A restaurant in a village of 1,500 is getting major recognition in Quebec — and Canada

A 24-seat eating place placed in a hamlet of virtually 1,500 people has in short order become one of Quebec's most compelling culinary destinations.

In a span of just a few days this month, the quiet but powerful reputation of Auberge Saint-Mathieu — located in Saint-Mathieu-du-Parc in the province's Mauricie region — was echoed by some of the industry's biggest distinctions.

Samy Benabed, the co-owner of Auberge Saint-Mathieu, was named chef of the year at the Lauriers de la gastronomie québécoise as well as Michelin's most promising young chef. His restaurant a Michelin star and a Michelin green star while also landing on the 98th spot of Canada's 100 best restaurants list.

For Benabed, the recognition still feels surreal.

“We’re never sure about anything," he said, reached by phone in the middle of a day where both his phone and the restaurant’s were ringing nonstop. Since the announcements, the Auberge has received more than 100 reservation requests “in a very short time." But amid the excitement Benabed insists the awards do not belong to him alone.

They belong to the people around him. 

“What might sound like a cliché is really true: it’s teamwork,” he said. €œWithout the incredible team we have at the Auberge, none of this would be possible.”

That team includes chef de cuisine Maxim Guillemette, whom Benabed describes as the person truly leading the kitchen day to day — directing, cooking, guiding and getting her hands dirty. In the dining room, Étienne, his associate and maître d’hôtel, plays an equally essential role, maintaining a high standard of hospitality while training a new generation of local staff.

That last part matters — a lot.

In Saint-Mathieu-du-Parc, finding kitchen talent has not been the hardest challenge.

Finding servers, sommeliers and front-of-house professionals in a rural region has been far more difficult. So the team has grown its own.

Young people from the village, some starting at 17 or 18, have been trained from the ground up. Today, Benabed speaks of them with visible pride.

“They are top quality now,” he said. €œAnd they love their job.”

This human-scale approach is at the heart of Auberge Saint-Mathieu. The restaurant’s success is not built on spectacle or trend-chasing, but on a precise culinary language rooted in Quebec’s landscape, seasons and producers.

The Michelin Green Star, which recognizes sustainable practices, is especially meaningful in that context. Benabed is quick to point out that working locally is not unusual in Quebec’s best restaurants. In fact, he sees it as part of the province’s culinary culture.

“For us, it’s normal,” he said. €œIn Quebec restaurants, we’re all really locavore.”

But at Auberge Saint-Mathieu, sustainability is also made possible by a practical and creative relationship between two kitchens: the fine-dining restaurant and Le Comptoir, the more casual bistro led by chef Jana Larose. Together, they allow the team to use ingredients almost in their entirety.

A good example is the Arctic char from Saint-Alexis-des-Monts, a dish that has evolved with the seasons but remains a signature of the restaurant. The best portions are gently cooked for the fine-dining menu, while the trims, tails and offcuts are preserved and passed to the bistro kitchen, where Larose transforms them into fillings for fresh pasta.

“Nothing goes to waste," Benabed said.

Working closely with producers strengthens the quality of the cooking. And knowing the people behind the ingredients changes the way those ingredients are treated. The relationship with farmers, he said, is not difficult. It is human.

“They become friends,” he said. €œWe can talk about seeds. We can talk about the season.”

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Auberge Saint-Mathieu is not trying to imitate the codes of a big-city fine-dining room. It stands out because it is shaped by what and where it is: by Mauricie, by its producers, by a small village, by a team that has had to build its own rhythm and talent pool.

The awards, and the attention that comes with them, are energizing rather than intimidating, Benabed said. The restaurant is still young — only three years old — and he sees this moment not as a finish line, but as encouragement to keep going.

“We’ll continue to do what we’re doing,” he said. €œWe’ll keep evolving and progressing, and be closer to our values.”

And what kind of chef does the Michelin Young Chef Award winner hope to become?

His answer is quiet, but revealing.

He wants to remain close to his convictions. Not to change in order to please. Not to chase expectations. Not to become someone else because the spotlight is suddenly brighter.

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