Tribute to our cabins

Raquettes made of babiche, blowtorches, crankshafts… Images from another universe, almost ancient, where time seems suspended. We heat the stove like stubborn people, so that 39 drops evaporate, and from this alchemy a single drop of syrup is born. Our feet are soaked and our hands are frozen from having run over the water that overflowed from the boilers, buried in snow up to our tines or wedged in the mud when it was raining cats and dogs, one spring morning too early. We lean on the cords of wood while watching our jackets smoke, too. There is work. Love, too. Here, we weave families and keep tradition alive.

A tradition that Stéphanie Laurin wants to keep alive. Last year, the maple syrup producer launched the Ma cabane à la maison meal box project, to pretend that… “In March 2020, everyone had to close suddenly, without notice. If the restrictions had been maintained in 2021, nearly 75% of the province’s tourist sugar shacks thought they would close. Today, I can proudly say that it’s mission accomplished: the shacks have been saved! Of the 140 dining rooms that remained, only one or two have since closed. Thanks to the platform, we generated eleven and a half million dollars in sales, and renewed enthusiasm.”

Even though Quebec produces 72% of the world's maple syrup, out of 7,400 maple businesses, only 140 receive customers to eat. "Family cabins are finally considered businesses today, and the public realizes how fragile they are, and that they are part of a heritage that needs to be preserved. It is important that younger generations take ownership of them because there are almost none left."

It's swinging at Bec Sucré

This year, no need to stay indoors! “As soon as the vaccine passport was removed, I made two months of reservations in two weeks,” enthuses Marie-Claude, co-owner of the family maple grove. “People were eager to come back. I even took out my diary for 2023. And we decided to open another week after Easter, until April 24.”

Even though the initiative is still relevant, the person who manages Au Bec Sucré has decided to only offer meal boxes as an alternative this spring. “It’s still more work: the ham has to be cooked, cooled, degreased, cut, weighed, and put in boxes in the fridge. It takes as many employees to make 100 boxes as it does to accommodate 160 people. However, it worked well.”

Initially, I bought 100 containers. My mother-in-law suggested 200, and I told her she was crazy! I wondered who would come and get them so far away, but we sold 700! We are really happy." Stéphanie Laurin confirmed that 65% of maple groves had experienced greater profitability than before the pandemic.

"And since we have a permit from Mapaq and restaurants could reopen from March 13, we rolled up our sleeves and made the hut 2.0 in buffet format, one family bubble at a time. We were at 50% capacity with plexiglass across our large tables. But I have to say that seeing people in real life again is priceless!"

Even though it is on the outskirts of Valcourt, a municipality best known for the Ski-Doo Grand Prix where Marie-Claude works in the winter as an event coordinator, the Desautels family cabin is bustling with activity. Everyone is there, cooking, serving at the buffet, welcoming visitors, on the tractor, on the farm, running maple sap or boiling. “There are my kids, the cousins, the cousins, the uncles and the aunts! We have 2,200 taps, and no tubing. We have always been at the buckets … since 1984. It started when a couple stopped to help. Madeleine offered them a place to eat, she cooked beans and ham. The following year, they came back with friends. That’s how it grew.” The building grew over time, it was my father-in-law Roger who built it, inspired by his pigsty. They had the resources to help out at the time, ten children on one side, seventeen on the other. The long cabin is made of barn boards, and the walls inside are built with logs. At the back of the room, my uncle is making toast on the old Bélanger stove. Outside, hot syrup is poured onto the snow. The taffy is ready. On the land of their ancestors, they continue to make magic.