It’s a brilliant Laurentian winter morning. The sun is a blazing white ball hanging low in a cloudless cerulean sky. The intensity of the sunlight belies the frigid temperature that takes your breath away and reconstitutes it into a frosted mist. It’s a typical morning here, yet never fails to shock you out of the mundane and into the mystical of Mont-Tremblant.

It’s on one of these mornings that I arrive at the black iron gates of Maison de Soma to meet Édith Foliot and Didier Lortie, the visionaries behind the farm-and-forage-to-table culinary destination that everyone is talking about, and I am instantly aware that there’s some kind of magic happening here.

The restaurant, a modern prairie house surrounded by vast farmland and forests, is a short drive from the bustling Tremblant ski
resort, but the setting evokes the pristine remoteness of a Group of Seven landscape.

The 240-acre property is an agricultural treasure trove of local delicacies from organic gardens, orchards, apiaries and chicken coop, which chefs Jérôme Bigot and Édouard Lacouture transform into unexpected Asian-inspired dishes that honour and elevate every ingredient. The result is something akin to culinary alchemy.

The barley with char siu pork miso (roasted pork belly), koji and braised shallots and Jerusalem artichoke with tomato shoyu and honey pine broth are among the signature dishes.

A unique ambience is established with harvest table seating and a touch of drama with an open kitchen, massive wood-burning stove, and synchronized service in stunning stoneware made by a local artist.

On March 9, Maison de Soma inaugurates its “Sugar Shack” menu, with family-friendly weekend brunch service at 10 a.m. and 1 p.m., featuring traditional ingredients reimagined to reflect the restaurant’s raison d’être.

For a memorable après-ski, their fantastic wine bar, featuring over 250 organic wines and spirits and a tapas menu, is offered Thursdays and Fridays from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. Reservations are a must.

In less than a year, Maison de Soma has cast a spell on the Laurentian gastronomical world by delivering a truly magical culinary experience.

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