- In this episode of "FLY BROTHER," we say bonjour to la grande dame herself, Quebec City, Canada, where we go on a culinary and historical tour through cultures and times featuring the iconic Chateau Frontenac, enchanting Limoilou, idyllic Ile d'Orleans, and the inspiring Wendake First Nations community.

(singer singing in foreign language) (bells clanging) (drums thudding) We're "enchanté" all day with my good friends in "la belle ville du québec."

Let's get fly.

(air whooshing) (upbeat music) I'm Ernest White II, storyteller, explorer.

Don't try this at home.

I believe in connecting across backgrounds and boundaries.

Join me and my friends.

Just like home.

And discover that no matter the background, no matter the history, the whole world is our tribe.

This is good.

Come with me.

See how my friends do?

"FLY BROTHER."

- [Narrator] Major funding for this program is provided by: (light playful music) (majestic music) (lively music) - [Ernest] Quebec City is "la belle" of French speaking Canada, home to a lively mix of First Nations, continental European, British, and North American influences.

You can explore centuries of history here in the only fortified city north of Mexico, from cobblestone streets and soaring cathedrals to battlegrounds and First Nation longhouses.

But this town is as hip as it is historic, a place for artists and artisans to put their stamp on music, food, and design.

Before I dive in, I'm starting off with a look at Quebec's roots with Huron-Wendat storyteller Dominic Sainte-Marie whose community has overcome big challenges.

- Wendake here has been founded in 1697.

In 1630, our population is estimated to be of about 30,000.

- [Ernest] Wow.

- Within the span of 19 years, our population was now down to 3,000- - Oh my God.

- from diseases, war, and famine.

From that point onwards, 300 Wendat came back here in the Quebec City area.

- That's a powerful history and legacy and, you know, a story of survival but also thrival.

- Exactly.

- [Ernest] One way the culture thrives is by preserving traditions like music and dance.

(singer singing in foreign language) (bells clanging) (drums thudding) What do these dances represent?

(Romy speaking French) - [Ernest] The jingle dance has prayers and personalized bells for helping to heal the sick.

It's meant to create positive energy, and I'm honored by an invitation to join the circle.

(singer singing in foreign language) (bells clanging) (drums thudding) After the dance, Dominic has more stories to share in the community's gathering place.

- [Dominic] So this here is the longhouse.

- [Ernest] Wow.

- And this is basically our traditional housing.

- [Ernest] In the longhouse at the Huron-Wendat Museum, Dominic shares myths and legends of his culture.

- When humans came down from the Sky World, there was this young man called Eno.

He was left alone, now a spirit in the sky alone.

And the Sky World wasn't empty for long.

It filled with giant snakes that would be flying up in the sky.

You don't see 'em now but that's because Eno took down one of them, then another and another, and every single one of those giant snakes fell to the ground on Turtle Island on this land and their body hitting the ground left scars in the world, scars where river now flow.

And so the waterfall right beside it, we call it Kabir Kouba, the Great Snake, in honor of those giant snakes that Eno took down.

- Poof, Eno don't play.

- No he doesn't.

(Ernest and Dominic laughs) - Wow.

Thank you, thank you.

That was a phenomenal story, a phenomenal experience, and you are a great storyteller, Dominic, man.

- Well, I try.

(Ernest and Dominic laughs) - Should we go check out the waterfall?

- Yeah, let's do it.

- All right.

Let's do it then.

(light upbeat music) The Kabir Kouba Falls are fed by the Saint-Charles River called Akiawenrahk by the Huron-Wendat Nation.

Like the winding river itself, the falls really are shaped like a snake, with twists and bends you can see from the surrounding park.

Fast, elegant birchbark canoes carried the Huron-Wendat people along the river to trade and explore.

Come on with us.

And the techniques for building them were passed from generation to generation.

Paddling a canoe is still a great way to travel this stretch of water, and from here, it's a beautiful ride to the Hotel-Musee Premieres Nations, where a national museum celebrates and preserves the heritage, culture, and cuisine of the Huron-Wendat Nation.

- So here we are at La Traite and- - La Traite.

- Exactly, that's it.

- What does that mean?

- Well, it refers to the trading of furs and pelts, so they would say (speaking French), and so it's basically the trading for pelts and furs.

That was the main reason for colonizing this area.

- Sure.

- Basically it is part of this Renaissance movement in cooking in Quebec.

- Okay.

- They call it Boreal cooking.

- Boreal.

- And it's- - As in like northern forests?

- Exactly.

- Okay.

- Inspired by the forest.

It's like our farm to table basically.

- Okay, okay.

- We're using really natural ingredients and trying to making them as beautiful as they can be.

So what we have here is a red deer tartare and it's an Atlantic wolffish tataki.

