Archive article: As seen in Main Street Magazine
Copyright Rain Enterprises/Main Street Magazine
www.mainstreetmagazine.net
Copyright Rain Enterprises/Main Street Magazine
www.mainstreetmagazine.net
Chef Roland Ménard’s cooking has earned the inn (Manoir Hovey, North Hatley, QC) a long list of awards, including five stars for service, décor and food in the Montreal-based Voir restaurant guide. In March 2004 it earned the Grand Prix de Tourisme for best gastronomic restaurant in the province. The wine list, which boasts an above-average selection of Québec labels, receives each year the Best Award of Excellence from Wine Spectator magazine and was named best in Québec for the year 2004 (Prix Carte d’Or).
In 2007, the inn was named one of Canada’s top 10 hotels in Condé Nast Traveler’s Gold List – which makes it the only country property in Eastern Canada to have received the honor.
Mary Gostelow quotes: “Executive chef Roland Ménard is clearly a genius.”
Chef Roland Ménard has, for twenty-five years, shown a deft hand at dishes designed to showcase the excellence of local ingredients. The cuisson is always perfect on hard-to-find game such as caribou, venison or even wild boar, which he prepares with an herb crust and glazes with jelly made of l’Archer wine from nearby Cep d’Argent winery. The menu always includes different preparations of Quebec pork and lamb, and duck from nearby Lac Brome, often paired with sauces made of local berries or sweet wines.
Executive chef Roland Ménard describes his cuisine as "contemporary Quebec with French technique." Dreamy dinners feature delicacies such as foie gras, seared scallops and oysters, followed by main courses of venison, duck, sweetbreads, organic salmon or filet mignon.
Manoir Hovey, or Hovey Manor, is a five-star inn and a member of the Relais & Chateaux association located in the village of North Hatley, in Quebec. North Hatley, is a resort town on Lake Massawippi. The grand house had its own stables and coach house, servants’ quarters and even a private 9-hole golf course which is rumored to have been designed by Bobby Jones Sr., a friend of the Atkinsons. Many of these spaces, including the old ice house and servants’ quarters have since been converted into luxurious rooms, most with whirlpool baths and balconies facing the lake.
Manoir Hovey draws thousands of vacationers each year. The grand mansion is surrounded by 25 acres of woods and stunning English gardens bursting with blooms of all colors. Its 1,700 feet of lake front include two sandy beaches equipped with canoes, kayaks and windsurfers. Guests have free use of a fleet of bicycles, a clay tennis-court, an exercise room and a heated pool. But most guests return time after time for the rooms outfitted with jacuzzis and (mostly) wood-burning fireplaces, and, above all, for the outstanding food.