Morille Québec, the boreal forest on your plate

Quebecers' interest in local products is growing, but another term that has been used and promoted for decades in Quebec serves as fuel for local businesses: terroir. The terroir of our province cannot be precisely defined, but we can certainly include the richness of our soils and all the products that they offer us by their nature. ForMorille Québec, a company specializing in the picking, processing and distribution of wild mushrooms based in Chicoutimi, Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean, the richness of Québec's boreal forests has propelled their motivation into a veritable institution.

Harvest the forest

Simon-Pierre Murdock, owner, president and general manager of Morille Québec, has worked tirelessly since the company was founded in 2008 to promote its products and develop its market. Trained as a nurse, it was when he saw his family members exploiting the forests as forest entrepreneurs that the desire to extract more than just wood from this rich environment came to him. It was finally when he started picking wild mushrooms that Morille Québec was born. Today, the company hires many pickers each year to ensure the harvests and the marketing of its products.

MUSHROOMS AND POTS

In order to create a sustainable economy based on the forest and to introduce this universe to Quebecers, the company began by offering fresh wild mushrooms to its customers. Although Morille Québec currently has more than 600 clients in Québec, including some top chefs, Mr. Murdock still wanted to show people the versatility of his products, which he did by launching his line of processed products. Thus, it is now possible to taste our corn chips with a wild salsa, to season our Bloody Caesars with a spicy sauce of wild mushrooms and local fruits and to marinate our meats with a boreal BBQ sauce. All this, without forgetting the many tartar sauces available to enhance our dishes.

MUSHROOMS ON THE PODIUM

Initially, Mr. Murdock says he was not taken seriously in his project. However, the company's evolution got the better of the skeptics. With growth of 50% each year for 10 years and a lot of curiosity on the part of consumers, people now admire the small regional company that has made its place in a highly competitive market.

After winning the Pierre-Péladeau Scholarship in 2008, the Quebec Entrepreneurship Contest in 2010 and having distinguished himself at the Gala Forces AVENIR twice, the year 2017 closed with the Innovation Prize from the Food Processing Council of the Quebec (CTAQ) in the “Extended shelf life products” category for its Sauvages range. Mr. Murdock and his team say they are very proud of having invented products that are appreciated by people and that convey their values.

THE FUTURE OF MORELS

With products of such high quality and such great success in Quebec, the SME is now targeting the Ontario and American markets. For Quebec epicureans, know that their range of mushrooms is available in IGA supermarkets throughout Quebec, and several specialty stores also offer their processed products. No point of sale is located near you? Their online store allows you to shop anywhere!

Definitely, the Morille Québec team has not said its last word and, while continuing to explore the forests in search of new mushrooms, invites you too to learn, value and integrate local products into your plate. .

To find out more, do not hesitate to visittheir member page at Signé Local !

Reviewed by Louise