- Wow.

All right, man.

Let's do it.

- [Dominic] Yeah, let's dig in.

- [Ernest] Mm.

Hey.

(glasses clinking) In Eastern Canada, Quebec City sits high above the Saint Lawrence River on a cliff that creates a natural fortress.

In 1535 French explorer Jacques Cartier met Indigenous Iroquois people who'd settled at this strategic spot called Quebec, from an Algonquin word that means where the river narrows.

In 1608, another Frenchman, Samuel de Champlain, founded a trading post here and started building ramparts to protect the new city.

Over the next century and a half, it was besieged five times, ironically becoming the capital of New France and then New Britain.

But today, it's the capital of the province of Quebec and the old city walls are still there, framing the heart of Quebecois culture.

(camera clicks) (light music) No one understands this city like my pal Simon Pelletier, a guide who loves and lives the history of Old Quebec.

Hey, hey, hey.

Simon, good to see you.

- Bonjour.

- Bonjour.

- Bonjour mon ami.

- [Ernest] Hey, mon frere.

- You know why I'm dressed like that today, Ernest?

- I've been meaning to ask you, Simon.

You do look good, man.

You look quite dapper.

- Thank you, sir.

- Dapper Dan.

- I look like Bruce Price.

- Okay.

- Architect at the Chateau Frontenac as we can see right here.

- So I'm staying here at the Chateau, and there's so many different rooms and alcoves and just different areas of the hotel that kind of speak to the history of the place.

Tell me, what are some of the most interesting things that I'm going to see on the inside?

- So much history in that beautiful Chateau Frontenac.

Even if we call it a Chateau, it's not from the Middle Ages.

It's all about the inspiration the architects had.

The first part of the hotel, the smallest one, the one that gives right on the boardwalk is inspired by the French castles from La Loire River Valley.

- [Ernest] Okay.

- Bruce Price was a major Francophile and traveled there when he had the contract with the CP.

The main tower looks a little more like those Scottish Baronial type of castles.

So you are at the merge of different types of architectures.

We kind of create something pretty harmonious.

- What got you into leading tours?

- Always has been kind of passionate about local history, about the colonial pasts of Quebec, about its importance.

We are the meeting point of many different types of histories.

- Sure.

- I mean, the Americans tried to invade that city in 1775.

Also, there were a lot of wars in between the French and the British, there were contacts with natives, so there's a strong and beautiful and really important history.

(soft harp music) Quebec is one of the oldest cities in North America if not the oldest.

When Champlain got here, realized there were a lot of people meeting here.

That was a commercial meeting point.

With many trading routes ending here, decided to sell here to start to do business with these people, so there was another mix of culture at that point.

Many things we know about today were shared by natives to Samuel de Champlain, for example, walking on the snow with snow shoes during the winter, surviving through the winter.

- Sure, right, and I think it's important just to note that, you know, the survival skills that Europeans adopted came directly from the First Nations peoples that had been living here for thousands of years and making it their home.

- [Simon] Absolutely.

- La Fresque des Quebecois.

- Quebeckers' Mural.

Quebeckers' Fresco, La Fresque des Quebecois.

- La Fresque, you make it sound so chic.

(Simon laughs) - It is, isn't it?

(laughs) - Simon.

(laughs) - Well, look at that.

It's been painted on that wall in the late 1990s.

You've got Samuel de Champlain at our level right here, then you've got, at the top left window, Jacques Cartier, first French explorer to come that far up in the Saint Lawrence Valley.

- [Ernest] Ah.

- Right under Cartier, you've got Frontenac, the man who gave his name to the majestic Chateau Frontenac.

It was a French governor.

It is a resume of Quebec City's history.

- 'Tis.

'Tis a resume.

Let's go.

(laughs) - [Simon] All right.

- What do you love most about Quebec City now?

- What I like about that city is that one of the most vibrant city I've ever visited and I live in it.

If you're into culture and museums, you will find something to do.

If you like music festivals, there are so many happening here.

If you're into restaurants, if you're a foodie, you'll have fun in Quebec too.

So I really like all these different aspects of this city.

(upbeat music) - [Ernest] Quebec City is famous for its food scene, thanks to passionate chefs who make the most of local ingredients.

One of the best places to start eating your way through town is Limoilou, a neighborhood full of restaurants, markets, galleries, and boutiques.

(Isabel speaking Spanish) - My friend Isabel Madrid, born in El Salvador and raised right here in the neighborhood, comes from a family of restaurateurs.

She's also head of the Third Avenue Business Association, so she's going to show me the ropes.

But first, cafe.

Oh my goodness.

- Bonjour, Jonathan.

- [Ernest] Bonjour.

(Isabel speaks faintly) - [Jonathan] Enchanté.

