265 for additional information.

Chantal Véchambre is a warm, personable, and creative person whose love of food and passion for what she does emanates from her person. She is gifted with the heart of an artist, the soul of an adventurer, and the vision of a master crafts person. She brings to mind the eloquence of Denmark’s celebrated writer, Baroness Karen Blixen, who wrote of her personal cook Kanante in her masterpiece “Out of Africa.” “As a chef, he was a different thing, and precluded classification. Nature here had taken a leap and cut away from the order of precedence of faculties and talents; The thing now became mystic and inexplicable, as ever where you are dealing with genius. In the kitchen, in the culinary world, Kanante had all the attributes of genius....” These words first penned over 70 years ago might very well have been written of Chantal Véchambre.