Choux Choux Charcuterie

And so now you are ready to hear my other little story that pick ups in Belgium, once again, this time flash forward a couple of decades, and I am there with my own family; my three children and my husband, and we are spending the summer in Europe on a house exchange in Versailles with a side jaunt to Belgium. Our children are not strangers to Europe by this time, they are still young but have been raised like I was, with one foot 'back home'. At the time we were living in Mill Bay, a little community sliced by the island highway forty-five minutes outside of Victoria. To go anywhere at all one had to drive, and drive, and drive...school was in Cobble Hill, twenty minutes away, and piano lessons were in Shawnigan Lake, swimming lessons were in Duncan and well, you get the picture, we spent a huge amount of time driving everywhere to get to basic services and activities. I was very determined to ride my bike often while in Europe on the days we were not travelling to tourist destinations. We wanted to experience normal day-to-day life in France as there are bikes everywhere! Everyone rides there it seems, and I happily write to say, we did too. Every morning, one of us by turn, would hop on a bike and pick up our fresh baked goods and then go next door to purchase at the charcuterie. I laughed often to see that the line-up would typically be comprised of men, each with a list in hand! So this, then, was their chore. Even when we did venture into a large supermarket we still marveled at the quality and low prices, from fois gras, specialty cheeses, wine and beer, to clothing and electronics. It was nothing new to us, with stores like Wal-Mart and Superstore in Canada; what we could not get over the dizzying array of choice and the high quality of the fresh products. It seems Europeans demand it and that is how it has been for a long time. It is only recently, here in North America, that we seem to be on the tide of a resurgence in food quality. We want to know where it came from, what’s in it, and will go out of our way to pick up artisan food. I love this move, even if it is only a return to our roots. Once upon a time we all grew on our vegetables, we did not predominantly rely on prepared, fast, or convenience foods. We ate real food, not fillers, additives and who-knows-what else.

Well all of this musing leads me to the happy discovery of Choux Choux Charcuterie at 830 Fort St. My friend Elyse told me about it, and I knew it would not disappoint, as she has a real passion for artisan foods. As soon as I walked through the door, I was struck by its quaint understated charm, from the authentic cheese labels collaged on the wall to the chalkboard sign presenting its ‘plat du jour’.

I discovered they make their own sausages, pates, and smoked and cured meats using only fresh, free-range pork, rabbits, hens, chickens and lamb from farms on the island. The quality of the products are excellent, and I can’t rave enough about what a wonderful place this is, although many of you are 'in the know’ already about this delicatessen as it has been around for some time now. And unlike me, you probably don’t need the memories of Europe to wax nostalgic and appreciate high-quality, excellent tasting food! I was also delighted to see they offer things like crème fraiche, truffle oil, and a wonderful selection of European cheeses; Tomme d'Abondance from France, Tete de Moine from Switzerland, Queso de la Peral from Spain, Taleggio from Italy, Cashel Blue from Ireland.

The only thing I didn’t care for was the bread made by an outside supplier – I appreciate it is artisan organic bread, but my mouth hurts every time I eat the stuff, it is such a workout (my $100 J.A. Henckels knife can barely even slice it, it is that tough) but I am pretty fussy on my breads (blame those bakeries in Belgium!).

So next time you are in the area, pick up some meat and cheese, get some wine and bread, and savour a wonderful meal. Let me know what you think!