- [Ernest] Enchanté.

- So we will enjoy a little coffee from a roaster here in Quebec City.

The name of his coffee is always the name of the farmer, so we have a strong relationship with every farmer from who we are roasting coffee.

This is something that we care a lot about here.

(upbeat music) (coffee bean rattling) (machine whirring) Here it is.

Want to taste?

- [Isabel] Salud.

- Salud.

(Jonathan laughs) (slurps) Ahh.

Now that we're fueled up, it's time to put on our glass slippers and dig in at Cendrillon, which is French for Cinderella.

Carl Dumas teams up with local purveyors to put a "made in Limoilou" stamp on every dish.

- How you guys doing?

- We're doing good, Carl.

How you doing?

- Fantastic.

Thank you very much.

So first and foremost, we're going to try out some homemade charcuterie.

We have the cured and smoked duck breast, ham made with Limoilou steak spices.

And we also have a very nice porchetta as well.

- And like Cinderella at the ball, you can sample delicious food until midnight.

Mm-hmm.

- Mm.

- Delicious.

(Ernest speaking Spanish) (Isabel speaking Spanish) - Oof.

- Si.

- Chefs aren't the only great creators in Limoilou, it's home to artists, designers, crafts people, and dozens of galleries.

Emily Lewis has a studio and exhibition space and her own line of jewelry.

La Galerie Lewis.

- Lewis.

Lewis.

Si.

- Nice to meet you.

- Nice to meet you, Emily.

Thank you very much for having us here in your lovely gallery.

- It is my pleasure.

- [Ernest] So what's so special about what you do here?

- Well, I have a gallery that's concentrated on contemporary crafts, which would be ceramics, jewelry, and everything around that universe as well.

I represent about 28 different artists, probably about 60% local.

All the pieces down here, this is my production line.

So these pieces here and the pieces in the chain here are all mine as well.

- [Ernest] Nice.

How long have you been here in this space?

- [Emily] I've been in Limoilou for over 10 years now.

- When people visit, what do you want them to take away from their experience here in Limoilou?

- Oh, probably the community.

We have a really great community here.

When I have people come and visit, we go to the different things going on in the area, like the market on weekends or there's festivals like there's Limoilou Music that's coming up, and it's definitely a feeling of being part of a smaller community even though we're in a larger city.

- [Ernest] Getting to know the community, I've worked up an appetite, and it's time to sample the unofficial national dish: poutine.

(Isabel speaking Spanish) - La poutine.

- Si.

(Ernest speaking Spanish) - Oh, si?

- [Ernest] Ed's poutine is one reason why Fistons is a neighborhood favorite.

He's going to start us off with the basics.

- Keep it simple but tasteful.

We're going to build it up in front of you.

Normally, we do it into the kitchen.

- Okay.

- But for- - So this is a special occasion?

- This is a special occasion- - You hear that at home, audience?

- for special people- - [Ernest] Yeah, oh, thank you.

Thank you.

- it's special Limoilou.

- [Ernest] It's special Limoilo - Limoilou style.

(light upbeat music) Three ingredients are the most important are fries, obviously the cheese, and the sauce.

Do not hesitate to put a lot of sauce but not too much.

You don't want your fries to be soggy.

- Okay.

- [Ed] We got to put some greens.

That's some vegetarian- - Iceberg.

(laughs) (All laughing) Wow.

You're good at this, man.

(Isabel speaking Spanish) - [Ernest] You are good at this.

- I marinate it like a real (indistinct).

- Okay, well, this is a... - Wow.

- And got some cheese and gravy and chicken.

- Mm.

Wow.

- Mm.

If it leaves me speechless, you know it's good.

Seriously good.

(Isabel speaking Spanish) - Spectacular.

(light upbeat music) My next stop is just a few miles from downtown but a world away.

The Ile d'Orleans is an island downstream from Quebec City that's famous for its beautiful rural landscape and its delicious agricultural products.

It's a go-to source for chefs, distillers, and wine makers, and food writer Allison Van Rassel is going to show me some of her favorite spots.

- What's very special about the greater Quebec City area, and I would say even the province of Quebec, is the fact that we're rooted in a very traditional French cuisine, right?

There are no big industrial players here.

Small family-owned businesses passed on from generation to generation that truly have that desire to offer amazing food to the local population and that is a privilege in itself.

- Why are you so passionate about food, in particularly food here in the Quebec region?

- 'Cause I like to eat.

- Well, yes.

(Allison laughing) I guess that I walked into that ridiculous question.

- No, but I mean it's, you know what?

It's just as simple as that, Earnest, and it's all about the pleasures of life and knowing that what I choose to take in my hand and put in my body is something that's representative of my environment and that it just tastes as good as it can get.

