The Brunch, the ultimate meal

Pour la version française de cet article, cliquez sur Le brunch, le repas par excellence.

I was introduced to brunch at a very young age by my parents. One of our favorite places was the Swiss brunch at the late Beaver Club restaurant at the Queen Elizabeth Hotel in Montreal. I could taste many things in very small quantities and determine what I liked best and what I liked less. The highlight of the brunch, the waffle with the chocolate sauce.

When I started in the restaurant and hotel business, I worked at the restaurant Le Cercle at the first Four Seasons hotel in our province in the 1990s. Not to be confused with the actual Four Seasons Montreal hotel since there was a break of almost 20 years before the second one opened its doors in a brand new building in our beautiful city. From the beginning, I was assigned to brunch duty. I worked as a pantry assistant, preparing the cold dishes: salads, platters of deli meats, cheese, fruit, fish and meat served cold. On Sundays, we started the assembly of the service stations as early as 7 am. We had decor elements and from one week to the next, we tried to vary the presentations and the arrangement of the dishes. I took great pleasure in preparing the brunch and seeing the other side of the scene. Now, every time I go to brunch, I make sure to congratulate one of the brigade members and ask that person to thank the entire team behind this sumptuous meal.

This year, for Christmas, I had reserved the brunch for my father and I at Manoir Saint-Sauveur in the Laurentians region. This was our first visit to this hotel. Usually a brunch offers two services, the first at 11 am and the second around 1 pm. I suggest the second service, there are usually fewer people at that time and all dishes are renewed for the second service. For the occasion, a cloakroom was planned in the lobby of the hotel, an excellent idea for people not residing at the hotel. The decoration was very festive and enlivened all the common areas.

The hostess with a nice smile, brought us to our table. Three spaces were planned for the occasion, we were seated in the restaurant area of the M Steak Moderne and brunch was served in the adjacent restaurant, La Tablée. I also saw another space with tables and diners. While my father went looking at the range of dishes at the various stations, I ordered sparkling water and half a bottle of Riesling. We had a toast to our Christmas brunch. This was our first brunch since January 1, 2020. Our waitress confirmed that this was also their first brunch since the measures were put in place at the beginning of the pandemic. If the exercise proves successful, other one-off brunches may be planned during the year. She invited us to stay tuned to the Manoir’s news by subscribing to the newsletter.

Time for the first service, I started with fish and seafood. It was the first time I saw fresh oysters in a brunch, they were delicious, a mignonette sauce (made with red wine vinegar and French shallots) and Tabasco sauce were offered as an accompaniment. I also tasted the shrimp mousse, a few big shrimps with cocktail sauce, smoked salmon and another smoked white fish. My father also had some oysters, ONE shrimp, cheeses, and he would have left with the whole basket of bread, as everything seemed so appetizing. He finally chose a slice of raisin bread.

For the second serving, I went to the breakfast station, there were scrambled eggs, bacon, sausages, baked beans and hash browns. I think it was also possible to order an omelet, but it was too much for me and I would not have had enough appetite to continue eating afterwards. My father preferred the roast beef, the meat pie with fruit ketchup, sautéed vegetables and mashed potatoes.

For the third serving, I went for the hot dishes. I sampled the turkey supreme with its stuffing and cranberry sauce and a small slice of roast beef with mashed potatoes. My father chose another type of bread with baked beans. There was also a station with an assortment of salads and another one with Neapolitan-style pizzas cooked in the wood-fired oven. Since I wanted to have a sweet treat to finish this fabulous meal, I had to pass on these.

Not much escapes me, and I had noticed one of the stations had waffles with chocolate sauce and fruit. It will not be hard to guess what I would prefer between the appetizing dessert table and a waffle! My father came back with an assortment of fruit and half a pink grapefruit. He worked hard with his knife, fork and spoon to eat his grapefruit!

Everything was delicious, very well presented, the two people responsible for the service in our section were very courteous and affable. A small warning about the bill, the brunch was $69 per person, sparkling water and wine were not included, a 12% tip and a 5% administration fee were added to the bill. That does not happen often in Quebec to include the tip on the bill. Of course you can top up the tip, but it is a good idea to check the bill first and avoid leaving a second one if you had not noticed this detail beforehand.

Before leaving the dining room, my father went to get a last piece of bread! Then, We visited the common areas of the Manoir Saint-Sauveur, including the lounge bar Le Boudoir, the exercise room, the swimming pool and the entrance to the Spa, as well as the foyer allowing access to some meeting rooms.