Welcome on my blog
You will find dishes I created as well as recipes passed on by family, friends and neighbours who kindly accepted to share their family secrets recipes.
About me
My training as a chef and the many years of experimenting in the kitchen brought me to teach cooking classes, to work in restaurants, to write and publish many cookbooks, to contribute to food magazine as well as give lecture on Quebec culinary history.
Culinary Career summary
I have been working in the world of food for more than 35 years. Graduated from the Hotel and Tourism Institute of Quebec in 1980, I worked as a chef in a French cuisine restaurant, I operated a cooking school for more than 15 years and held a position as hotel manager in the Mauricie region. I also wrote articles on food and the history of food, some of which have appeared in the magazine Châtelaine, Ricardo and the history magazine Cap-aux-Diamants.
Since 1988, I have written 14 cookbooks published by Éditions Héritage Inc., Éditions du Trécarré and my own publishing house, Les Éditions La Bonne Recette. These titles are: 150 recipes for Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean, La Cuisine Rapide, Légèrement Vôtre, Traditional Quebec cooking, , La Cuisine Traditionnelle de Charlevoix, La Cuisine Traditionnelle de la Mauricie,La Cuisine Traditionnelle des Cantons de l’Est, Délices traditionnels du Québec, l’Érable son histoire sa cuisine, Saveurs et parfums des 4 coins du monde : Soupes, Saveurs et Parfums des 4 coins du monde : Cuisine cajun et créole et l’Érable, c’est bon en sirop! and Les Grands Classiques de la Cuisine d’Ici chez Guy Saint-Jean Éditeur. The books on Soup and Cajun Creole were also published in English language.
I gave cooking demonstrations, lectures on the history of Quebec cuisine and organized the “Marché du Terroir” at the Salon de la Gastronomie in 1998 and 1999. In 1998, I started a website in which various articles and recipes can be read at cookingwithmicheline.com
I gave cooking demonstrations, lectures on the history of Quebec cuisine and organized the “Marché du Terroir” at the Salon de la Gastronomie in 1998 and 1999. In 1998, I started a website in which various articles and recipes can be read at cookingwithmicheline.com
My expertise was required to develop recipes for clients. I was a member of the jury for the Canadian Grand Prix New Product Awards in 2000 and 2001, and was a member of the jury for the Cuisine Canada Cookbook Awards’ Best Cookbook Awards in 2001 and 2002. I was french chair of this contest for 6 years for books published in French. I also has been President of the Association pour la Presse Gastronomique et Hôtelière and a member of the International Association of Culinary Professionals, for whom I presented a workshop (at the 2003 Annual Conference) on Quebec Cuisine for 275 food professionals, attendees from all over the world.
In 2022, I was inducted to the Taste Canada Hall of Fame for my career as a food writer and my influence on canadian cuisine.
I live in the Quebec Charlevoix region where I cook and test recipes inspired by my culinary discoveries from here and elsewhere, vegetables from her garden and edible foods I picks in the Charlevoix forest.
Micheline Mongrain Dontigny
A few Excerpts
Excerpt from a letter of thanks from the office of the Prime Minister for a buffet prepared for the prime minister of Canada, Mr Jean Chretien when he was in La Tuque in august 1995.
“ You gave us the opportunity to savour a fine cuisine that would make the envy of many great chefs. Pass on our thanks to your team and please accept, dear madam, our highest consideration.”
"The Holidays, it is the occasion to cook the typical family dishes of Quebec. If you lost your grandmother recipe for cake roll for your the Bûche de Noel or, if you don’t know how to prepare baked beans, Les Grands Classiques de la Cuisine d’Ici, published by Guy Saint-Jean Éditeur, comes to the rescue.”
Traditional Quebec Cooking: a treasure of heirloom recipes: "Simple,warming dishes collected from trusted family cooks are clearly written"
"Her next work, Micheline Mongrain-Dontigny will devote it to the cooking of the Mauricie region. The author will travel the road of the region in search for traditional treasures. After, Mrs Mongrain-Dontigny will write them with enough details so that her readers will find them easy to prepare. To do so, she must test recipes many times. “ In fact, it is not always easy to write down recipes of people who cooks without exact measurements.”
" By publishing La Cuisine Traditionnelle de Charlevoix, Micheline Mongrain-Dontigny believe she has a niche market that will certainly appeal to cooks in search for special dishes to prepare. « It is the cooking of the heart, the cooking of the mothers who prepare meals … with what they have on hand”, she comment about the hundred recipes she collected following 2 years of research among women of the region.