- [Ernest] One of Allison's favorite family businesses is run by the young women of its fifth generation, the distillers at Cassis Monna & Filles.

So, Anne, Cassis Monna & Filles, what's the history of the name?

- Oh, Cassis, it's the blackcurrant, means blackcurrant, so that's the berry that we grow, and Monna is our family name, and & Filles, it means and daughter.

- It sure.

- So it's a very simple but... (laughs) - Well, and I think that's cool because often we hear and sons with a lot of family businesses.

But and daughters is actually, at least in English- - It's better.

(Ernest and Anne laughs) - I was going to say rare and you're like, "It's better."

So... - I'm kidding.

(all laughing) - Feeling empowerment, yes.

- Well, that's true.

And- - Especially in agriculture.

- Yeah.

- Absolutely.

And so what has kind of the experience been like?

- We start with the restaurant, actually, and we had the opportunity to take over the, you know, the main activity, which is making blackcurrant wine, alcohol, spirit, and delicacies and jams, everything, and we changed the label.

We had a lot of fun and we are quite inspired by this berries and, you know, sky is the limit.

(light upbeat music) - So what's so special about Quebec and particularly this area that we're in right now just outside of Quebec City, Ile d'Orleans?

Oh gosh, Ile d'Orleans.

(Anne laughing) - Ile d'Orleans.

- Oh, its perfect.

- Ile d'Orleans.

- Yeah.

That's good.

- Yes.

(Allison and Ernest laughing) - Ile d'Orleans always been known as the garden of Quebec City because of this location.

It's so close to Quebec City.

So that's what is fun is you can, you know, come to Quebec and just said, "Okay, beautiful day.

I want to see the countryside," and always been known for the quality of rich soil, it's well drained also, and the river, you know, make microclimate perfect to grow that kind of berries.

- [Ernest] Those perfect microclimates are ideal for artisanal farmers and growers like Vincent Noel, who turned the fruits of Ile d'Orleans into gourmet treats.

- [Vincent] Hello.

- Bonjour.

- It's good to meet.

- Thank you for welcoming us here to the Vinaigrerie.

- Vinaigrerie.

- Vinaigrerie.

- Oh.

- I... - Your French are very good.

- Thank you, I... (Allison laughing) Well, what are we going to see, Vincent?

- The cave.

- The cave.

- Right.

- Oh, let's go to the cave.

- Let's go to the cave.

- Where we aged the vinegar.

- All right, is this the bat cave?

- [Vincent] No, it's a caveman.

- The man cave.

- Man cave, excuse me.

(all laughing) - [Ernest] Open sesame.

- Oh, can you smell it?

(Ernest sniffs) - Take a whiff.

(Ernest exhales) - It's pungent.

- Yes.

You will not smell that in many places in the world.

- All right, well, come with us.

Now what's the importance though of Vincent's vinegar within just Quebec and Canada in general?

- A lot of the chefs here in the greater Quebec City area work with this product because of the high quality product and because it represents the artisan's savoir faire.

He traveled the world in many different countries in order to get that knowledge, well he's bringing it back home here on Ile d'Orleans and using the fruits that he grows in organic production all around.

And that has a taste.

- You want taste the vinegar?

- I would love to taste the vinegar.

- We start with the raspberry wine vinegar, two years old.

(light upbeat music) You see the beautiful color?

- It's lovely.

- You taste slowly because it is not easy to taste, but for you is the special today.

(Ernest clears throat) (Ernest coughs and laughs) - [Allison] It's vinegar after all.

- It is vinegar.

It is vinegar and it's potent.

So sip it.

Don't inhale as I'm sipping.

It's hard to go home once you've sampled the delicious essence of Quebec, whether it's in a bistro, on a farm, or in a glass of vinegar.

It is really good.

What do you want visitors to the Quebec City region, to the Ile d'Orleans, to experience while they're here and to take away with them after leaving?

- Love.

- Oof.

- The beauty of real food.

Just the opportunity to experience a cuisine that is true to its roots that has a lot of different inspirations that come, first and foremost, from our First Nations that have been transferred to the hands of chefs that master the techniques of French cuisine and having a chance to meet the people that is behind that food, I mean, what's not to love about an experience like that?

And- - That's what love's all about.

- No, voila.

It is voila.

- Voila, voila.

From its old ramparts to its newest restaurants, Quebec City is a dynamic blend of cultures and cuisines, a place that honors its past, celebrates its present, and looks forward to its future.

(Ernest speaking French) All the way in Quebec.

(light upbeat music) - [Narrator] Major funding for this program is provided by: (light playful music) (majestic music) To join the "FLY BROTHER" travel community or to order your own copy of this episode, visit flybrother.com.

(bright music)