Since my sweet childhood, when I was just a little sprout myself, having taken root in the West Island, I quickly learned that food was the center of attraction in the everyday life, and that the highlight of the evening, as I started to pursue my culinary skills for the night, was supper.
Undeniably, in our home, everything revolved around meals and my mother always had the same, unaltered, age-old question: what shall we eat for supper? Although I had to pay the price for this developing delicacy, in between hockey games and soccer games, from Pierrefonds to Dollard-des-Ormeaux, via Beaconsfield and all the parks and arenas in the West Island, I saw myself forced to follow my precious mother through the stalls of the public markets which were spread out from one end of the Island of Montreal to the other.
Evidently, thanks to her Italian culture, the popular foods were none other than those in season and acquired from her favorite farmers and market gardeners. Therefore, the zucchini, tomatoes and eggplant came in as many dishes as there were days to see them grow until they ended up well preserved in a mason jar or, somewhere below zero while she impatiently waited for them to be devoured and given a second life by putting them in the oven to create flavorsome memories for us on wintry evenings.
Undoubtedly, at the time, the places where she obtained these treasured aliments were part of the institutions of the metropole. However, by casting a wider net, we realized that there were public markets much closer to home that deserved a little fertilizer to allow them to flourish in our region.
Thus, the West Island has no envious feeling toward Montreal in terms of local products since several markets located in strategic corners of the sector sprung as soon as the birds started their love songs as a first step regarding the new season.
While strolling along the Lakeshore, you will find the Dorval Market which proudly displays its colors with all baskets of flowers hanging. You can also buy fresh fruits and vegetables there which, accompanied by a good croissant and a coffee from the local bakery, are ideal companions for an unexpected yet delightful picnic.
If we continue our walk northwest, towards Des Sources Boulevard, Marché de l’Ouest, flagship of this sector on Salaberry Boulevard, has been fundamental for decades. Under the same roof, summer, and winter alike, there are several artisans, restaurant and gourmet shop owners who will tempt both the epicurean and the ogre in you. To name just a few, but enough to make you salivate, let's mention the Hansel & Bagel bakery, of course, for its traditional eponymous bread. The Saucissier de l'Ouest, made up of the Beaudoin-Nadeau couple, who since 2008 have been inventing more than sixty varieties of stuffed sausages to suit their moods, not to mention their sandwiches made on site in case of an impromptu craving.
In addition, when the beautiful season sets in and the crops are at their peak, the farmers hold us not only by the stomach, but also by the pupils for our taste buds’ greatest pleasures. Their stalls abound with local products that make us see every color. Among these, I retain the golden yellow of the Landry corn, which is savored hot without detracting from its freshness.
Coming back to the south, more precisely in Pointe-Claire, on Cartier Street, we approach spring with the Serres Jacques Wilson for their choice of flowers and their varieties of seedlings. Budding and market gardeners will find more than what they deserve, since the staff of this charming family kiosk overflows of courtesy in the best of ways. Then, when the daisy has given up its last petal with an exciting "I love you", the freshly picked fruits and vegetables will take over in your heart until the autumnal pumpkin invites you to invent a face for it.
Hence, starting in June, it is the turn of the Marché Beau in the Beaurepaire village of Beaconsfield, to adorn itself in all its finery to decorate Fieldfare Street, at the corner of Beaconsfield Boulevard, with its kiosks. Since 2019, Les Amis du Village Beaurepaire have gasped a breath of fresh air by attracting more than a dozen merchants, farmers and market gardeners in the area to promote their products every Friday between 3 p.m. and 6 p.m.
Thus, the weekly event, animated by musicians, takes on the air of a fair for tourists as much as for the neighborhood, in search of a meal with local flavors or a beautiful agrarian basket filled and colorful, thanks to the contribution of farms and producers from both the West Island and neighboring regions, such as Jardins Carya in Senneville, Mediserre, which owes its fame to local mushrooms, Champ Floral for its micro greens and edible flowers, Bernie's Greens coming back from Rigaud with a variety of vegetables. In the process, we also find Furley’s in Hudson, which comes to Beaconsfield with its butchery and bakery products. La Ferme Rêveuse, based in Ottawa, also contributes to making Marché Beau a must every two weeks by selling its well-raised chickens to bird lovers.
Our gourmet adventure ends on the last and most definitely not least of markets because it is our bachelor: the Marché du Campus Macdonald which is well rooted on the lands of McGill University in the West Island in the Ste-Anne-Bellevue borough. The one nicknamed the "Mac Market", in addition to being a learning center, offers a variety of fruits and vegetables from July to November from different trials conducted on the cultivars of the Horticulture Center.
Now that I have gone from the stage of the little sprout to the one with a little harder skin, but do not worry, I still have a soft heart, I feel privileged to have evolved in an environment which continues to grow daily.
Now it’s your turn to come and discover the flourishing markets of the West Island!
