10-Day Canada
Itinerary

Poutine

Quebec's greatest contribution to world cuisine — thick-cut fries smothered in dark beef gravy and squeaky fresh cheese curds that must be added seconds before serving so they soften but never fully melt; invented in the Centre-du-Québec region in the 1950s; now ubiquitous from Vancouver to Halifax with infinite topping variations.

Tourtière

Quebec's Christmas soul — a spiced meat pie of minced pork, veal and potato seasoned with cinnamon, clove and allspice in a lard-based double-crust pastry; every family has a recipe passed down for generations; the Lac-Saint-Jean version uses cubed rather than minced meat and is known as a 'cipaille'.

BeaverTails

Canada's iconic fried dough — whole-wheat dough stretched by hand into the shape of a beaver's tail, deep-fried and topped with cinnamon sugar, Nutella, or maple butter; invented on the Rideau Canal in 1978; the Obama visit to the Ottawa stall in 2009 made it internationally famous.

Butter Tarts

Canada's definitive pastry — a flaky shell holding a gooey filling of butter, sugar, egg and syrup that sets to a slightly runny, deeply caramelised centre; the great divide is raisins vs. no raisins; the Ontario Butter Tart Trail draws visitors through 50 bakeries; the filling should drip on your hand.

Lobster Roll

Atlantic Canada's summer pinnacle — chilled knuckle and claw lobster meat, barely dressed with mayonnaise and a whisper of lemon, piled into a butter-toasted split-top hot dog bun; at its best bought from a wharf shack in Lunenburg or PEI the morning the boat comes in; simplicity is the point.

PEI Mussels

Prince Edward Island's cold, fast-moving tidal waters produce the sweetest, plumpest blue mussels on earth — rope-cultivated, grit-free, and steamed open in white wine, garlic and herbs; served with crusty bread to catch the broth; PEI exports 80% of Canadian mussel production.